About UPLIFT
The goal of UPLIFT is to support tourism through community driven efforts in rural North Carolina. UPLIFT works regionally - across county borders - to support local tourism leaders and practitioners in realizing their vision for tourism in their community, including natural, recreational, cultural, agricultural, culinary, built, and other tourism.
The Objectives of UPLIFT are to:
Develop regional multi-night itineraries to diversify the overall tourism product, retain visitors for longer, and increase visitor spending
Enhance, innovate and scale the tourism experiences offered within the regions,
working with new and existing tourism providers
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Strengthen tourism economies, skills and capacities that stimulate entrepreneurship, grow businesses and create or retain jobs
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Tell the stories of the regions, their communities and individual tourism experiences to attract and retain visitors
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Integrate sustainability principles & practices into the tourism experiences supported
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Geographic Focus
Most of the programs offered by UPLIFT are available to all tourism & recreation practitioners in the state. Some additional support and resources are also provided to the rural counties highlights below. In-person workshops will be held in the highlighted counties, however anyone is welcome to attend.
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America Rescue Plan Act
The UPLIFT program is supported by the American Rescue Plan Act and represents one project of several designed to address the impact from COVID-19 on the hospitality, tourism, and outdoor recreation industries. We are excited to work with the N.C. Department of Commerce’s Rural Economic Development Division,the N.C. Pandemic Recovery Office, the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, and the N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association.
