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February Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau Advisory Board

Orange County · Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau
Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Advisory board meeting Economic development incentivesHistoric preservation

Agenda document Minutes Watch Meeting recap

What's on this agenda

The Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau board took a consultant's report on February 18 from focus groups assessing where tourism in Orange County stands now and what it should prioritise. Magellan Strategies ran them.

The board also took an update on planning for the nation's 250th anniversary, an observance it built a July 4 event around at the Colonial Inn.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting. Minutes

The Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau's advisory board heard a consultant's strategic plan on February 18 and came away forming three subcommittees. Chris Cavanaugh of Magellan Strategies, after interviewing 27 area tourism stakeholders, told the board it relies too heavily on the University of North Carolina, needs more research and metrics, and should consider whether Chapel Hill's destination marketing should sit inside county government at all.

That last point set off the board's longest discussion: whether to convert from a county-run bureau to an independent tourism development authority, which would carry its own fiduciary protections and could pursue new revenue but would also give up the county's funding backstop. The board voted unanimously to form subcommittees on that structure question, on rewriting its mission and vision statements, and on developing Hillsborough as a destination alongside the Hillsborough and Carrboro tourism authorities. It also heard that a July 4 event marking the nation's 250th anniversary is planned at the Colonial Inn from 2 to 4 p.m.

How the votes went

Approved the January minutes unanimously. Approved forming three subcommittees, on the bureau's governance structure, its mission and vision, and developing Hillsborough as a destination, each unanimous.

From the published minutes.

Who spoke

No members of the public spoke.

Read from the records the government published after the meeting. Members of the public are private residents and are not named or indexed.

Speaking at this meeting

Orange County's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Agenda items (5)

Staff or committee report · 3Minutes approval · 1Presentation · 1
  1. III Approval of Minutes
    Minutes approval
    Minutes from the January 21, 2026 meeting at the Blue Hill Event Center.
  2. IV Special Presentation: Focus Groups on Tourism in Orange County
    Presentation Economic development incentives
    Chris Cavanaugh of Magellan Strategies presented an overview of focus groups assessing the current state of tourism in Orange County and future priorities.
  3. V Executive Director's Report
    Staff or committee report
    The bureau executive director's report.
  4. VI America 250 Planning Update
    Staff or committee report Historic preservation
    An update on planning for the 250th anniversary of the United States. The bureau held an event at the Colonial Inn on July 4.
  5. VII Community Updates
    Staff or committee report
    Updates from board members.

Agenda changes

What moved between published versions of this agenda. Item numbers shift constantly as things are inserted, so only genuine additions and removals are listed.

Other recent meetings of this board