Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1460604
12 UCW MARCH 16 - 22, 2022 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM NEWS As one of the fastest-changing industries, tourism continues to be a primary engine of economic health in the entire country. at applies here in Fayetteville/ Cumberland County as well. e Fayetteville Area Convention & Visi- tors Bureau (FACVB) recently initi- ated a tourism research project that will serve as the foundation for the Strategic Marketing and Media Plan- ning for 2022 and beyond. e FACVB sought to highlight tourism's impact on the area through this project. By partnering with the Greater Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce and the Cool Spring Downtown District, the Foundational Tourism Research Project delivered insights from three different scopes of work: Stakeholder Study, Scout Report and Tourism Market Study. e Stakeholder Study provided tourism insights from local stake- holders and explored the commu- nity's awareness of the three orga- nizations. e information gathered from this effort will help optimize community assets and the commu- nity tourism brand. e Scout Report provided real- time data (cell phone signals) and was able to show the geographic distribution of Fayetteville's visitors from outside of Cumberland County. e data helped identify the markets with the most significant opportunity and will help measure the perfor- mance by each market year over year. e third element of the research project, the Tourism Market Study, targeted regional travelers to as- sess and measure sentiment, brand health, visitor profile and barriers to visitation. e purpose of the study was to amplify the core of the regional mar- ketplace by measuring Fayetteville/ Cumberland County's brand health as a destination and comparing it to other regional destinations of similar size and scope. e research summary included impressive numbers regarding tour- ism's economic health and its impact on the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community. e average leisure visitor spends $877 a visit, and the average business visitor party spends $502 during their stay. Even the Visiting Family/Relatives sector spends $489 during a visit. "e Economic Impact of Travel on North Carolina Counties" was pre- pared for Visit NC by the U.S. Travel Association for 2019, and the below data was presented to FACVB: • Cumberland County's travel and tourism industry employs 4,820 people with a payroll totaling nearly $116 million. • Travel spending generates $44.598 million in local and state taxes. • Travel to Cumberland County is worth $601 million to our local economy, translating to a tax savings of $134.14 per county resident. • Cumberland County ranks tenth out of North Carolina's 100 counties in economic impact from tourism. Everyone in the community can contribute to the continuation of the area's growth and shape the tourism industry in Cumberland County. e FACVB works alongside the commu- nity, hospitality partners and com- munity leaders to further increase tourism and position Fayetteville/ Cumberland County as a destination. e FACVB extends an invitation to all to visit the Welcome Center, where they can learn more about the FACVB goals and mission as they represent Fayetteville/Cumberland County as the tourism marketing arm of the community for conventions, meetings, sporting events and leisure travel. e research in its entirety can be found on the FACVB website at VisitFayettevilleNC.com/about-us/ research. Research leads Fayetteville tourism's future by KRISTY GROVE KRISTY GROVE, Fayetteville Area Convention and Visitor's Bureau. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910-484-6200. SAVE THE DATE Get your tickets at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/272318210097 or scan the QR code: A special thanks to our wonderful sponsors!