Visitor Services: Insider Tips North Carolina Welcome Centers North - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Visitor Services: Insider Tips

North Carolina Welcome Centers North Carolina Tourism Call Center

Meet Our Staff

Bryan Gupton Director of Visitor Services Wally Wazan Visitor Services Program Manager

North Carolina Welcome Center Managers

3

East Kathy West

Kathy.west@nccommerce.com

828-894-2120

West Vickie Sealock

vsealock@nccommerce.com

828-689-4257

West Mary Ann Teague

mteague@nccommerce.com

828-627-6206

North Jeff Mills

jmills@nccommerce.com

336-320-2181

South Louie Comer

ccomer@nccommerce.com

704-588-2660

North Frieda Day

fday@nccommerce.com

252-537-3365

North Cherie Nielsen

Cherie.nielsen@nccommerce.com

252-456-3236

South Kat Littleturtle

klittleturtle@nccommerce.com

910-422-8314

South Vickie Bingman

Victoria.bingman@nccommerce.com

704-937-7861

Call Center Manager

Teresa Smith

tlsmith@nccommerce.com 919-715-5900 919-715-3097 (fax)

Welcome Center Locations

5

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.

Welcome Center Locations

More people, staying longer, spending more money 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.

North Carolina Welcome Centers

Hours of Operation and Staffing

8

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 Open every day except New Year’s Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Thanksgiving I-95 North and I-40 West—both very high-volume centers—are under

• construction. I-40 should wrap up

mid-summer.

Professional Travel Counselors

9

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

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 11th to September 24th 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 13th through Monday September 17,

then on Thursday September 20th through Monday September 24th.

• 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