This begins an occasional series on economic development in Tyrrell County.

Tyrrell County is unique.

A large number of people travel through the area to the Outer Banks representing untapped economic potential.

A tracking of 2014 Guest Book Signatures from the Tyrrell County Visitor’s Center outline an interesting trend.

Official records have lobby visitors at 29,077 with a total traffic counter of 310,222.

Jackie Peoples Woolard, Director of the Partnership for the Sounds Foundation issued a statement on the numbers in a July 23 email.

 

“Traffic count is sent to the State Dept. of Commerce.  The Town and County utilize numbers for various business and promotion reasons as does the State.  Visitors come from across the entire country and many foreign countries.  The Visitor’s Center’s busiest period is from April through October with peak visitation being June through August,” said Woolard.

 

Woolard noted that some events that occur during the Visitor’s Center’s busiest period include  River Roaming tours which occur Fridays, May-October,Vineyard Voyages, Thursday May-October, and the Scuppernong  River Festival which occurs October 10, 2015

 

“Obviously peak visitation is June through August because of summer travel – school is out, people are on vacation, and retirees travel during good weather,” said Woolard.

The impact of the Tyrrell County Visitor’s Center on the surrounding area then is apparent.

However, making sure that a large percentage of the people that stop at the Visitor’s Center see the rest of Tyrrell County is more of a challenge.
Tyrrell County Manager David Clegg discussed efforts to promote Tyrrell County in an August 26 interview with the Scuppernong Reminder.

“Those numbers from the Visitor’s Center are substantial. For Tyrrell County we have to decide how are we going to engage those things,” said Clegg.

Clegg noted the unique places available for viewing in and around Columbia.

“There are things here that people do not get to see on a daily basis. That is our ace in the hole. Nobody else has got things like ten thousand black bears in the area,” said Clegg.

Clegg mentioned that he has personally visited outdoor sections of Tyrrell County and understands the challenges of making them accessible to the average person.

“For example Buckridge is an incredible resource in Tyrrell County. Unless you are real outdoorsman you do not know how to enjoy it. I have such a different view of it because I have been able to go with Woody and spend days on Buckridge. I get what he does. I was with Howard the other day at Pocosin. We out looking and there were bears all over the place. The normal person does not get to see that,” said Clegg.

Tyrrell County has been promoted in various publications through targeted advertising.

“We do some stuff in Our State and North Carolina Wildlife. For the River Festival we are doing some targeted stuff in Triple A vacation guides. Those go across the country.  Most of those things have an online component to them,” said Clegg.

Last year the ad that got the most traction was a bear ad in North Carolina Wildlife magazine.

“It was in the winter issue focusing on the December and January season for bear. We were promoting it for the hunting season,” said Clegg.

Resigning structures in Tyrrell County is also important for promotional efforts.

Someone visiting Tyrell County needs to know if the building they are looking at is historic or owned by the county. People need directions as to where restaurants are located and where they can find kayaks for use on the water.

“There is a sign at Tyrrell Hall. There is a new set coming for the Sheriff’s Department. I have put signs on the Alligator Community Center and the Gum Neck location,” said Clegg.

A large welcome sign on Highway 64 is another potential project.

“I want people thinking Tyrrell County at that moment. By the time they have come up on the blue sign, they have already made the decision to push on. We have got to get them to make the decision to stop earlier,” said Clegg.

Ideas like resigning buildings,holding wildlife tours, and running targeting ads are all important strategies that help Tyrrell County gauge how well visitors enjoy key community events like the Scuppernong River Festival in October.

An estimated eight to ten thousand people attend the Festival from across the state. But knowing what offerings worked and what did not takes time.

“Winterville’s budget to put on the Watermelon Festival exceeds the budget here to put the whole thing on. There will be a lot more entertainment this year. There is a talent lineup that is different than last year. We drew better outside of the Triangle than we have ever drawn before. We need to keep pushing that, but it is a process,” said Clegg.

A Regional Workshop titled “Balancing Nature and Commerce in Northeastern North Carolina” is scheduled in Plymouth from October 12 to 14.

The workshop is hosted by The Albemarle Commission, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and The Conservation Fund.

At the workshop,representatives from 13 counties will “begin to build a shared vision and strategy for regional ecotourism in northeast North Carolina. Participants will develop strategies for using the region’s rich natural and cultural resources to strengthen local economies.”

Tyrrell County will be represented at the conference with larger organizations like NCSU Cooperative Extension, Museum of the Albemarle, and the Northampton Tourism Development Authority.

“It is not just a sit there and be talked to conference. You are actually supposed to be producing something,” said Clegg.

Even with marketing strategies, targeted advertising and conferences, Tyrrell County still faces challenges promoting itself.

Marketing efforts in other parts of the state are much larger.

Wit Tuttell,Executive Director for North Carolina’s Division of Tourism, Film, & Sports Development, gave an idea of how traffic is utilized in other parts of the state.

“Welcome Centers are statewide centers that are run by the Department of Commerce and are located on Interstate Highways leading into the state. We have nine of those. Information centers run by local tourism offices are called Visitor Centers and are not managed by the state,” said Tuttell in a July 29 interview

 

Tuttell explained that for North Carolina’s Welcome Centers, officials do not have a way to generate a specific economic value. But the reach of the program is huge.

 

North Carolina’s 9 Welcome Centers greeted more than 7.7 million visitors in 2014, up 1.5 percent from 2013. I-95 North in Northampton County continues to be the most-visited of the state’s Welcome Centers, with more than 1.5 million visitors annually, although I-95 South in Robeson County, I-85 South in Cleveland County and I-77 North in Surry County each greeted more than 1 million visitors last year.

 

Tuttell noted that the Welcome Centers will continue to sell North Carolina to visitors.

“They deliver VisitNC messaging and partner messaging to travelers who are actively seeking information about their visit to our state. Welcome Center staff assist visitors in booking thousands of nights of accommodations each year. Personalized customer service continues to be the hallmark of our Welcome Centers. Interior updates will continue this year, with new signage and refreshed photographs in the works,” said Tuttell.

Clegg mentioned statistics available from the North Carolina Board of County Commissioners that tracked 3.5 million dollars in tourism expenditures in Tyrrell County in 2014.

“That is major money in Tyrrell County.  Dare is 953 million. Washington is 14 million. Beaufort is 71 million,” said Clegg.

But other statistics detail how Tyrrell County has the lowest percentage of college graduates of any county in the state.  The average weekly wage in Tyrrell County is 471 dollars.

So marketing efforts have to be paired with skill specific training for people living in Tyrrell County.

“You are seeing the definition of economic development change. We are breaking ground on the rest home tomorrow.  It is always wonderful when economic development helps people. But we are in the enviable position right now where helping people is economic development. That is huge,” said Clegg

The support of local organizations helps make sure the balancing act of local economic and marketing efforts continue.

“Howard Phillips has been able to staff up for the first time in a decade. The Chamber of Commerce has Karen Clough working several days on Chamber issues. And there are other people. All of these things work together,” said Clegg.