Tourism drives $63 million into Statesville, but Cindy Sutton and the Statesville Convention & Visitors Bureau believe the city can bring in even more as it looks into the future.
“We’re getting that number by accident,” Sutton said. “Once we hit the ground running as we relaunch tourism in Statesville, we’re looking to substantially grow that.”
Sutton said the Statesville Tourism Summit was the first time in more than a decade that tourism in the city was focused on, and that’s something the SCVB looks to continue. The summit gathered city and county stakeholders that are working to add to the $1.4 million in occupancy taxes that tourism brings to Statesville.
Locations like Fort Dobbs, Lake Norman State Park, and Southern Distilling Co., among others, are seen as some of the ways people can be invited to stay while in Statesville. Events like Balloonfest are also seen as ways to turn Statesville into a weekend destination for tourists.
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Perhaps which is why “Bourbon, Balloons & Battles” was chosen as the name of a weekend last year where travel writers were invited to see just what Statesville had to offer through the event organized by the Statesville Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Capitalizing on the assets like those that are already here, as well as fostering the growth of new experiences in Statesville and Iredell County, Sutton said the SCVB looks to build on the brand that is Statesville, expand current opportunities, and build a long-term plan for success.
“We’ve laid the groundwork for many of these initiatives,” Sutton said.
And while some of those things may be years down the road, a tangible change comes in the form of bicycles for rent in downtown Statesville. Those bikes are but a small step toward making Statesville more open to ways of travel that don’t involve individuals driving their own vehicles.
Partnering with groups outside Statesville, whether businesses, government organizations, or anyone else, advertising the city and county to the rest of the world is key. Brooks Luquire, whose namesake company Luquire is a marketing partner with VisitNC, explained how that can be done.
Luquire explained how his company, which works with VisitNC, partners with print, digital, and other outlets to advertise the state’s tourism industry, including Statesville.
Finding the ways to effectively and efficiently target potential visitors is a goal of the SCVB, which it would look to work with local businesses to put that research to good use. He said the company has found many visitors to North Carolina end up being repeat visitors, which means more taxes in the coffers of the state.