Visitor Services: Insider Tips North Carolina Welcome Centers North Carolina Tourism Call Center
Meet Our Staff Bryan Gupton Wally Wazan Director of Visitor Services Visitor Services Program Manager
North Carolina Welcome Center Managers North North North West East Cherie Nielsen Jeff Mills Frieda Day Mary Ann Teague Kathy West jmills@nccommerce.com Cherie.nielsen@nccommerce.com fday@nccommerce.com mteague@nccommerce.com Kathy.west@nccommerce.com 252-456-3236 336-320-2181 252-537-3365 828-627-6206 828-894-2120 South South South West Kat Littleturtle Vickie Bingman Louie Comer Vickie Sealock klittleturtle@nccommerce.com ccomer@nccommerce.com Victoria.bingman@nccommerce.com vsealock@nccommerce.com 704-937-7861 910-422-8314 704-588-2660 828-689-4257 3
Call Center Manager Teresa Smith tlsmith@nccommerce.com 919-715-5900 919-715-3097 (fax)
Welcome Center Locations Located on Interstate highways just inside the state line, each Welcome Center has a statewide focus, with an emphasis on information for visitors traveling a particular interstate corridor. 5
Welcome Center Locations
North Carolina Welcome Centers North Carolina's nine Welcome Centers promote thousands of tourism-related businesses—attractions, accommodations, events and more— to visitors already in the state actively seeking travel information. More people, staying longer, spending more money
Hours of Operation and Staffing Open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m . 361 days annually Typically staffed with 1 Manager, 3 FT Travel Counselors, 1 PT Travel Counselor and a General Utility Worker at some locations • I-95 Centers each have 1 additional PT Travel Counselor I-95 North and I-40 West—both very high-volume centers—are under construction. I-40 should wrap up mid-summer. Open every day except New Year’s Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Thanksgiving 8
Professional Travel Counselors Professional, nationally-certified travel counselors located at each Welcome Center: Distribute the state's Official North Carolina § Travel Guide, the Department of Transportation's official state map, and other marketing publications exclusively about North Carolina. Offer detailed travel information in clean, well- § maintained facilities. Book room reservations at no charge for visitors § staying overnight in North Carolina. Travel counselors booked nearly $2 million in § hotel reservations in 2017 Provide personalized service for visitors § 9
Welcome Center Staff
Welcome Center Staff
Tourism Call Center The Call Center is located on the grounds of the North Carolina • Correctional Institution for Women, Partnership with Departments of Public Safety and DOT Inmates • are paid $1-$3/day, a huge savings for NC taxpayers. Goals: • • To provide callers with accurate information to promote travel to and within North Carolina in the most friendly, efficient way possible • To fulfill VisitNC.com requests for travel information in a timely, cost efficient way • To influence more people to, stay longer, spend more money • To provide training and meaningful work to inmates at North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women
Tourism Call Center • Trained inmates answer incoming calls for: • VisitNC • 511 1-800-BYTRAIN • • NC Wine Answer all incoming calls for DOT customer service and • 511 during official emergencies Fulfill requests for DOT’s official NC state map • • Fulfill requests for NC travel guide and other VisitNC publications • Fulfill requests for NC wine information Inexpensive labor, demonstrating collaboration between • multiple State agencies, providing valuable services that would otherwise be cost prohibitive
Inquiry Program Hours of Operations and Staffing Operating hours are: • Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. • Saturdays and Sundays 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. • Holidays 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. • Closed Christmas Day only. Staffing: • 1 FT Supervisor through Department of Commerce and 2 PT shift Supervisors through a temp agency. • 20 Inmates staffer: 15 Operators that include 2 Mailing Clerks and 5 Bulk Mailers .
Hurricane Florence & the Call Center • From September 11 th to September 24 th the call volume total was 16,055 - three times higher than regular normal call volume comparing to September 2017. • Phone operators worked two 24-hour shifts – on Thursday, September 13 th through Monday September 17, then on Thursday September 20 th through Monday September 24 th . • Nature of the incoming Calls were for highway and traffic information/updates, evacuation routes, shelters, accommodations, and Amtrak train status. • Emergency communication is key Hours that were extended to accommodate the need for North Carolina residents and travelers fleeing the affected area.
Basic Ways to Engage • Provide your brochure, including updated versions and special event notices to all 9 Welcome Centers • Submit brochures to Wally for approval letter • Regularly visit Welcome Centers to meet and educate the staff about new developments in your area, especially those geographically closet to you • Visit the Tourism Call Center to educate the inmate staff about new developments in your area at least once each year
Familiarization Tours • Provides travel counselors with first-hand information for visitors, instantly increasing their credibility • Include all 9 Welcome Centers, generally 1 or 2 staff members from each center • Usually Tuesday-Thursday to allow adequate travel time and weekend coverage for Welcome Centers • Welcome Centers provide travel to and from location • Limited opportunities because of tight travel budgets
Welcome Center Displays and Events Keys to Success • Local partnerships • Organization and attention to detail • Provide information about attractions, events or culture • Timeliness to other local events • Tourism call to action: Visit here
Welcome Center Displays
Welcome Center Displays
Welcome Center Events
Welcome Center Events
Welcome Center Events
I- 40W Waynesville @ Maggie Valley Visitor Center
I-95 N Roanoke Rapids @ Halifax County Visitor Center
Contact Us Wally Wazan, Visitor Services Program Manager NC Department of Commerce 301 N. Wilmington Street, 27601 4324 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699 919-814-4649 Or contact any Welcome Center Manager
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