FY2020 Annual Report

ANNUAL REPORT fy

2020

VLN BOARD OF DIRECTORS NORTH CAROLINA

tourism facts • In 2019, domestic visitors spent a record $26.75 billion statewide, an increase of 5.6% from 2018.

• Visitor expenditures directly supported 235,703 jobs across NC. • NC continues to be the 6th most visited state in the nation with 48 million person-trips in 2019.

Source: NC Dept. of Commerce

Randy Marion

Randy Marion Auto Group Chairman

Joe Kindred

Kindred/Hello, Sailor Restaurants

Thurman Ross

Cornelius Commissioner

Woody Washam United Bank Vice-Chairman

Joe Harwood

The JHS Group, Inc. Community Affairs

Barbara McCall Ladd, McCall & Associates, CPAs Treasurer

Cathy Bentz

Robbins & Bentz, PLLC Assistant Treasurer

Jeanna Hoffman Daly Seven, Inc.

Joe Douglas

Captiva Restaurant Group, LLC

Andrew Durstewitz

D9 Brewing Company

Jim Fuller

Davidson Commissioner

Boris Bunich

Beacon Investment Management Group (IMG)

Cissi Lyles

Davidson College

Diana Merrifield At-Large

Nick Walsh

Huntersville Commissioner

Vinay Patel SREE Hotels

Michael Jaycocks Huntersville Parks & Recreation EX-OFFICIOS:

Ryan McDaniels LNREDC

Bill Russell

LN Chamber of Commerce

RETURN ON

inve ment

ACCOMMODATIONS FUNDING

$863,931.90

In FY 2020

VLN affiliated events brought in

vs.

ESTIMATED ECONOMIC IMPACT

$16,131,844.17

90,855 attendees

who spent

$16,131,844

That means...VLN returned

to the community per every dollar funded

Carolina Cones

RECRUITING

the fans...

THE LAKESIDE OF CHARLOTTE

CHARLOTTE CYCLEBOATS

Website FY Comparison:

Your Adventure Awaits at the Lake

CORNELIUS 6 DAVIDSON 6 HUNTERSVILLE

CAROLINA RAPTOR CENTER

VISITLAKENORMAN.ORG

Fiscal Year

User Sessions

Page Views

2019

405,066

847,782

2020

424,177

868,249

4.7%

2.4%

LAKE NORMAN’S UPCOMING FALL EVENTS

DOWNTOWN DAVIDSON

@VisitLakeNorman

amazing maize maze

laketoberfest

sheepdog trials

americarna live

sept 7-nov 3

Oct 12

nov 9-10

nov 30

% Change

RAMSEY CREEK PARK

get your tickets now at carolina.renfestinfo.com

VisitLakeNorman.org (704) 987-3300

www.visitlakenorman.org

@visitlakenorman

Digital advertising efforts reached over 26,849,504: • VisitNC.com • CharlottesGotALot.com • Carolina Renaissance Festival

• Google Paid Search • OurState.com • Plus More Media Sites (regional)

Print advertising included NC Travel Guide, Charlotte Visitors Guide, Parents Magazine, Garden & Gun Magazine, Our State Magazine, Outside Magazine, Carolina Panthers Yearbook and several other printed publications reaching 4,050,408.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): VLN website rankings from the 5 major engines based on search term “Lake Norman”.

(Non-sponsored, non-advertised results - content driven ranking)

VisitLakeNorman.org Rank

Google

Bing/MSN

Yahoo

Ask

AOL

#1

#1

#1

#2

#1

SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook 14,812 Likes

Instagram 5,156 Followers

Twitter 4,545 Followers

Pinterest 905 Followers

YouTube 46,395 Views

Trip Advisor 4.5/5 rating

AUDIENCE

demographics

[

GENDER

age distribution

]

7.06%

18-24

23.2%

25-34

19.35%

35-44

19.89%

45-54

18.08%

55-64

41.6%

male

58.4%

female

12.42%

65+ 0

5

10

15

20

25

audience WITH

THE RIGHT

Visitor proďŹ ling assists in providing the appropriate services for guests & in determining potential markets to target. VLN uses demographic analyses to create an accurate picture of our audience.

Currently, families make up the largest part of our visitor base, followed by groups.

Average Visitor Walk-Ins Per Day March - October: 9 people | November - February: 6 people

WEB AUDIENCE | Top 10

VISITOR CENTER | Top 10

METRO AREAS | Top 10

1

North Carolina

1

North Carolina

1

Charlotte, NC

2

Georgia

2

Ohio

2

Raleigh-Durham, Fayetteville, NC

3

South Carolina

3

Pennsylvania

3

Atlanta, GA

4

Virginia

4

New York

4

Greensboro, High Point, Winston-Salem, NC

5

Florida

5

Florida

5

New York, NY

6

Illinois

6

New Jersey

6

Chicago, IL

7

New York

7

Virginia

7

Washington, DC/Hagerstown, MD

8

Ohio

8

Michigan

8

Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, SC/Asheville, NC

9

Pennsylvania

9

Illinois

9

Nashville, TN

10

Tennessee

10

Maryland

10

Philadelphia, PA

VLN aff

AMBASSADORS & INTERNS

Sally Ashworth, CDME Executive Director ashworth@lakenorman.org

During FY2020, 22 ambassadors and 10 interns worked a total of 3,692 volunteer hours.

The independent sector’s estimated value for volunteer time is $25.43 per hour for 2019. The total volunteer time value equates to $93,888.

The VLN Ambassadors & Interns contribute a tremendous amount of time, energy, skill sets, & support services - all of which are paramount to VLN’s success. These ultimate team players help operate our Visitor Center, man event booths, respond to inquiries, provide assistance with VLN initiatives & act as personal tour guides.

Cyndi Bartley Operations & Marketing Director bartley@lakenorman.org Travis Dancy, CDME, CSEE Director of Sales tdancy@lakenorman.org Rodrigo Carreon Visitor Services & Marketing Coordinator rcarreon@lakenorman.org

AWARDS Gold Award Best Community Relations | Ambassador & Internship Program

Platinum Awards Best Meetings & Convention Marketing | Meetings Venue Guide

TESTIMONIALS

T

“The staff at Visit Lake Norman is always exceptionally friendly and knowledgeable about the exciting happenings here in our town!”

- Case Warnemunde

“What a fabulous welcome! Being so very recent in our arrival we learned so much about our “new home.” The resources, the people, and the beautiful area are a great asset to the community.”

- Joyce Benes

“I am glad that we stopped at the Lake Norman visitor center. The staff was extremely helpful and informative and gave us all of the information that we needed.”

- Ken Fasone “I always shop here for friends and family who are moving away from the area. The staff are always friendly and very helpful.”

- Shannon VanCleve

“I’m so grateful for the service Visit Lake Norman provides.

We have been able to pull together so many resources for my upcoming wedding, and the team takes genuine delight in helping us any way they can. I appreciate their courtesy and professionalism. What a way to welcome others to Lake Norman!”

- Amanda Isaacs

“Love this page! I’m Italian, spent a couple weekends there a few years ago... definitely in love! No such enchanting place... have many beautiful pics I look at often... hope to go back soon!”

- Jessica Kruger

“I love this page. Lived here 15 years and it’s my go to when I want to know what is really going on in town. So many great events that you can miss if you don’t check!”

- Robin Broker

MISSION STATEMENT Visit Lake Norman is a non-profit organization dedicated to positively impacting our local and regional economies through tourism. We are committed to generating economic benefits for our towns of Cornelius, Davidson, and Huntersville by bringing national and regional events to the area and by marketing our destination to the broadest base of potential visitors possible.

ORGANIZATION VISION Visit Lake Norman is the destination marketing leader of the Lake Norman region, representing all communities through the promotion and development of our resources for the maximum economic benefit to our towns, businesses, and residents.

19900 West Catawba Avenue Suite 102, Cornelius, NC 28031 VisitLakeNorman.org

@VisitLakeNorman