About the JCCVB

The Johnston County Convention & Visitors Bureau is devoted to maintaining and building year-round tourism in Johnston County. To achieve this goal, the JCCVB works closely with the local industry to increase domestic visitation through integrated programs targeting key markets. Local tourism businesses are encouraged to actively participate in all of the programs and grass roots outreach efforts, such as marketing meetings, booking engine participation, media initiatives and trade/consumer shows.

The JCCVB is consistently recognized for its effective marketing efforts. The Destination Marketing Association of NC has awarded JCCVB over 25 Destination Marketing Awards and the bureau was named the Small Bureau of the Year for 2005-2009.

The JCCVB employs 4 full-time employees. The organization consists of four main departments–Administration, Marketing and Promotions, Communications, and Visitor Services–all with a common mission to attract and serve visitors to Johnston County.

Visitor Services

Visitor Services encompasses community and volunteer relations efforts to provide a positive tourism experience to visitors and local residents in the Johnston County area.

Hospitality Heroes Customer Service Training Program

The Hospitality Heroes program offers customer service training workshops to front-line, support, and management personnel within the hospitality and allied industries. Working with local chambers of commerce and tourism industry partners, Hospitality Heroes teaches the advantages of excellent customer service and offers "refresher" tips on bringing back the first time visitor.

Visitor Assistance Program

Special assistance is provided to travelers during an emergency or crisis. We work closely with accommodations, law enforcement, transportation, government and medical industries to provide emergency assistance to domestic or international short-term vacationers and their families.

Communications

Scope of Services

The Communications staff will continue working with a local public relations agency on a per project basis as needed.

The primary roles of the department are to create and implement the tourism publicity programs in state, national and international media, emphasizing visitation to the Johnston County area. Also, the staff promotes the value of tourism through media awareness campaigns to educate the local community. A third role is to serve as the Johnston County Film Office.

Media Relations

The Communications team works with journalists by attending conferences and trade shows, conducting media calls, hosting media receptions and events, and responding to industry leads. The staff assists journalists by conducting research, fact-checking articles, gathering and disseminating information and support materials, setting up/conducting interviews and writing articles for publications.

The Communications staff hosts individual and group media research trips to familiarize these journalists with Johnston County as a visitor destination. This includes itinerary planning, arranging transportation, hotels, restaurants, attractions visits, setting up interviews, assembling welcome packets, developing a meaningful itinerary to meet the journalist’s and industry partners’ needs, meeting with and/or accompanying each journalist, scouting with television crews, negotiating in-kind goods and services. Department.

Film Office

The Communications staff develops collateral to assist the film/photography industries to shoot television commercials/segments/shows/documentaries and magazine/catalogs in the Johnston County area.

Support Materials

The Communications staff researches and writes news releases, which are distributed to the media. They organize photo shoots and update the Bureau’s photo, video and research material libraries. Staff develops and publishes, the Bureau’s Web site, the calendar of events e-blast and continually updates the Media section of the site. Also, they develop television and print advertorial. And, the department tracks, records and forwards media clips to the travel industry to measure the successful fulfillment of the departmental goals and objectives.

Internal & External Communications

Internal Communications

The Communications team reads and updates staff on trade and general information, continually updates the central subjects and attractions files and supports the other departments within the JCCVB on myriad of projects, including the Hospitality Heroes Program, National Tourism Week Program and the Bureau’s Crisis Program.

External Communications

They work in partnership with the local tourism industry in hosting journalists, responding to industry requests, supporting industry events, providing strategy and training, and forge alliances for better support of Bureau initiatives. The staff works closely with the state tourism office and area attractions.

Sales

The mission of the Sales Department is to promote Johnston County to meeting professionals, the travel trade and leisure visitors to positively influence visitor volume. The JCCVB Sales team provides resources to industry partners and travel influencers to help grow meeting business and pleasure travel in the destination.

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Meeting Sales
The Meeting Sales team is responsible for booking meetings and at individual hotels throughout Johnston County.

Tourism Sales
The Tourism Sales team sells Johnston County to tour operators in the domestic and international arena. We attend trade shows, organize sales calls and missions in major cities and help to create itineraries and vacation package programs for tour operators.

Conference Services Information

The goal of Conference Services is to support definite meetings and conference bookings by providing customers with assistance and services that enhance their meetings.

Conference Services assists in the sales process and strives to assist planners in making their meetings to the Johnston County area as successful as possible, resulting in a commitment to return with future business.

Meeting planners are introduced to Conference Services either in the booking stage during site visits or from informational packets detailing overall services available, samples

Referrals - Meeting planners or conference committee members are often of brochures and promotional items. Hotel partners may also use Conference Services for group business they have booked.

Conference Services Department Assistance

• Seeking products, services, or suggestions for their conventions. Conference Services provides lists of local resources, and directs clients to the JCCVB’s website.
• Attendance Builders - For larger groups, a staff member from the Sales team may exhibit at the incoming groups’ convention the year prior to coming to The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel to inform conference attendees about the destination and encourage attendance the following year. We are delighted to provide complimentary visitor information for groups.
• Site Inspections - Conference Services assists sales managers and planners with scheduling appointments and accompanying clients on tours of local facilities and to meetings with local conference suppliers.
• Planning Meetings - Conference Services staff is available to meet with the client to assist in pre-planning and conference needs.
• Registration Assistance - The JCCVB has a staff of trained volunteer ambassadors who are able to assist conventions with registration, provide on-site destination assistance (restaurants, shopping information) and general conference assistance.
• Brochure Fulfillment - For groups of all sizes, Conference Services provides brochures and maps highlighting the things to see and do in our area. Photographic images, CD’s and promotional items are also available.
• Unique, Off-Site Venues - Does your group need a distinctive place to gather for a reception, banquet, cocktail party, awards ceremony or meeting? Conference Services is familiar with area businesses and resources available to groups.

Crisis Management

Another way the JCCVB serves as an industry advocate is by spearheading communications efforts for the industry in the event of a crisis. We strive to manage communications to ensure accuracy of information and to minimize damage to the destination's reputation. Our efforts include visitor assistance/outreach, communications regarding hurricane preparedness, and participation in Johnston County’s emergency response team.