2003-2004
Visitor Services Highlights
Visitor Services works to persuade visitors to see and do more during a visit to Durham. It operates the official Durham Visitor Information Center and fulfills individual and group visitor inquiries via walk-in, Internet, email, telephone, mail, or fax. It also assists film producers and location scouts with filming needs and reaches out to visitors and convention attendees with the distribution of guides, calendars, maps, and driving direction cards.
DCVB's Convention
& Group Services Directory |
- Fulfilled traditional visitor inquiries from more than 44,000 travel parties representing nearly 97,000 future visitors with a potential $62.2 million in economic impact. Used www.durham-nc.com to provide visitor information to another 881,213 potential travelers viewing more than 44 million total requested pages.
- Conducted online Lodging Hotline to assist travelers to Durham for the Duke and NCCU homecomings, Duke Parents Weekend, overflow from the CIAA tournament in Raleigh, and during emergencies such as Hurricane Isabel.
- Provided assistance to more than 900 visitor-related conventions, meetings, sports events, reunions, film productions, and other groups, including listings of local services, attendance promotion literature, graphics and calendars, registration assistance, welcome letters, banners and housing, and speakers.
- Distributed more than 600,000 visitor guides, maps, walking and driving tours, shopping and dining maps, and other information, including biweekly deliveries to more than 125 Durham outlets including the airport, lodging properties, welcome and medical centers, universities, and major Durham employers including almost 41,500 driving direction cards customized for front desks in lodging properties and car rental companies based at RDU International Airport.
- Operated the walk-in Durham Visitor Information Center 6 days a week and most holidays, providing counseling and information to more than 13,500 visitor and newcomer parties representing nearly 29,700 visitors and new move-ins.
- Produced a central housing bureau for the Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU) Student Think Tank and a custom dine-around for attendees of the Duke Eye Center conference.
- Conducted Front-Line Destination Awareness Tours of Durham and training clinic presentations for 300 participants from Durham lodging properties, visitor features, public schools, Durham One Call, and retirement centers. Provided training and continuing education sessions for DCVB Visitor Information Center volunteers.
- Provided orientations and literature to all incoming Duke and NCCU students and families.
- Participated in the Pope Air Force Base and Fort Bragg travel fairs as well as the N.C. I-85 Welcome Center tourism appreciation event.
- Provided staffed information booths at 8 of Durham’s major annual events. Set the stage to participate in most signature festivals in the coming years.
- Expanded and maintained the online Durham Community Event Calendar to more than 3,900 listings to assist visitors with trip-planning and to help residents and event producers avoid conflicts and publicize events.
- Commissioned professional mystery shopping program of Durham features, lodging properties, realtors, and Durham Visitor Information Center staff to help benchmark perceptions and target improvements to the Durham visitor experience.
- Audited and updated the Convention & Group Services Directory to provide information on 575 Durham businesses and organizations offering services and products important to planners.
- Expanded overall participation in satisfaction surveys for visitors, Durham Visitor Information Center inquirers, taxi passengers, and meeting and event planners by 39%. Worked intensely with “redistributors” such as lodging properties to enlist cooperation.
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