2 min read September 2023 — In an interview with Invest:, Dennis Edwards, president and CEO of the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau, talked about significant achievements for the Bureau and upcoming plans. The region’s quick tourism rebound has enabled progress on strategic priorities, including infrastructure projects like enhancing the PNC Arena, building a new indoor sports complex, a convention hotel adjacent to the Convention Center and expanding the center, he said.
What have been some key highlights and milestones for you recently?
We just received our 2022 numbers and they were all record-breaking. We had over 17.8 million visitors in 2022 and they spent over $3 billion in direct spending. What is even better, is that they generated $287 million in state and local sales tax revenue, which is all going back into the general fund to cover things like school and public safety. We have been able to rebound much quicker than anticipated from the pandemic and have exceeded 2019 numbers, putting us in a position to look at some of our top priorities in our strategic plan launched in 2018. In that plan we identified four top priorities in terms of infrastructure that we needed to build. With tourism making a return, we are now in position to move forward with those projects.
The Raleigh City Council approved the allocation of funds for the enhancement of the PNC Arena, including $300 million for major enhancements at the arena. Along with that,will come in additional $800 million that will be developed around the area by the owner. The owner also signed a 20-year extension for the Carolina Hurricanes to stay in Raleigh for another 20 years.
Another priority that we addressed is a convention hotel adjacent to the Raleigh Convention Center. We received a number of responses from developers and hope to announce our choice in September.
We also allocated $387 million to expand the Convention Center, including moving our Red Hat amphitheater directly across the street so it will be similar in size. We will build the next expansion where the current amphitheater is.
The final project is an indoor sports complex that will include a 4,000-seat arena and the capacity for a dozen basketball courts and 20 volleyball courts. It will put us on a different level. There is still more work to be done on that end but we are optimistic about how it is moving forward.
What are some unique developments you are working on in regard to leisure activities?
We set aside money to look for new signature events or existing events we could help grow. We helped fund the Dreamville Music Festival and bring it from a one day to a two-day event. We also hosted the NHL Stadium Series, which was our first outdoor NHL game. We had the quickest sellout the NHL has ever experienced and sold more merchandise than the NHL has ever done. It was a collaboration of the entire community. We have also started to concentrate on esports competitions and have hosted eight over the past year. That includes Fortnite, League of Legends and Call of Duty. Over the past year, we were able to work with the general assembly in getting $5 million allocated annually for an esports incentive grant. That has really opened opportunities for us allowing us to compete on that front.
From a development standpoint, we broke ground on the first phase at Dorothea Dix Park to create a destination play area to attract new visitors. We expect that to open in 2025. We recently opened the North Carolina Freedom Park, which honors African Americans who have had an influence on our history. There is a lot going on in the area and we are excited about the future.
What are some of the challenges in the tourism industry?
The top challenge we are having, much like the rest of the country, is still the workforce. We saw around a 15% increase over the past year but have not met our pre-pandemic numbers yet. We are addressing this on three different levels with the first being on a local level. We received $1.5 million from the county for workforce development and the creation of programs that make it easier for residents to get access to job availability and to educate them on the available opportunities. The second is a marketing campaign to educate the public on career opportunities available, especially in the hospitality sector. On a national level, we are working closely with the government to increase the number of work visas that can be issued for international workers. It is capped at 66,000 for the country and so we want that to be increased for all of our industries, such as agriculture, construction and so on.
The other challenge is construction costs and interest rates. We have a number of hotels looking to create new development here but with the way things are, they just can’t. From a construction standpoint, I’m optimistic but the private sector is having more issues.
What are some trends in the market?
We used to have a 50/50 split between business travel and leisure. Since tourism has rebounded, we are now 70% leisure and 30% business. We are putting more focus on leisure activities and making sure we have products here that speak to that. People aren’t traveling like they used to for individual business trips but conventions and meetings have recovered.
We are very bullish on the international market for this area and we now have direct air service to seven international markets. Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) has done a great job. We are big partners with RDU since we have a lot of overlap. Since January 2023, they’ve added 40 new routes and 20 new destinations. I also think people are very surprised by our culinary scene and the international companies planning their headquarters here, which drives attention.
What are your priorities for the near term?
We want to make sure we get all these projects built and will probably have a developer selected within the next 60 days for the hotel. We are in the design phases for the Convention Center. We have to make sure we take these projects to the finish line though. The other mission is to find signature events that people want. Next June, our region will host the U.S. Open, so we are working with that team to make sure the event goes well. There are also opportunities within the live music scene and we are working with partners on expanding that front. Finally, we have $24 million set aside to work with all of our municipalities on other infrastructure that impacts tourism. We will keep working with them to identify new projects and what can be invested in to enhance quality and create a positive impact on visitation for the county.
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