Dollars and DMOs
Our maturing
travel industry masters the art of marketing
By Dana Clark
The
travel and tourism business in North Carolina is now the state’s
second biggest industry. According to the latest figures, more than
$12 billion was spent in North Carolina on travel last year, a 5.9
percent increase over 1999. More than 195,000 people were employed by
the state’s travel industry in 2000, up 2.5 percent from 1999.
Such growth in the travel business is good for all of us, whether we
live in small towns or big cities. Many rural parts of North Carolina
are getting an economic boost from the increasing popularity of
natural heritage tourism. And in our major metro areas, travelers are
helping foot the bill for the attractions, parks and museums we all
can enjoy. Occupancy taxes imposed on hotel guests largely paid for
the $100 million-plus Charlotte Convention Center, for instance.
Having worked and taught in this industry in North Carolina since
1982, it is both interesting and fun for me to note how the industry
is evolving. Four trends come immediately to mind.
u We are seeing the re-emergence, in a big way, of spas. There are new
spas at Pinehurst, The Grove Park Inn and the Ballentyne resort in
Charlotte. The WestGlo spa in Blowing Rock is doing a record business.
u We’re seeing renewed interest in downtown revitalization. An
example is Winston-Salem, where Bob McCoy, the head of the convention
and visitors bureau there, and many others have been working on a
major revitalization project based on a series of restaurants and
entertainment venues.
u There are a variety of projects going on in the field of
conservation and sustainable tourism. Hugh Morton and Mack Pearsall
have announced a Mountains/Beach Coalition. Ernest O’Banion of Ashe
County has spearheaded the New River Community Partners in the High
Country. Jack Goldstein, Carol Lohr (from the Crystal Coast) and
others are working on the beach renourishment issue. Carol Kline, a
professor at N.C. State, is emerging as the sustainable tourism guru
for our area.
u The industry is learning to accommodate new workers. For example,
Wayne Shusko, head of Bissell Hotels in Charlotte, has hired a full
time linguist at the Park Hotel there. This person is teaching English
to his Russian- and Spanish-speaking staff, and Spanish to his
English-speaking managers.
North Carolina’s travel and tourism business has succeeded and grown
because we have such a great product to sell. From the coast to the
mountains, ours is one of the most beautiful states in the nation. And
as importantly, over the last two decades we’re learned how to sell
that beauty through our destination marketing organizations (DMOs).
In the early 1980s, local occupancy taxes were legalized as long as
they were approved by the legislature. A good portion of this money
has been spent locally to start or expand DMOs. These go by a variety
of names; some are called convention and visitor bureaus (CVBs),
others go by tourism destination authorities (TDAs), and there are
others names used. There are now 42 DMOs in the N.C. Association of
Convention and Visitor Bureaus.
In the beginning, these were marketing organizations usually going
after two markets. There was the meeting and convention market and the
general tourism market. Often these organizations were incubated at
chambers of commerce and then eventually broke away to become distinct
organizations.
Because these organizations use public money, most bureau chiefs have
evolved into skilled politicians. Over the last few years we’ve also
seen bureaus emerge as product developers for their communities. A
number of bureaus have been instrumental in starting festivals and
others have worked in getting convention centers, stadiums, heritage
tourism sites and other such facilities developed in their
communities.
The level of professionalism at bureaus has increased dramatically;
first in top tier cities and now is secondary locations. David Heinl
in Raleigh and Reyn Bowman in Durham have spent years learning their
craft. Kelly Miller in Asheville spent time at the bureau in Atlanta
during the Olympics. Melvin Tennant in Charlotte has been in the
bureau business for over 20 years. He is on the international board of
Meeting Professionals International and is on the board of directors
of the Travel Industry Association of America.
In second tier locations we’ve seen some dynamic leaders emerge at
various DMOs. Millie Barbie in Hickory, Debbie Vargus in Greenville,
Jim Godfrey in Kinston and Caleb Miles in Pinehurst are names that
quickly come to mind. Two of the most powerful travel people in the
state are married to each other. Betty and David Huskins, along with
many other activities, have successfully run Smoky Mountain Host in
Franklin for many years.
The meeting and convention business is growing by leaps and bounds in
the state. Charlotte leads the way with its new downtown center and
convention hotels. The Raleigh/Durham area is a natural draw with its
universities, government agencies and the Research Triangle Park.
Winston-Salem and Greensboro are also in this business, as are the
Pinehurst and Grove Park resorts.
Why do DMOs work so hard to attract visitors to their cities? The
answer is economic impact. Conventioneers at one fairly typical
convention for 2,000 will spend a bit over $1.7 million dollars in a
community. And that’s before figuring in any multiplier effect.
The travel and tourism industry is constantly changing. We’ve
learned that a good environment is good for business. We are also
learning that people come to North Carolina to interact with our
heritage and us. It is an exhilarating time for our industry.
Dana Clark, a professor at Appalachian State University in Boone,
is this year's president of the Travel Council of North Carolina, the
umbrella organization for the travel industry in the state.
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