COROLLA, N.C. — For many Outer Banks visitors from the north, their final stretch to get to the Wright Memorial Bridge runs almost entirely through Currituck County.
"When visitors come to us at the welcome center in Moyock, we'll ask them, where are you going? And they always say, we're going to the Outer Banks for the most part," said Tameron Kugler, director of travel and tourism for Currituck County, now rebranded as "The Northern Outer Banks."
The northernmost beaches of Corolla and Carova are located in Currituck County. Kugler came on with the county in 2014 and says she was tasked with "putting Currituck Outer Banks on the map."
“I think we've been successful, but it's always been a struggle with basically the name Currituck. It really doesn't resonate with visitors. It's a county, it's not a place. It's hard to spell, it's hard to pronounce," said Kugler.
It's understandable, as the majority of the Outer Banks is located in Dare County. On top of that, many visitors are more familiar with the towns in the Outer Banks than the county its located in. So in 2023, Kugler went to the Tourism Advisory Board and told them that something needed to change.
"(I said) guys, this is this is just not working. We need to find something that is going to resonate with visitors and residents alike, and also something that will encompass not just the Outer Banks, but also the rich variety of activities that we have on the mainland and also Knotts Island," said Kugler.
That has now happened, as Currituck County Travel and Tourism has rebranded to now be called "The Northern Outer Banks." Coming after help from consultant Chandlerthinks based out of Franklin, Tennessee.
"We started this process in September of 2023 and it consisted of a visitor and resident sentiment study. They also went through naming options, and then from there, they started to work on the brand assets, the new logo, the new name advertising campaigns, and then the brand standard guide that went along with that," said Alex Perry, the marketing and communications director with The Northern Outer Banks.
“This was our way of claiming our geographical location, the northern Outer Banks, both on the mainland and the beach part. And I think that's going to be invaluable to us as we go forward," said Kugler.
Though a couple residents we spoke with were opposed to the rebrand, the majority understand why it’s happening and know the tourism industry is vital to the entire county. Kugler and Perry added that they did a lot of resident outreach during the process and were given positive feedback.
“A lot of our businesses on the mainland already associate themselves with the Outer Banks. They're either service providers or that's their audience, are those people that are coming. This is just going to allow us a wider variety of people to attract," said Kugler.
A new website is expected to be launched in July of this year. For more information, you can head to The Northern Outer Banks website here.
