What Visit North Carolina does

Visit North Carolina (Visit NC) is the official state destination marketing organization (DMO) for North Carolina, operating as part of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC), a private non-profit entity funded by the NC Legislature. Headquartered in Raleigh, the organization promotes North Carolina as a travel destination across all three geographic regions — Mountains (Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains), Piedmont, and Coast (Outer Banks and barrier island beaches) — and drives tourism to all 100 NC counties through coordinated marketing and partner support.

Visit NC's core offering is the VisitNC.com official tourism portal, a single unified content platform providing trip planning resources, destination guides, itineraries, an interactive Traveler Type Quiz, an Events & Festivals Calendar, and a Places to Stay Directory. The product surface is complemented by free physical and digital travel guides, the weekly NewsLink e-newsletter for industry partners, and the Outdoor NC stewardship initiative. The organization runs integrated multi-channel campaigns spanning paid media, owned social (#VisitNC), email, earned media (press trips, media kits), and partnerships with 100 county-level local travel bureaus. It also operates the Get Global program distributing NC content on VisitTheUSA international portals in the UK, Canada, Germany, and Mexico.

The business model is government-funded: Visit NC receives legislative appropriations and does not sell commercial products or services. All resources — travel guides, planning tools, partner programs — are provided free of charge. The organization serves two primary segments: individual travelers and tourists seeking destination information, and tourism industry partners (local travel bureaus, hospitality providers, event organizers) needing cooperative marketing, research, and recovery support. The 2024 economic impact of NC tourism — $62.2B in spending, 430,264 sustained jobs, and $1,177 in annual household tax savings — represents the outcome the organization's marketing efforts are measured against rather than direct revenue. In 2024, Visit NC also launched the 'Rediscover the Unforgettable' recovery marketing campaign supporting Western NC communities affected by Hurricane Helene.

Name

Visit North Carolina

Legal name

Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina

Website

https://partners.visitnc.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Visit North Carolina is the state's official destination marketing organization, promoting NC tourism across all 100 counties through VisitNC.com, multi-channel marketing, and industry partner programs. It operates under EDPNC with legislative funding and serves travelers and tourism partners free of charge.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tourism Marketing Services

NAICS

Convention and Visitors Bureaus (561591)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Permitting, Reservations & Visitor Information Services (Passes, Booking, Visitor Centers) (THAAAGAD)

Keywords

• Destination marketing organization
• State tourism promotion
• Travel planning resources
• Tourism industry partnerships
• Cooperative tourism marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Raleigh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Tourism Marketing Services: Visit NC is the state's official destination marketing organization and part of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC). Funded by NC Legislature to promote tourism across all 100 counties, maximize economic vitality, and support recovery initiatives for affected regions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Visit North Carolina operates as the state's official destination marketing organization, running the VisitNC.com tourism portal that provides visitors with destination information, trip-planning tools, an events calendar, a lodging directory, and free travel guides across North Carolina's Mountains, Piedmont, and Coast regions. For industry stakeholders, it delivers cooperative marketing programs, partner resources, research, and recovery marketing support, while coordinating with all 100 county-level local travel bureaus to unify state tourism promotion.

Product overview

Visit North Carolina operates the official state tourism portal (VisitNC.com) as a single unified content platform providing travel planning resources across multiple interconnected services. The core offering includes the main tourism website with regional destination information for Mountains, Piedmont, and Coast areas, complemented by the Travel Guides product, Events & Festivals Calendar, and Places to Stay Directory. For industry partners, the site offers Partner Programs, Industry Resources including NewsLink and webinars, and the Rediscover the Unforgettable recovery campaign for Western NC. The platform also includes a traveler type quiz and itinerary planning tools, all accessible through the VisitNC.com portal. No separate API product or modular platform architecture is offered.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• VisitNC.com Official Tourism Portal The official North Carolina state tourism website providing travel planning resources, regional destination information across Mountains, Piedmont, and Coast, and trip inspiration for domestic and international visitors.
• Travel Guides Free physical and digital travel guides providing comprehensive trip planning information, itineraries, and destination highlights for North Carolina visitors.
• Places to Stay Directory Comprehensive lodging directory featuring hotels, campgrounds, vacation rentals, glamping, and unique accommodations across North Carolina, used by travelers to plan overnight stays.
• Events & Festivals Calendar Event and festival listing platform connecting local travel bureaus across all 100 NC counties with visitors, enabling discovery of regional events and seasonal activities.

Quantifiable outcome

• $62.2B total economic impact from tourism in NC (2024)
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVisit NC is part of EDPNC, the parent organization overseeing multiple state marketing initiatives including tourism, film, sports, and retireNC programs.
• Local Travel Bureaus (100 counties)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNetwork of local travel bureaus representing each North Carolina county, serving as primary contact for tourism businesses and event organizers at regional level.
• Outdoor NCcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerRelated initiative focused on responsible outdoor recreation and stewardship, promoting sustainable tourism practices across NC's outdoor destinations.
• RetireNCminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRelated EDPNC program promoting North Carolina as a retirement destination.
• FilmNCminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRelated EDPNC program promoting North Carolina as a film production destination.
• SportsNCminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRelated EDPNC program promoting North Carolina for sporting events and athletic competitions.
• Western NC Tourism PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners throughout Western NC collaborating on recovery marketing campaign 'Rediscover the Unforgettable' following Hurricane Helene damage in September 2024.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Visit California: State-level destination marketing organization for California, operating under a similar legislative/public-funding mandate with multi-channel marketing, international programs, and statewide regional promotion — directly comparable to Visit NC's structure and scope.
• Pure Michigan: Michigan's statewide tourism marketing brand managed by the state's Economic Development Corporation, promoting regional experiences and running integrated campaigns — closely comparable to Visit NC's EDPNC-integrated operating model.
• Destination DC: Washington DC's official destination marketing organization promoting the capital to domestic and international visitors via campaigns, content, and partner programs — a peer DMO with similar scope.
• Visit Florida: Florida's official state tourism marketing corporation, funded through state appropriations and tourism-related fees, promoting Florida as a travel destination domestically and internationally — structurally analogous to Visit NC.
• NYC & Company: New York City's official destination marketing organization, promoting a major multi-borough tourism portfolio with global marketing reach — comparable as a city/state-level DMO with multi-channel campaigns and partner networks.
• Travel Oregon: Oregon's state tourism office with a comparable mandate to promote regional destinations (Mountains, Coast, Wine Country), run cooperative marketing programs, and produce official travel guides — a strong peer in scope and scale.
• Choose Chicago: Chicago's official destination marketing organization promoting the city to leisure and business travelers through integrated campaigns — comparable in mission and DMO operating model to Visit NC.
• Brand USA: The national destination marketing organization for the United States, executing international marketing campaigns and partnering with state DMOs — operates at the national tier that Visit NC's Get Global program interfaces with.
• Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA): Regional tourism authority that markets Las Vegas as a destination, operates convention facilities, and runs multi-channel campaigns funded by room tax — a peer DMO with comparable promotional mandate.

Broad incumbents

• Tourism Australia: Australia's national tourism agency running large-scale international campaigns and state-level partnerships — broader in geography than Visit NC but comparable in DMO mission, marketing approach, and international Get Global-style programs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/visitnc
• Facebookfacebook.com/visitNC

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Visit North Carolina