00:00Scott, overall, how is the state tourism industry doing after Haleen?
00:04You know, it's going to be a rough fall. We typically see about $2.1 billion in visitor
00:10spending in the western part of the state in the fall. So it's hands down the busiest or
00:15the second busiest season for the mountain region in the fall. And that's almost all but loss at
00:20this point. So as far as recovery efforts go, we have made tremendous progress in the last three
00:26weeks. I think if I was asked three weeks ago to see where we are today, I wouldn't believe some
00:31of the impacts that we're seeing. So we've got power restored to nearly all the region. Water
00:36is restored to the majority of the region. You're starting to see areas in the south of Asheville,
00:42in the Smokies, as we call it. Areas like Highlands, Bryson City, Hendersonville,
00:47Silva, Brevard, Cherokee are all great places that can be visited right now for fall color.
00:53They're lower elevation as you guys know. So the peak cold snap that started to turn the leaves
00:59just happened this past weekend. So there's still a good solid two and a half weeks,
01:02maybe longer of fall color to be had down in that part of the state that people can access and have
01:07a normal typical visitor experience. We're also seeing areas like Asheville start to come back
01:13as well. The downtown core of Asheville was relatively unaffected, has water, has power.
01:18Biltmore Village announced that they're going to be reopening the Biltmore Estate on November 2nd,
01:23so we're excited for that to come back online. And other areas close to Asheville like Black Mountain
01:27and Reboot Virile are also relatively unaffected and welcoming visitors again. So we're moving
01:33along. The high country is also a great area to visit. Ski time is coming up and ski season looks
01:40to be pretty promising this year as all of our resorts are planning to open on time with no
01:44impacts as well. So we're a little more blessed this week than we were a couple weeks ago.
01:50Are there some locations that are asking visitors to postpone their trips?
01:55Yeah, I think the areas that we're looking for are on the far western part of the state,
01:59some of the counties in the areas that abut the border to Tennessee north of Asheville,
02:04those are the areas that are a little bit more affected right now and are saying we're just not
02:08ready yet. And so those areas are looking for visitors to maybe plan ahead and bring a trip
02:14in the winter, see how they can help support relief efforts by maybe buying some gift cards
02:19or booking travel now for future to get that on the books for people. But those are the areas that
02:24are a little bit harder impacted and the roads are going to take a while to come back. We also
02:28have a section of the Blue Ridge Parkway that's open in the northern part of the state, but it's
02:32going to be a while before we get that full parkway open all the way down into the southern part of
02:37the state as well. So that's another area that's impacted as well. Grandfather Mountain came back
02:42open as well this week, another really beloved attraction up in the high country, but it's really
02:46those far western cities in the state that are going to be a little bit ahead of us and needing
02:51some time to recover before visitors can come back safely. And we're seeing your interactive
02:56website right now. Is that the best way for visitors to find out some of the latest travel
03:00conditions? Yes, we've got an advisory on our website. It's on every single page, so you can't
03:05miss it. Click that and that'll give you the latest updated information on where you can and can't go.
03:09We created a map, as you guys were able to show, to make it easy for people to understand
03:13where is it safe for me to go right now, where can I go right now, but maybe I need to do a little
03:17bit of planning ahead and preparing, and where can I, you know, not visit to unintentionally
03:24impede any recovery efforts that are taking place. So red, yellow, green, simple color coding system.
03:29We update that map on the regular every day to make sure that it's got the latest information
03:33and advisories from our local tourism offices to help people out. And really quickly, are there
03:38locations in western North Carolina that are encouraging tourists to visit now? Yes, great
03:46question, Bernie. Definitely the Smokies region is very much looking to get people to come visit
03:50right now. They were blessed to be relatively unaffected. So think parts south and west of
03:55Asheville. Areas like Highlands and Cashers, which are great, Land of the Waterfalls, Brevard,
04:01Cherokee, Hendersonville, which has great wineries and apple orchards. Those areas were unaffected by
04:06the storm, and so they're able to receive visitors right now and give them a normal, typical
04:11experience, and they're welcoming everybody back right away. So that's one area that we would
04:16highly recommend. And then the high countries, places like Boone, Blowing Rock, Grandfather
04:21Mountain, those areas are back online and looking for visitors to come as well. All right, Scott,
04:26you had me at wineries and apple orchards. Hopefully more people will be making their way
04:30across North Carolina. Scott Peacock, Director of Tourism, Marketing and Communications for Visit
04:34North Carolina. Thank you so much for joining us. Such great information that you provided for us
04:39this morning.
