Value of Tourism Presentation Earns Attention at Visit NC 365 Conference

Since launching “Outdoor NC” with Leave No Trace last year we are thrilled with the engagement from our tourism community statewide. The standing room-only attendance for our session during the annual state tourism conference solidifies the importance of this initiative.  

— Heidi Walters, Visit NC Director of Partner and Industry Relations

The Visit NC 365 tourism conference in North Carolina brings together tourism leaders for the state’s premier travel industry event and provides opportunities to gain expert insights on the latest trends and issues. 

In March, Leave No Trace’s Andrew Leary and Faith Overall led a panel discussion and workshop titled “Make It Your Nature: Outdoor NC and the Value of Tourism in Your Local Community.” The panelist were Amy Allison, from the NC Outdoor Recreation Office; Palmer McIntyre, from the Piedmont Land Conservancy; and Bobby Chappell, from Mountain IDEAL.

“Outdoor NC is a statewide, partner-drive initiative that encourages visitors and residents to spend time enjoying and caring for North Carolina’s vast natural, outdoor experiences,” said Leave No Trace’s Leary, who moderated the panel discussion. “The goal of the panel discussion and the worksop session that followed was to provide resources and tactics for promoting responsible recreation, sustainable tourism and community visitation.”

More than 80 people joined the workshop session, making it one of the conference’s most popular offerings. “The attendees used a tool developed by Leave No Trace to develop their cases for why bringing Outdoor NC to their local community should be a priority,” said Leary. “It was great to see a busy, highly collaborative scene — one would even call it loud — with meaningful conversations occurring at every table.”