Keep them coming: many Tar Heel tourist attractions took a hit in the recession. Here's how some are bringing business back.

• Position: TRAVEL & TOURISM ROUND TABLE - Interview - Geographic overview

Because of cither perception or a lack of funds, leisure was the first item companies and families slashed from their budgets urben the recession bit. The travel and tourism industry in North Carolina, which created more jobs last year than any other despite state budget was forced to react. Resorts, hotels and popular amenities of tourists, such as sports franchises, repritized, holding on to their core audience and not trying to add more. They reassessed their value, trying to offer more bang for a guest's back. For many, it paid off. I panel of industry insiders recently gathered to discuss bow they suruived and bow they're tacking the future. Participating were Lynn Minges, assistant secretary of tourism, marking and golbal branding at the N.C. Department Ressort; Phillip Cunningham, general manger of Great Wolf Lodge in Concord; Dave Olsen, vise president and general manager of PNC Arena in Raleigh; Rolf Blizzard, rice president of Winston-Salem-based Turnpike Properties LLC and chairman of Commerce's Travel and Tourism Board; and Mike Crawford, regional managing partner of the South Carlina and ivestern North Carolina offices of Charlotte-based Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP, which sponsored and basted the discussion. Following is a transcript, edited brevity and darity.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DONNA JENIGAN

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What's the state of the travel and tourism economy?

Pashley: We're definitely seeing recovery. The corporate side, which is over half of our business, is beginning to return. That's the side that really avoided coming to places like resorts and golf destinations during the difficult times because of the perception it gave. As companies were laying people oft, going to what was perceived as a luxury destination was frowned upon. But that's behind us as companies begin to hire again and grow. Hosting meetings and educational events and entertaining clients at places like Pinehurst is coming back. On the leisure side, consumer confidence is returning. Its still touch-and-go, but as chat continues to improve, we'll see more and more folks coming back and enjoying leisure activities like golf.

Cecil: We're seen recovery to a certain degree at Biltmore. We got off to kind of a slow start in July and August. Our budget was basically to be about even with the year before. Then September picked up a little bit, and October was good--we made budget. And then, by the end of our Christmas season, we actually made up all our losses. By the first Monday in January, we were ahead of our budget for the entire year. The beautiful weather that we have had from December all the way through January has been really good. But I'd call the recovery kind of touch-and-go. We're seeing our group business recover. Sometimes in the past it felt like we could push a button and people would come. I feel like I don't know where the button is right now. But this Christmas, it worked.

Cunningham: Great Wolf Lodge opened in 2009.1 wouldn't recommend that to businesses. It was very interesting. But we were able to sustain our leisure business because we are such a short-term, drive-to destination. We met expectations in 2009 and exceeded them on the leisure side in 2010. We struggled in the association and corporate-group side. We struggled in getting people to see that Great...