Laurie Paolicelli, Executive Director, Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau

Laurie Paolicelli, executive director of the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau, spoke with Invest: about Chapel Hill and the greater Orange County’s growing appeal, from university-driven travel and agritourism to the region’s role in the Research Triangle. “There is a lack of pretentiousness here that kind of adds to its funky feel,” Paolicelli said.

What changes over the past year have most impacted Visit Chapel Hill and the region’s tourism strategy?

Chapel Hill and Orange County (including Carrboro and Hillsborough), are part of Research Triangle Park, and there is tremendous national and international interest in the area, largely driven by investments in life sciences and technology. As a result, we are seeing more people who want to visit, relocate, and retire here.

That interest is largely because of the climate, healthcare, access to continuing education, and the appeal of living in a college town. People like the youth, energy, and progressive questioning of world affairs. Lee Roberts, UNC’s chancellor, has supported significant efforts in technology, innovation, and sustainability, with a new focus downtown, including an innovation and entrepreneurial lab for startups.

We have also seen a significant jump in visitors who are hearing more about the area and want to check it out. We have always had a huge returning alumni base. Even when the places they loved as students are no longer here, they say there is a feeling in the air. Whether it is the trees, the commitment to arborists, or the botanicals, there is a certain scent, mood, and feeling when they land here. They exhale and love being back.

We also have a huge wedding industry. This area was founded in agriculture, and people have bought old farms and converted them into entertainment spaces. Millennials and Gen Zers want to explore options in addition to traditional hotel venues. They want to be around animals, flowers, rock bands, and agritourism experiences.

How is Chapel Hill and Orange County’s entertainment and university-related tourism evolving?

We have become more of an entertainment venue because of name, image, and likeness (NIL) programs in college athletics. Universities have had to get creative and raise new revenues, which has been a direct boon to tourism.

The Savannah Bananas were just here, all 50,000 seats sold out each day. We were inundated with fans. We are a small community and do not have enough hotel rooms for that level of demand, so Chapel Hill, like the University, became more of a catalyst for economic development across the Triangle. Many of those Savannah Bananas visitors stayed in Durham, Raleigh, and the surrounding areas.

It used to be that Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill stayed in their own neighborhoods. Now, it is easier to go to Raleigh for lunch, and the collaboration between Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) and all of us has become much stronger. This is a region to keep your eye on, and tourism is seeing a direct increase in demand because of that.

How important is the mix of leisure, meetings, and university-related travel to the local economy?

We have always been heavily leisure, especially on weekends, with social events, reunions, fraternities, and weddings. We have seen a shift toward more conventions since the Sheraton Chapel Hill renovated and added over 19,000 square feet of flexible space, 10 meeting rooms, and a 6,900-square-foot outdoor deck. We also have the UNC Friday Center, which is a conference center for educational and life sciences events and a huge draw because of its proximity to I-40.

I would still say 80% of our overall tourism business is a mix of university and leisure, and 20% is group and contract business. By contract, I mean partnerships such as Delta Airlines and American Airlines for flight crews. We can comfortably host plenary sessions of up to about 350 people.

The Savannah Bananas event was a good example of a citywide effort, where we all worked together on marketing and hospitality, park-and-ride options, local transportation, and communication among the hotels downtown. As universities shift to fee-for-use models — opening their facilities to outside groups and events for a fee — the leisure-and-university visitor mix is changing. ZIP code analysis showed visitors came from Canada and across the country.

It is a good time to be in Chapel Hill and Orange County because our communities have  a huge commitment to the environment. We spend as much on arborists as we do on almost anything else. There is a strong commitment to greenways, paths, walking, and botanicals. People still crave that. There is a back-to-nature craving, and we are seeing spillover from Florida and the Midwest, with people who have heard about the Triangle and Chapel Hill and want to invest, live, or retire here.

How do local assets such as arts, culture, outdoor amenities, and agritourism shape Chapel Hill’s competitive advantage?

We still see a lot of interest in college sports. Being on Tobacco Road, we are still in the basketball mecca of the world. It is stunning that our free basketball museum sees more than 10,000 visitors per year, with people coming from all over to see Michael Jordan’s shoes, read about Dean Smith’s legacy, and the multimedia complex next to the Dean Smith Center.

Because we are surrounded by farms that have not changed in hundreds of years, a lot of restaurants source locally. The local restaurant scene has taken off in the Triangle, including Chapel Hill. Mediterranean Deli on Franklin Street is a beloved downtown spot with lines down the street. Hawthorne & Wood is led by a former Michelin winner from California, Brandon Sharpe,  and the Sharpe family now have three restaurants here.

We also have a real commitment to Carolina Performing Arts and PlayMakers, and the theater and international events they book bring people from all over the state. Neighboring Carrboro and Hillsborough are known for their monthly concerts, art walks, exhibits, and classes.

Cat’s Cradle is a Carrboro institution that gave a platform to young rock and indie musicians, and it is booked every night. The botanical garden and outdoor concert spaces are also major draws.

This area is culturally dynamic, and there is a huge artistic community here. There are many authors, book events, and reading events. You never know who you are sitting next to, whether it is a Pulitzer Prize or Nobel Prize winner, and they are all wearing jeans and Tar Heel shirts like the students.

There is not a lot of white-collar, 1980s-style business culture. Successful business leaders here might be wearing flip-flops and T-shirts. There is a lack of pretentiousness here that kind of adds to its funky feel.

What workforce challenges is the hospitality sector facing in Chapel Hill, and how is the industry navigating them?

At 5 p.m., you can see that most of the workers are leaving town because there is not a lot of affordable housing here. Affordable housing has become a priority for our policy leaders, and housing is a national issue that is certainly affecting Chapel Hill.

We also have something unique called the Rural Buffer. In the 1990s, four local governments in Orange County jointly agreed to draw a ring around the developed areas, permanently limiting how far growth could extend outward. The goal was to preserve the county’s farmland, open space, and historic character. But that protection comes with a tradeoff: with less land available for development, it’s harder to find room for affordable housing or larger-scale projects.

Many places are dealing with the same struggle between preservationists and developers. People want historic and heritage preservation. They do not want all cities to look alike, and Orange County leaders are part of that ongoing discussion. There is a real commitment here to hanging on to what made the area special.

We are not unique in the issues we face. Globally, political uncertainty is causing people to hold on to their pocketbooks, and that hurts travel. Policy uncertainty around international travel has also led to some declines in inbound international travel. Travel is projected to be flat in 2027. We are not down, and we will probably be up slightly because we have the university, but we are all a little nervous.

What are your top priorities to strengthen Chapel Hill and Orange County as a destination over the next few years?

Sometimes you do not have to build a better mousetrap; you have to tell people you have a mousetrap. Our priority is constantly letting people know about the changing growth and options here. Yes, Chapel Hill is a wonderful college town, and neighboring Hillsborough and Carrboro are amazing,  but there is so much more here.

The investment in Research Triangle Park has led to innovations, attractions, restaurants, and tour options. We want people to know this is a great, safe place to park, walk around, have fun, take in a game, or attend a performing arts event. We do not want to back down on marketing. We want to continue to tell the story.

Is there anything else important to understand about Chapel Hill and the broader region?

North Carolina is a place to watch right now. The Piedmont, which includes Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and Winston-Salem, among other centrally located communities in this state,is seeing a lot of investment. There is a focus on protecting neighborhoods, safe schools, and putting more money into education. Education will always lead here, and education is our greatest hope.

Safety is also a priority. We have a real ethos around protecting the students at the university, and we are hyper-focused on safety issues. We’re also mindful of sustainability amid the rapid rise of AI. The chancellor recently convened a seminar on AI for the common good, underscoring the need for vigilance around its ecological footprint — the energy and resource demands that come with this technology’s expansion.

We are grappling with issues that many communities are grappling with, but as a smart, forward-thinking community, we will always talk about them. If you cannot talk about it, you cannot fix it. We talk about it, and I believe we will continue to see success.