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A three-day tourism conference that kicked off Sunday gives Greenville a chance to showcase itself to a brand-new audience — and perhaps some who haven’t visited in a while.
“There’s people at this conference that haven’t been to Greenville in probably about 10 to 15 years, so their perception is it’s still a small little tobacco town,” Andrew Schmidt, executive director of Greenville-Pitt County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said Sunday. “Being able to get those folks back here to see the changes, that’s the macro impact. That's the exposure that helps us change perception about what Greenville was and what we are today.”
About 500 tourism professionals are in town for the annual Visit North Carolina 365 Conference, being held through Tuesday at the Greenville Convention Center. The conference is being held in Greenville for the first time and is being hosted by the Greenville-Pitt County Convention & Visitors Bureau and Greenville Hospitality Partners.
“It’s exciting for us because we never hosted it before,” Schmidt said.
“You’re looking at about close to $200,000 into our local economy because of this conference,” Schmidt said. “I think the day pattern of having the conference start on a Sunday and end on a Tuesday (is) beneficial to the economy as well because Sundays and Mondays are usually your slower days with your hospitality outlets, your hotels and restaurants, so I think that’s a plus.”
Wit Tuttell, director of Visit NC, has attended the conference in other cities, including Cherokee, Pinehurst, Wilmington, Charlotte, Concord, Asheville and New Bern. Greenville’s recent expansion of its convention center and three hotels on the convention center campus gave it the necessary facilities to accommodate such an event, he said.
“We want to make sure the facility is right, we have the space we need and accommodations are nearby,” Tuttell said. “It also helps that there’s some things to do. ... Greenville really did a great job in showing excitement, enthusiasm and willingness to work with us to make everybody have a great time while we are here.”
As an appreciator of barbecue, Tuttell is looking forward to sampling some of the local fare. Visitors will get an opportunity to tour part of the city, including some of the downtown development and the dining scene.
“We are excited to showcase it for the entire state hospitality industry because you know these people go out and they will go back to Charlotte, Raleigh and Asheville, and they will talk about it,” Tuttell said. “I think that will really help Greenville in the future.”
Tuttell said Greenville has maintained its character while also growing.
“You still get the barbecue joints and the feel for that,” he said. “You’ve got the university and the big health care system, but when you walk around the Uptown, you really get a feeling that you're in Greenville. I think that’s neat. I think people will appreciate that. We tend to generalize things, but when you see a place you really get a specific feel for it and I think people are going to be excited about it.”
Part of the conference will focus on educating residents about the value of travel and tourism. Hosting the conference is validation that Greenville has reached a certain mark as a travel destination, Schmidt said.
“When you can bring more people to your community, private developers see that too, and they say, ‘Gosh, they’ve got 500 people here for this conference.’ ... They see opportunities to expand business. It’s kind of all interrelated actually.”
Tuttell said the impact of 500 people being in the city for a few days should not be underestimated.
“That’s a tremendous impact because they stay in hotel rooms, they eat meals, they buy gas, they will make some trips to the Walmart,” he said. “It’s a really big economic impact on the community to house these people. The real benefit of it is they are going to go back to their destination in North Carolina and tell people what a great time they had and get even more people to come out so I think it will be really good for the economy of Greenville.”
Local developer Tom Taft Sr. said Monday he was concerned that the development, which would be marketed primarily toward students, would draw even more potential residents from other student housing complexes like The Landing, which sits across the street from where The Retreat would be, and The Bellamy Student Living complex a mile to the south.
“I worry about what will happen to these outlying developments like North Campus Crossing,†Taft said. “If you put almost 700 beds at this location, it will draw more residents away from these places. ... You shouldn’t overbuild this market.â€
Mercer said he was concerned about The Retreat affecting an upcoming Taft development -- Campus-Edge, a $54 million student housing project at 10th and Charles streets.
“The City Council has been in support of this project, including closing a road to allow for its construction,†Mercer said. “If we passed this project here tonight, we might put the brakes on a $54 million project that we have backed. This isn’t an easy decision, but this is something we have to look at.â€
Connelly said the project on 10th Street should not be a factor in the council’s decision..
“We are basing out vote based on another project?†Connelly asked. “To me, that is the government stepping in and picking winners and losers. ... I have a big problem with that.
“All I can say is ‘wow,’†he said.
Godley said he thinks the city needs to take a closer look at Greenville’s student housing market before any more developments are approved.
“I’m concerned about the amount of student housing complexes that have been passed by the city over the past 15 years,†Godley said. “There are student housing complexes that are sitting empty right now. ... Is more student housing what we need right now?
“We need to have better information about the need for student housing,†Godley said. “If the information states that there is a need ... I will be the first person to vote to approve it.â€
Taft isn't concerned about other properties at all. They just built one complex and are starting to build another student housing complex that has pulled students away from North Campus Crossing. He's clearly worried about his own properties and what a new student housing development would mean to his bottom line. But for the council to kinda side with Taft does make me think he's a little too deep in the council's pocket.
No one's going to live way out there when they could live literally across the street from the university. I don't think Taft has anything to worry about.
But I find it odd that they pushed through the development no one wants and tabled the development that gained approval of its neighbors.
I'm very surprised to see the Charles Blvd. development voted down and the Evans Street one approved. I thought it would have been the other way around.
My personal opinion is they need to put the breaks on any further student housing until the uptown ones under development open. I think they could revamp that Charles Blvd. plan by taking out the student housing & replacing it with just normal market rate apartments and it would pass without a problem.
Yes, it looks like the Pirate Fest will be the "trial run" for the alcohol in the TC and the council will evaluate the results to make it permanent or not. I don't think there will be any major problems and they will finally allow it for most events . There have been very few issues when Freeboot is going on in Five Points Plaza. It feels like at least 60-70% of the crowd has a beer in their hands when I've gone. I believe they will finally be able to bring in more concerts & festivals
It would be good to see an indoor skate park. After the one next to the beach bingo place got demolished, nothing else has popped up until now. I don't think BMX/skateboarding is as popular overall as it was 10 years ago, but there's enough of a market for it. Dave Mirra's passing probably didn't help keep these pro guys in town either. Maybe fusion or someone will be able to find a cheap warehouse to build an indoor park.
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