Visit NC’s Wit Tuttell, Heidi Walters and Veda Gilbert, members of the Outer Banks Visitor’s Bureau staff, and other partners from around state, attended the U.S. Travel Association’s IPW last week in San Antonio.
With COVID-19 restrictions now lifted for entry to the U.S., international tour operators and media met to discuss getting international visitors back to the U.S. and North Carolina now that the country is fully open.
The North Carolina team, along with partners from Nantahala Outdoor Center, Outer Banks Visitor’s Bureau, Visit Charlotte and Greater Raleigh CVB, had more than 90 pre-scheduled meetings with tour operators and media to promote travel to North Carolina.
IPW is the travel industry’s premier international marketplace and much more than a typical trade show.
In 2022 International spending was up 170 percent compared to 2021. It’s expected that number will only increase with more international flights added in the last year to the state.
Story courtesy Visit NC NewsLink, a weekly e-newsletter from the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. NewsLink provides information to nearly 4,800 tourism industry leaders, media and government representatives across the state. It distributes valuable information on Visit NC’s marketing and promotional efforts, tourism-related research, state, national and international trends, media leads, updates on conferences and events, and more.