November 2023

Welcome to Visit Winston-Salem's News & Notes, a bimonthly newsletter highlighting hospitality and tourism industry updates, current events, and marketing opportunities for our tourism and hospitality partners. Should you have any questions, please contact us at i nfo@visitwinstonsalem.com

New Name, New Logo, Same Amazing Festival

The world's most 'marvtastic' festival returns to Winston-Salem in 2024 with a new name and new look. Known for decades as the National Black Theatre Festival, the newly christened International Black Theatre Festival (IBTF) will be July 29 - Aug. 3, 2024.

"The new look is bold and modern, yet it also celebrates the history of the festival and its presenting organization, NC Black Repertory," said Jackie Alexander, artistic director of the festival. "In particular, we wanted the new look to honor the legacy of our founder, Larry Leon Hamlin, and [IBTF Executive Producer Emeritus], Sylvia Sprinkle-Hamlin."

Held every two years in the late summer, the festival welcomes more than 65,000 elite theatre-goers to town, transforming Winston-Salem into a mega-performing arts center with more than 100 performances on multiple stages. Theatre workshops, films, seminars, a teen poetry slam, and a star-studded celebrity gala complement the performances, helping create one of America's biggest theatre festivals. Go here for more festival details.

The event was founded in 1989 by Larry Leon Hamlin, who also founded the North Carolina Black Repertory Company in 1979. The groundbreaking organization was the first professional Black theatre company in North Carolina. In addition to hosting IBTF, NC Black Rep presents several productions annually featuring members of its ensemble or through collaborations with other theatre companies.

Interesting festival fact: IBTF is the only festival in the country that offers six consecutive days of performances, seminars, shopping, poetry slams, and more.

NC Tourism Officials Rank Local Visitor Spending

Visit North Carolina recently announced results from the latest annual tourism spending impact study, the “Economic Impact of Travel on North Carolina Counties 2022.” According to the study, the tourism industry in Forsyth County continues to rebound from the negative economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic. Visitors spent $988 million with local businesses in 2022 and is on track to achieve a new record this year. The economic impact of tourism in Forsyth County increased by 19 percent, beating the state average of 15 percent.

The study also reports visitor expenditures in Forsyth County generated $68 million in local and state tax revenues in 2022 compared to $64 million in 2021.

“Although we haven’t quite hit our record high of $1 billion in 2019, we’re encouraged by these continued strong gains in just a two-year period,” said Stephanie Pace Brown, president of Visit Winston-Salem. “These state spending findings echo the steady increases we track in our monthly hotel revenue reports confirming a positive economic outlook for Winston-Salem’s hospitality industry and reaffirming that tourism is providing an important economic impact for the businesses and residents Forsyth County,” said Brown.

Last Chance to Register: Fall Industry Partners Familiarization Tour

There are only a few seats remaining to fill for Visit Winston-Salem's Fall Industry Partners FAM tour this Thursday, Nov. 9.

This full-day tour offers participants a comprehensive orientation of area attractions and their upcoming holiday happenings and events, including Old Salem, Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Korner's Folly, Paul J. Ceiner Botanical Gardens, and the Downtown Arts District.

The FAM is complimentary and lunch is provided. For additional information or to register, contact Amy da Luz by email or phone her directly @336.728.4208

VWS Convention Sales Team Updates

The Visit Winston-Salem sales team has been on the road this fall, representing the city at numerous conferences, events, and tradeshows. Below are some of the highlights:

Alex Collins, attended Destinations Southeast in Cape Coral, FL, and had 21 appointments with corporate, association, and independent meeting professionals.

Bonny Bernat, VWS senior sports development manager, had 12 appointments with event rightholders at the S.P.O.R.T.S. Conference in South Bend, IN.

Bonny, Alex, and Christian Schroeder, VWS director of sales, had 80 appointments at Connect Marketplace in Minneapolis, MN with corporate, sports, and association professionals.

Bonny and Christian attended the NCAA Host Symposium in Indianapolis, IN. (The NCAA has changed their bidding cycle from 4 years to 2 years.)

Alex, Christian, and Karen Wall, VWS senior sales manager, jointly attended the ASAE Annual Meeting in Atlanta and attracted 280 contacts, thanks in part to their eye-catching Krispy Kreme-themed booth (pictured below).

Winston-Salem In The News + Recent Media Coverage

Visit Winston Salem marketing and communications team has been busy! Here's a sampling of the editorial coverage they helped facilitate in recent weeks.

WJLA, the ABC affiliate in Washington, DC, is airing a five-day travel spotlight on Winston-Salem on their popular talk show Good Morning Washington (GMW) Nov 6-10. VWS hosted the GMW crew and escorted them around town as they gathered footage for the spotlight, which will be broadcast to the show's 733,000 daily viewers and shared with more than a million Facebook followers. To promote the segment, GMW broadcast live from Graylyn Oct. 24, chatting with VWS team member Michael Breedlove.

NC Tripping, a popular travel blog produced by Christina and Carl Riley of Durham, NC, recently posted an article on the "Top 40 Things to do in Winston-Salem." (LINK ) Visit W-S hosted Christina in early September and escorted her around town while she researched topics for the story and gathered ideas for future articles. NC Tripping has nearly 600,000 social media followers and averages more than 225,000 unique monthly views on their website.

Country Living Magazine recently highlighted Winston-Salem (and Old Salem specifically) in an article entitled “40 of the Best Main Streets in America You Need to Visit ASAP." (LINK ). Visit Winston-Salem worked with the magazine's editorial staff to help coordinate the article and photo placement while providing details on Old Salem's Main Street. The story appeared on Country Living's website, which averages 21.7 million unique page views each month, and was also shared with more than 8.2 million followers on the magazine's social media outlets.

KUDOS & CONGRATULATIONS

On behalf of the entire Visit Winston-Salem staff, we would like to say thank you and congratulations to Jennifer Clyburn, our director of finance and human resources on her 25th anniversary at Visit Winston-Salem. Jennifer began her career here as a convention sales and services manager and was promoted to her current role 13 years ago.

Congratulations to Kay Calzolari, Visit Winston-Salem group tour and services manager, who was named the North Carolina Motorcoach Association Associate of the Year. Kay was also elected to serve on the N.C. Motorcoach Association Board at the 2023 Marketplace Regional Conference in Cherokee.

Karen Wall, Visit Winston-Salem senior sales manager, accepted the Friend of FLANC Award on behalf of Visit Winston-Salem at the Foreign Language Association of N.C. Fall Conference, held at the Benton Convention Center Oct. 7-8. (Karen, left, is pictured with FLANC Executive Director Helga Fasciano.)

VWS Welcomes Two New Team Members

Romona Williams is returning to Visit Winston-Salem as a National Sales Manager, focusing on faith-based and multicultural groups interested in bringing their conferences and conventions to Winston-Salem. Romona held the same role for VWS from July 2019 to August 2020. With nearly 20 years of hospitality industry experience, Williams returns to the organization after working the past two years as Operations Manager at the SECU Family House in Winston-Salem. She has also held local leadership roles with Chartwells K-12 and Summit Hospitality Group.

Amy da Luz joined the Visit Winston-Salem marketing team in October as the new Communications & Visitor Services Manager. Amy, a native Californian, has lived in Winston-Salem for more than 27 years and is integrally involved in the city's arts, cultural, and theater scene. She also brings a wealth of foundational knowledge and experience in advertising and market research. A mom of three sons, Amy is an avid fan of the Wake Forest University Women’s Soccer team, which has been coached by her husband, Tony, for the past 27 seasons.

Important Tourism Industry Meetings & Events

Wednesday, Nov. 8 - Forsyth County Hospitality Alliance (FCHA) Meeting: The FCHA will meet at 12 p.m. at the Hawthorne Inn and Conference Center. RSVP is required. Pat Ivey, NC Dept. of Transportation is the guest speaker. For meeting or membership information, contact FCHA at ForsythCo.HA@gmail.com

Thursday, Nov. 9 - Visit Winston-Salem Industry Partners Familiarization -- 9 a.m.- 5:15 p.m. For detailed information and to register email Amy da Luz at: amy@visitwinstonsalem.com or phone her directly at 336.728.4208.

Please note there is no Forsyth County Tourism Development Authority Board Meeting in Nov. The next FCTDA meeting is Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 2 p.m. at the Shaffner Inn.

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