May 14, 2021

Explore Asheville is charting a new course for the tourism community aligned with broader community goals. These efforts are being organized around four strategic pillars that we're discussing with community leaders and partners in a 4-part series of lunchtime webinars as this year's annual Tourism Summit. Please join us next week for our final two community discussions:

TOURISM SUMMIT - PART 3:
'Engage & Invite More Diverse Audiences'
Monday, May 17, 12:00 - 1:15 p.m.

Community Panelists [shown above, from top left]: Aisha Adams, Lenoir Rhyne Equity & Diversity Institute; Adriana Chavela, Hola Carolina; Himanshu Karvir, Virtelle Hospitality/Buncombe County TDA; Catherine P. Mitchell, River Front Development Group, Inc.; Anthony Thomas, YMI Cultural Center; Tina White, Blue Ridge Pride

Inspiration & Insight: Earl “Butch” Graves, Jr., President & CEO of Black Enterprise, provides thoughts on this subject to help set the stage for the panel discussion. View Butch's remarks before tuning in for this webinar HERE>>

Get More Details: Tourism Summit 2021 Webinars

TOURISM SUMMIT - PART 4:
'Promote & Support Asheville's Creative Spirit'
Wednesday, May 19, 12:00 - 1:15 p.m.

Community Panelists [shown below, from left]: Franzi Charen, Asheville Grown Business Alliance/Hip Replacements; Katie Cornell, Asheville Area Arts Council; Cleaster Cotton, Artist/Educator/Author; Jessica Tomasin, Connect Beyond Festival/Echo Mountain Recording; Lucius Wilson, Wedge Brewing Co./River Arts District Business Association

Inspiration & Insight: Rodney Payne, Co-founder & CEO of Destination Think, provides thoughts on this subject to help set the stage for the panel discussion. View Rodney's remarks before tuning in for this webinar HERE>>

Get More Details: Tourism Summit 2021 Webinars

Photo of Jessica Tomasin by Sandlin Gaither

In case you missed them...

Our first two community discussions in this virtual series took place on May 10 and May 12. View recordings of these sessions using the links below:

'Deliver Balanced Recovery & Sustainable Growth,' with UNC Asheville Chancellor Nancy Cable, Asheville City Manager Debra Campbell, Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder, and Asheville Chamber President & CEO Kit Cramer. WATCH RECORDING HERE >>

'Encourage Safe & Responsible Travel,' with Amy Allison, Director, NC's Outdoor Recreation Industry Office; Dawn Chavez, Executive Director, Asheville GreenWorks; and Peyton O'Connor, Director, Buncombe County Parks & Recreation. (Note: Buncombe County Commissioner Terri Wells was scheduled to join in but experienced technical difficulties.)  WATCH RECORDING HERE >>

TIP: Order lunch before tuning in!

Before joining these webinars, here's an idea: Order lunch to-go from your favorite AIR restaurant (and to make it even easier on yourself, use Kickback AVL to have your lunch delivered!).