Market voices: Performing arts Elizabeth Doran, President & CEO, North Carolina Theatre

President & CEO North Carolina Theatre

Every arts organization I know in America already had a crisis when the pandemic hit because of the way that people were choosing to spend their time. Many forms of live performing arts have faded over the years. Part of this is caused by arts organizations accepting an inequitable model where access to the arts is restricted to people who can pay top dollar for it. This is a self-perpetuating, negative, downward motion for the arts. For any system, it is hard to suddenly stop. Arts organizations are focusing on diversifying and therefore expanding audiences, helping to solve this first crisis already in place when the pandemic began. A second crisis was a lack of capital due to the high costs that nonprofits bear to provide culture – costs that are heavily labor-related and only go up. The pandemic actually provided arts organizations with the sudden stop many actually needed to address these issues. As was true for many other industries, this pause forced innovation and change.

One of the programs that will restart when we reopen is called DPAC For All. Each and every Broadway performance has specially selected seats that are just $15. That is about a 50% discount from seats in the same section. It goes up to 80% in the most expensive seats. It allows people, particularly for Broadway shows, to come to their first show ever. About half of the performances we have here at DPAC are Broadway shows, so this program creates an entry point for guests of all means, all ages, all races to come see a big Broadway show and hopefully have that great experience and maybe over time develop an interest and a lifelong passion. We also host educational events, either at DPAC or at the universities and public schools, for every Broadway show that comes to town. We take cast and crew members out to those schools and they host master classes and different educational events to connect with theater and music students throughout the area, particularly right here in Durham.

General Manager DPAC – Durham Performing Arts Center

Director & General Manager Raleigh Convention and Performing Arts Complex

The industry is ready, clients are excited to start planning in-person and hybrid events, and people are ready to travel. Corporations that initially did not plan to have events this year are starting to host smaller meetings. Sporting events and family activities have picked up, from a 5,000-person volleyball tournament to a weekend-long roller skating event in our Exhibit Hall. We’re all yearning for the connection and networking that is only possible in face-toface settings. The challenge now is creating experiences that are not only safe but make financial sense for the organizer. Conventions often require sponsors and, without trade shows or similar elements to cover the cost of the meeting, organizers cannot justify an event. Without a roadmap, it can require a great deal of creativity and flexibility but the RCC is adept at both. We’re ready to work with planners to make it happen.

( ) adapt by sharply reducing visitors and then staggering their arrival times. After being closed in March 2020, the state’s museums were allowed to reopen at 30% capacity in September, followed by 50% several months later. It was not until March 2021 — a full year after initially closing — when museums were allowed to begin operating at 100% capacity.

For many in the hospitality, tourism and culture industry, federal and state stimulus money was able to offset some of these losses and keep businesses running, albeit some were in a state of life support. Both the CARES Act under former President Donald Trump and the American Rescue Plan Act under President Joe Biden allowed relief money to flow to businesses in these industries.

In response, the local government has been hard at work, playing its part in ensuring that Raleigh-Durham makes a full recovery. The Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau was awarded $1.25 million of CARES Act money by Wake County for the effort of driving tourism recovery through advertising, marketing, public relations and strategic meetings.

In a similar vein, the city of Raleigh, Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau and Raleigh’s Business Alliances began the Wish You Were Here initiative promoting safe tourism in the face of COVID-19, educating actors in the industry and providing certification for those deemed worthy.

Technology and Innovation In keeping with its status as the great tech center of the Southeast, Raleigh-Durham’s tourism scene is in many ways being rewritten by technological innovation. These developments were also compounded by the pandemic, which saw the region become one of the most popular destinations for tech workers, who can often work remotely, as they were fleeing the more densely populated and expensive cities of the Northeast, Midwest, and West Coast, and choosing to settle in the tech hub of the Southeast.

To combat the toll taken on workers in the hospitality industry due to the pandemic, one Raleigh developer, Greg Gelanis, created an app called The Crafty Barkeep, which helps keep workers in the service industry connected and aware of potential job openings. Beyond serving its purpose as a job listings site, it also allows bartenders to keep in touch and exchange recipes.

The technological advancement of Airbnb has

also had an effect on the Raleigh-Durham tourism landscape. A survey by the hospitality startup found that Durham had become one of the trendiest future travel destinations. This is in keeping with the homework model: as people seek a change of scenery from their usual, pandemic-induced work-at-home environment, they look to Airbnb, which, more than a hotel, offers the amenities of home and enables “pod travel.” These people are increasingly looking toward Durham for working staycations of two weeks or more, drawn by the relatively wide-open spaces and the wealth of natural beauty. Despite the fact they are working, these post-pandemic tourists will still need to eat and as such, will patronize the city’s offerings, which will be a boon for the decimated hospitality industry.

It hasn’t been a completely smooth ride for Airbnb in North Carolina, however. The state had to suspend almost 60 Airbnb listings (including 21 in the Triangle area) due to illegal parties occurring in defiance of COVID rules. These rules stipulated the banning of large gatherings, with indoor gatherings limited to 10 people after November 2020 until the opening of the state in spring 2021.

Technology was also able to help certain tourism draws continue during the pandemic year, even if it meant there was no excess of tourism money spent by outsiders. The OUT! Raleigh Pride Festival was able to go on in 2020 and 2021 but instead of occurring in person, it happened over Facebook Live, YouTube and Zoom. Virtual dance parties were the flavor of the day as organizers used the circumstances as an opportunity to reach a broader audience through education. The festival will be returning in physical form in June 2022.

Indeed, the year has been a monumental one for digital events as COVID shuttered what was a vibrant area in the Raleigh-Durham tourism economy. One Durham-based talent agency, All American Entertainment, told the Triangle Business Journal that the boom in virtual events had been a savior to the company in an otherwise lean year. The company, which helps place talent at events, stated that, since the beginning of 2021, 82% of its scheduled events have been virtual, with the ratio of virtual to live events at 2:1. The company had to quickly change direction and train its staff accordingly but it has been an investment that appears to have paid off.

Esports — the showing of gaming activities in a venue that attracts crowds — has also proved to be a profitable draw. The Greater Raleigh Esports Local Organizing Committee, a group of civic, sports and business leaders, has redoubled their efforts to turn the city into one of the biggest destinations for esports and gaming events in the nation. This is a promising direction for a sector whose profile is on the rise. Already, Raleigh-Durham has staged esport events that have brought millions of dollars in revenue into the local economy.

New construction It appears that two messages concerning tourism in Raleigh-Durham have emerged: on the one hand, the sector was hit incredibly hard in the immediate fallout from the pandemic; on the other hand, there was enough momentum prior to the pandemic, and there is enough optimism for the sector after the pandemic, that hope remains for a strong recovery. Construction projects in the pipeline, and some with completion dates on the horizon, continued despite the woes facing tourism. Such faith shows that developers and investors are confident there will be a strong rebound as the pandemic recedes into history.

Among the new, yet-to-be-completed projects in the area that will be tourism draws are the Fenton Mixed-Use Development (scheduled completion, late 2021), which includes office, retail, cinemas and two boutique hotels; the John Chavis Memorial Park and Community Center (scheduled completion, summer 2021), an urban park with plenty of civic space and one of the oldest operating carousels in the country; and the North Carolina Freedom Park (work to be completed in 2022), which honors the region’s AfricanAmerican heritage and is only a few blocks from the state capital in Raleigh.

Looking ahead Despite the shock and dislocation of the past year, it is heartening to see optimism remain high. RaleighDurham was experiencing a boom before the pandemic and, by all accounts, this is picking up again as the vaccinations remain on course and the pandemic recedes into the background.

Of course, this has not been without its casualties. Many hospitality establishments have closed their doors forever. Additionally, for the major cultural institutions of the city, and the government funds supporting them, there have been budget shortfalls that may take years to overcome.

Yet, with continued efforts on the part of the government, civic authorities and the people of Raleigh-Durham, the tourism industry is expected to make a full recovery and even exceed its pre-pandemic records.