TARGETED MARKETS: Meetings and conventions are a key piece of North Carolina's tourism puzzle.

• Author: Bernhard, Kent, Jr.
• Position: CORPORATE TRAVEL AND MEETINC GUIDE

When Bryan Moore and his colleagues at Chetola Resort & Conference Center in Blowing Rock think about marketing their property, they keep two things in mind.

"We've realized that for the success of our resort, group business is important to us," Moore says. "We also recognize that our bread is buttered in Charlotte."

Those two points guide the efforts of Moore, director of marketing, meetings and events at Chetola.

Moore isn't alone when it comes to recognizing the importance of corporate meetings to the travel business. From the mountains to the coast, the state's meetings and conventions business is thriving.

Nearly 10% of trips taken within the state in 2017 were for business or meetings, according to Visit North Carolina. In the Piedmont region, which includes Charlotte, the Triangle and the Triad, 13% of visitors were traveling for business.

Those numbers increase, though, when you consider some individual markets.

"It's pretty much the No. 1 room driver for us," says Marcheta Cole Keefer, director of marketing and communications at Visit WinstonSalem. A study by Randall Travel Marketing shows that 25.7% of travelers in 2017 came to the city for conventions and meetings, while another 25.2% were there for business.

Those numbers are likely to climb through the end of this year, thanks to a decision by Winston-Salem officials to invest in their infrastructure for conventions and meetings.

"The convention and meeting business is obviously important for us and the foundation from which we build," says Richard Geiger, the group's president.

A $20 million renovation of the M.C. Benton Jr. Convention and Civic Center in downtown Winston-Salem was completed in the summer of 2017. The center now includes 105,000 square feet.

"The renovation of the Benton Convention Center has obviously put us in a good position," Geiger says. "We went into this fiscal year with 10,000 more hotel rooms on the books" than in the previous fiscal year, he says. "We're seeing an uptick, definitely, because of the renovation of the convention center."

The convention-center project is only part of an overall revamping of Winston-Salem that makes the city attractive for business travelers and meeting planners.

"It really is a holistic redevelopment and reinvention of all of Winston," Geiger says. "Our downtown continues to grow and continues to see both public and private investment, which is helping tremendously."

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