Watch out, SoCal — there’s a different Orange County on the rise in the eyes of tourists around the country. Orange County is seeing a huge increase in tourism-related activities and investments and should seize the opportunity to support it.
Orange County, the tourism industry’s future is in your hands.
The Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau’s “Edge of the Triangle” campaign is great start to highlighting tourism outside of the University area — a necessary endeavor considering three of the county’s top five attractions are on UNC’s campus.
Historic downtown Hillsborough and the recent Carrboro Music Festival are great examples of visitor attractions outside the University.
Despite efforts such as this campaign, the increase could largely be due to an upturn from the recession, as visitor spending in Orange County increased 20 percent since 2008.
As economic growth continues, consumers gain the ability to reach tourist destinations that may have been economically unrealistic during the recession. In other words, because the economy is better, people have the money it takes to get to Chapel Hill that they didn’t have before.
This fact should not discourage future efforts in tourism promotion. The economy may shrink, but that is no reason for tourism to do the same. Orange County needs the “Edge of the Triangle” campaign and its successors to ensure this.
