This annual summit is the largest tourism industry event in the state, with over 500 attendees representing tourism businesses, media and marketing professionals, and governmental destination marketing organizations like the TDA, from across the state.
The conference was sponsored by the official state tourism office, Visit North Carolina. Formerly the North Carolina Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development, the tourism office was recently renamed and transferred to the nonprofit Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina.
This new public-private partnership oversees the state’s work with business recruitment and retention as well as tourism development.
At first, there was some trepidation among state tourism employees about this reorganization. Although other states had similar partnerships in place, some were uncertain it would work efficiently and effectively for North Carolina.
Fortunately, the EDPNC has been a huge success less than six months in. Working with a private, nonprofit organization has allowed the tourism office to be more flexible and responsive to the industries needs, all while maximizing the return on investment of North Carolina residents’ tax dollars.
We’re excited to bring this renewed energy and efficiency from the state level to Henderson County. The conference offered workshops on the hot topics for tourism, with a particular focus on the changing worlds of public relations and marketing. Smartphones, the Internet and pervasive social media networks have changed the way we market destinations to potential travelers. I left each workshop incredibly excited by both opportunities and challenges as we continue to promote Hendersonville to the world.
The conference gave us a bird’s eye view of North Carolina’s tourism industry, and where we stand in relation to other destinations. Hendersonville must work hard to capture our share of global tourism spending. In North Carolina alone, there is a huge range of options for travelers to consider, from exploring big cities, to relaxing at oceanfront resorts, to the endless hiking and adventure of the mountains.
Within the southeastern United States, the competition to attract visitors is even greater. In spite of this competition, Hendersonville continues to do well, ranking 15th out of all 100 North Carolina counties in terms of visitor spending.
Hendersonville is one of those unique destinations that really stands out, even among North Carolina’s abundance of great destinations. Without fail, each person I met at the conference responded with an enthusiastic “I love Hendersonville!” when I told them where I was from. People from across the state spoke highly of our beautiful downtown, seeing world-class shows at the Playhouse, or coming to summer camp here every year as children.
For travel professionals — people who are truly in the know about where to go and what to do — to hold Hendersonville in such high esteem is encouraging and humbling, but not surprising. Rather, it is further proof that the secret is out about our little mountain town.
On the final day of the conference, I was struck by a comment the mayor of the village of Pinehurst, Nancy Fiorillo, made as she addressed the attendees. Speaking of Pinehurst’s draw for tourists, Mayor Fiorillo said, “We don’t have a beach, and we don’t have a mountain. We do have something unique: History.”
I thought this statement resonated among all the tourism professionals in the room, and with Henderson County in particular. We are extremely fortunate to have a beautiful mountain setting. However, like the village of Pinehurst, it is much more than our natural beauty that draws visitors and new residents here from all over the world.
It’s the people — their history, culture and stories — that make Hendersonville a can’t-miss destination.
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