I graduated from N.C. State University, got married and began my career in tourism at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Ga. It was there that I first became involved with STS and Bill Hardman Sr. and his wife Dorothy. I participated with them and several other destinations throughout the South in their “Swing Around Dixie” promotional tours for travel agents and tour operators. After taking a break to raise my two daughters, I joined the N.C. Department of Commerce’s Division of Tourism, Film, and Sports Development in 1993 and have been there ever since.

I’m still overseeing tourism, film, sports and wine marketing and industry development just as I always have. However, in this new post, I am also overseeing the marketing of the state for all economic development functions—business recruitment, international trade, and small business development. Marketing is marketing and all the same disciplines apply. What is vastly different is the new target market audience—executives in aerospace, energy, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, financial services and other industries.

North Carolina is blessed to have a very diverse economy. Our state is growing in population at a rate twice that of the national average. That in-migration brings investment, business opportunities, a growing workforce and a strengthening tax base. It also brings visitors since one of the primary reasons for travel to our state is visiting friends and relatives.

Our North Carolina tourism industry has pulled together in unprecedented ways to weather the economic downturn. We all have fewer resources with which to work, so we have focused on investing them strategically. Our cooperative marketing programs have never been stronger. Sometimes, adversity causes folks to come together, to re-evaluate and re-organize and re-prioritize. We have been forced to focus our resources on the markets and marketing vehicles that really deliver.

North Carolina has rich tourism product throughout the state—with the highest mountains east of the Mississippi river and over 300 miles of beautiful, pristine beaches.  We have a solid mix of strong urban areas—Raleigh, Charlotte, Durham, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and Wilmington—as well as enchanting and inviting small towns and communities. We are known for our vast amount of unspoiled, protected, natural areas including our national parks—the Blue Ridge Parkway, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Our history, heritage, culture, music, food and wine also help to differentiate our destination and help to lure millions of visitors each year.

We try to find those common denominators that allow us to showcase the state to specifically targeted audiences. Last year, we collected over $185 million in occupancy taxes. Those dollars help our tourism marketing programs at the local and regional levels. General state funds ($13 million) fund our statewide tourism marketing efforts.  Cooperative marketing programs help to bring those dollars together to target audiences by geographical markets or by interest categories (food, wine, golf, heritage and culture, family, sports, etc.)

I love my work and am completely immersed in it. As I have taken on more responsibility, the hours it takes to get it all done seem to have increased dramatically.  There are never enough hours in the day. Fortunately, I don’t require a lot of sleep, and 5 a.m. e-mails from me are pretty routine.

I really think legislators in our state value tourism and both recognize and appreciate the jobs and revenue visitors pump into our state’s economy. Gov. Beverly Perdue is a champion for tourism and small business growth and development in our state.  She has proposed an additional $1 million for tourism marketing to help support tourism-related businesses and job creation through coordinated marketing efforts. The real challenge we face with legislators is that state tax revenues are down dramatically, and legislators are forced to make tough decisions about how to allocate dollars.

Nothing is as rewarding as knowing that you have given your absolute, very best.

I don’t own CDs, but do download a wide mix of music to my i-Pod. Bruce Springsteen’s "Live in Dublin," Van Morrison’s "Days Like This," John Mayer’s "Continuum" and David Gray’s "Greatest Hits" seem to top my most frequently played list.

When I’m not working, I’m naturally pretty quite and introverted. 

You may reach Lynn Minges at lminges@nccommerce.com

For more information: http://www.visitnc.com.