Inspiring Asheville Events
Asheville is an ideal destination for events in a wide range of sectors, from outdoors and wellness to climate science and the automotive industry.
Click here to learn about this destination's sector-specific offerings and how Explore Asheville can deliver for groups of many kinds.
Renowned for its breathtaking landscapes, wealth of outfitters and experiences, as well as the largest concentration of outdoor gear manufacturers east of the Rockies, Asheville, N.C. has emerged as a premier hub for events
related to the outdoor industry. It’s an ideal option for outdoor industry organizations looking to tap into the $450 million outdoor sector centered in Asheville (including the headquarters of companies such as Liquidlogic, Diamond Brand Gear, Eagles
Nest Outfitters, Astral, and FOX Factory). That’s one of the reasons why the Adventure Travel Trade Association selected Asheville for its upcoming AdventureELEVATE conference (read more about that below).
The variety of outdoor experiences
in the Blue Ridge Mountains also makes it an appealing offering for any event looking to make adventure or scenic experiences part of the agenda.
Working with Explore Asheville, meeting planners can tap into these outdoor organizations to deliver thought leadership, factory tours and adventurous experiences to their
events.
In the video above, viewers will see how Asheville's location creates an inspiring backdrop for any event. They will learn how meeting groups can incorporate outdoor activities for exhilarating off-sites in the highest mountain peaks east of the Mississippi
River or down the world's third oldest river, the French Broad.
Speakers in this video include:
Watch the video above to see what makes this city a top destination for outdoor-industry gatherings, read on for a case study of a recent event below.
Case Study: AdventureELEVATE Conference in Asheville, North Carolina
Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains between the scenic wonders of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountains national parks, Asheville is in the heart of North Carolina’s outdoor industry.
Attendees can enjoy excursions on the French Broad River when visiting Asheville.The beauty of the region combined with the outdoor activities like hiking, mountain biking and rafting, as well as the many suppliers who can organize those activities for meeting and event groups, caught the attention of the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA). On June 11-13, it is bringing some 350 to 400 adventure tourism planners to Asheville for the ninth AdventureELEVATE North America conference.
“Part of the appeal of selecting Asheville is that it's an outdoor industry town,” explained Russell Walters, regional director, North America, of the ATTA. “There's a lot of outdoor industry experts, both on the outfitting side and the tour operator
side, that we'll be able to use,” for the event's Days of Adventure pre-show experiences and the post-trip fams.
Asheville is a major hub for outdoor manufacturing, including Liquidlogic, which produces a range of kayaks and canoes.“We're really excited to work with local bike companies and raft outfitters and walking tour operators,” Walters said. “It’s such a natural venue with all that there is to offer from the surrounding activities.”
Beyond that, he added, there is a large network of outdoor manufacturing and retail businesses around Asheville and North Carolina that the organization will be tapping into to help with the design of some of the educational sessions. These sessions will
cover topics ranging from technology and marketing to safety and risk management.
Those speakers and local knowledge experts will “really help us define the event and what it is that adventure in the Southeast looks like,” he said. “I think that there's a lot of interest, there's a lot of demand. People have been in the mountains up
in Canada and in the West. And now it's, ‘Well, what are these Blue Ridge Mountains? What is it that North Carolina has to offer?’”
The Great Indoors
The offerings of the city itself, including its event venues, were a big factor in choosing Asheville to host AdventureELEVATE, Walters said.
Groups can leverage a range of outdoor venues and experiences when visiting Asheville.“Asheville has got quite a culinary scene, a craft brewing scene,” he said, pointing to his own experience trying the local barbecue. “You've got an incredible art scene, an incredible music scene. We're really excited to be able to
bring our delegates and show them all that Asheville has to offer.”
Walters said he thinks outdoor adventure planners will be looking at the Southeast, and at Asheville in particular, as a place to develop new product and new opportunities.
“I think they're going to really enjoy it,” he said.
A Walkable City
Enjoyment aside, networking is a big part of the conference and the layout of Asheville makes that easy, Walters said.
“One of the reasons that Asheville was selected is it's a very walkable city,” he said. “I think some of the networking sessions,
some of the educational sessions will be walkable sessions in the park just adjacent to the Renaissance Asheville Downtown Hotel.”
The easy accessibility and walkability of Asheville's downtown was one of the reasons ATTA selected it for the AdventureELEVATE conference.Located in the heart of Asheville’s downtown, the Renaissance will be the main hub from which attendees will go off and explore the town after sessions are over, Walters said. “They will literally be able to walk out of the door of the Renaissance
Asheville Downtown Hotel and see all that Asheville has to offer.”
Good Experience
Another reason, he added, was his experience with Explore Asheville.
“It takes a long while to bring these events to fruition from the initial RFP all the way through
the contracting stage, and then site inspection and working through the details,” Walters said. “Every step of the way, the whole team at Explore Asheville has been incredibly professional, very timely.”
The Adventure Travel Trade Association will bring its AdventureELEVATE event to Asheville this summer.Questions were
answered quickly and with great detail,” he said. “I think their genuine sense of excitement was also one of the determining factors.
“They really want to showcase what it is that Asheville has to offer,” Walters said. “They were convinced
that our delegates would have a great time there. And we've been learning from their enthusiasm and their professionalism.”
The team at Explore Asheville is deeply connected to the community's industry leaders and a planner's best point of contact to host a meeting in this dynamic city. Connect with Explore Asheville's destination experts to tap into its complimentary meeting planning services and create a meaningful agenda at AshevilleMeetings.com.
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