TARBORO — It’s not news that Tarboro Rotary Club guest speakers have a modest window of time to make their presentations, and those precious minutes can suffer further if there are a number of club announcements to delay the start, as was the case when Rotarian Lloyd Owens introduced his speaker at a recent weekly meeting.  

Donna Bailey-Taylor has spent the past eighteen months working as consultant for Edgecombe County to work with the Tourism Development Advisory Council, and was equipped with a 48-frame power point presentation that she said could easily take 90 minutes but quickly made the necessary cuts to give a synopsis of the work she and a group of fourteen volunteer town and county leaders have accomplished up to this point.   

A grant from the Golden Leaf Foundation to Edgecombe County funded her position to help build a case for a Tourism Development Authority in Edgecombe County.  This was the next logical step after a previous N.C. State University study conducted four years ago revealed enormous potential in our county.

Taylor’s company, DBT Consulting, specializes in the development of Tourism Authorities and in the operation of Visitors Bureaus and Convention Centers and currently manages a budget of approximately $850,000 in tax revenues paid by visitors to Johnston County.

Working since the spring of 2010 with the fourteen strategic appointees from the County, Tarboro and other county municipalities, a foundation for destination marketing was built, a solid base for creating our tourism product, and marketing strategies were recommended for staff and boards to follow for years to come, noting the need for further development for specific marketing tools such as brand identity, visitors guides and websites. Through Taylor’s guidance, the council has tailored a list of the county’s strongest assets and identified areas for potential further development to put out for state, regional and national visitors.  Assets include the area’s rich cultural heritage, opportunities for ecotourism, agri-tourism, special events, recreational and sports travel.

According to Taylor, N.C. Commerce statistics show that domestic tourism in Edgecombe County generated an economic impact of $49.05 million in 2010, a 9.46% change from 2009. More than 350 jobs in Edgecombe were directly attributable to travel and tourism. Edgecombe ranked 54 in travel impact among North Carolina’s 100 counties in 2010. Travel generated a $6.70 million payroll in 2010 and $3.78 million in state and local tax revenues.  

An appeal for the legislation to create a tourism development authority was submitted and a bill is now pending in the N.C. Legislature. The creation of the TDA will allow Edgecombe to market and develop a strong tourism infrastructure. “The current challenges and a critical factor for success is the need for designated funding sources for staffing and marketing efforts,” says Taylor.  “The choices,” she pointed out, “are either through county and municipal general fund (assessing each municipality in the county based on its population) or through a future room tax.   It’s critical that leaders buy into the vision of tourism development and the benefits to all parties. That’s when an integrated marketing plan and implementation of key elements can be put in motion for at least the next twelve to eighteen months,” she explained.  

Currently some members of the Town Council and the County Commissioners are not in agreement with the funding options.  After hearing a proposal presented to the Town Council by Assistant County Manager Eric Evans, Mayor Donald Morris wrote letters to state Rep. Joe Tolson and Sen. Clark Jenkins requesting they not give the authority to levy an occupancy tax in Edgecombe, which significantly changes the language of the proposed bill that was submitted to the General Assembly.

"We've only got two motels (Comfort Inn and Best Western) in the county," former Tarboro Town Manager Sam Noble said at that Town Council meeting. "They're both in Tarboro, and they say it will harm them."

Taylor and the consensus of the advisory council believe that hotel/motel/bed & breakfast room tax would create much of the necessary funding, an investment, meeting those expenses.  Taylor gave comparisons in the region to support that case.   Using statistics from neighboring counties, all having tourism development authorities or visitors bureaus, Nash, Wilson, Pitt, Martin and Halifax Counties, Edgecombe is the only county in the neighborhood without a tourism development authority.  

And Edgecombe does not collect an occupancy tax. Each county determines the amount to be collected, with Wilson County collecting the lowest, 3 percent; Nash County collecting 5 percent; and Pitt, Martin and Halifax collecting 6 percent.  Relative to the number of hotels and B&Bs, those neighboring authorities’ operate with budgets ranging from $177,000 to $621,000.

“So, what do we do now?” asked Taylor, who was followed by a number of those in the audience who repeated that same question.  Loretta Lautzenheizer, retired business owner, commented that she booked hundreds of hotel rooms in the course of a year for her out-of-town projects and that at no time was an occupancy tax a factor in her choice for accommodations.  County commissioner Charlie Harrell, in the audience, indicated in his comments that the Town and County were at odds on the issue, and until that was resolved, the prospects of funding from a hotel occupancy tax were not good.  

Town Councilwoman Candis Owens was also there and confirmed her support for a proposal that would fund a tourism authority.  She foresees a full-time tourism director working with the Chamber of Commerce, the Arts Council, Veterans Museum and Princeville’s Welcome Center.

"It would be a unified office with one person who knows what's going on, and who will promote our assets to regional, state and national visitors," she said. She believes also that the new town manager supports the concept of tourism in the area.  Town Councilman Al Hull did not comment during the meeting, and Councilwoman Gerrelene Walker, also at the meeting, did not stay to hear the presentation.

According to Taylor, three committees would need to be created to move the formation of the tourism development efforts forward: TDA Creation Committee, a Hotel Support Committee, a Marketing Committee. Strategies and goals in place would include marketing the top three markets for promoting Edgecombe County’s tourism assets: the Leisure market, the Group market and the Sports market, each with a very detailed task list.

Taylor’s timeline was for completion of her assignment within a period of eighteen months and a Tourism Development Authority in place with a director hired. Urging the advisory council to reach out to more proactive leaders to take on assigned tasks, she promises to see us through to that point.



Mission & Vision Statements:

The mission of the Edgecombe County Tourism Development Authority, a public-authority designated to market the county’s tourism assets, is to establish the county as a leisure destination for cultural, heritage, sports and agri-tourism visitors for the economic benefit of the community.  In pursuit of its mission, the ECTDA strives to generate increased visitor spending, local tax receipts, and job development, all the while developing the tourism assets in the county.

Destination Vision Statement:

The ECTDA envisions Edgecombe County to be the premiere heritage and recreational destination for travelers to eastern North Carolina while sustaining the rural character of the county’s landscape.