Businesses and Visitors Win With Durham Deals - OP/ED

This is an opinion/editorial from the desk of Shelly Green, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau.

As Durham's official marketing agency, the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau is charged with making available to visitors all manner of information about Durham from the basic to the intricate.  That information is presented in a variety of formats and contexts, but the ultimate goal is to make sure Durham is on the list for consideration as people look for places to visit, and once here, that they have access to a wealth of information with which they can make good buying decisions.

Destination marketing organizations (DMOs) like DCVB are in the economic development business, although rather than building things so people will come, DMOs get people to come--and spend money--so eventually, more things will need to be built.

In an effort to encourage local spending by visitors and local residents alike, DCVB launched the website DurhamNCDeals.com last year.  The site is a free service for all Durham businesses to post special offers for consumers.  It is a simple tool to use.  Specials can be posted by dates available or made visible only during select dates in the future, so the convenience to local business owners is immeasurable. 

The entire tool is run through the My Durham Info portal that DCVB launched five years ago.   There are only a handful of portals like it nationally empowering local stakeholders a level of proaction in marketing their businesses within the visitation and tourism sectors.

More than 95 deals have been posted since its inception, but there is tremendous potential for additional businesses to participate.  Those Durham businesses wanting more information can click here to enquire.

DurhamNCDeals.com is the result of much work, and the end product is powerful, useful and valuable to the community.  It is not quite at full utilization as of yet, so if you are a seller, do take a look and post an offer.  If you are a buyer...let's go shopping!