Conferences & Events

Visit North Carolina organizes and manages collaboration between its leadership, staff and industry partners year-round. These conferences and events aim to provide knowledge for partners to help leverage North Carolina’s strengths and stretch marketing dollars for greater visitation through collaboration. Below are specific annual events and initiatives to share information and promote partnership within North Carolina’s travel and tourism industry.

The annual Visit North Carolina Tourism Conference is the state's premier travel industry event. Bringing together more than 500 of the state’s tourism industry leaders, the conference provides opportunities to catch up on the latest trends and issues facing the travel industry, hear insights from industry experts and network with other travel and tourism professionals.

The Visit NC Tourism Conference program includes:

• Signature keynote addresses
• Informative educational sessions
• Issues forum
• Preview of Visit North Carolina’s strategic marketing plan and co-op opportunities for the upcoming fiscal year
• Valuable interaction with peers and media partners

The Visit NC Tourism Conference is held in the spring of each year at conference centers and destinations across the state. We are excited to return to Asheville in person once again for the 2026 Visit NC Tourism Conference. It will be hosted at the Omni Grove Park Inn & Spa in Asheville, Monday-Wednesday, March 16-18, 2026. Visit the conference website later this year for more information and to register. Or sign up for NewsLink for updates.

Conference Site

Destination Immersion brings Visit NC staff into communities to experience tourism-related aspects such as attractions and activities. The team also meets with the local DMO for in-depth discussions. Partners interested in hosting the Visit NC team should contact Kathy Prickett, Tourism Specialist at (919) 447-7769.

In addition to regular travel and communication with partners throughout the year, the Visit NC team makes a special effort in September and October to visit partners across the state for a midyear update. These programs allow tourism professionals, state tourism leaders and stakeholders to gather and review the state’s marketing efforts, assess the impact of campaigns and make adjustments to strategies for the remainder of the year.