OFFICIAL MEETING & EVENT PLANNERS GUIDE

North Carolina1Home234Reasons5Topto meet inDurham,North Carolinato Research TrianglePark, Duke and North CarolinaCentral universities.More than 300,000 square feetof meeting space and over7,000 high quality lodgingguest rooms.A textured community withrich history, diverse cultureand opportunities for morethan 300 activities includingfamous restaurants, nightclubs with live entertainment,top-rated golf courses, uniqueshopping and major historicsites and museums.Within an hour’s flight or day’sdrive of more than half of thenation’s population.Convenient accessibility withRDU International Airport and2 Interstate highways.Back in the 1950’s, predictionsthat Durham would become thehottest spot for scientific research inthe United States would have beenhard to find. Today, Durham-basedResearch Triangle Park (RTP) is themost recognizable park of its kind inthe world. The 7,000-acre namesakefor the entire Triangle region is nowtwo miles wide, eight miles long,and partially extends into WakeCounty toward Cary and Morrisville.Encompassed by the City ofDurham, more than 3,500 guestrooms, and scores of restaurants,RTP was originally named for itsaffiliation with three majoruniversities: Duke University inDurham, the University of NorthCarolina at Chapel Hill, and NorthCarolina State Universityin Raleigh.The Park was developed byResearch Triangle Foundation in1959 and now includes almost 140research and developmentcompanies employing more than45,000 people. In addition to livingin Durham, employees of the Parklive throughout the Triangle region,Research Triangle Parkwhich now covers 3,000 squaremiles—an area twice the size of thestate of Rhode Island, encompassingsix counties and 26 towns and cities.The Park has more than achievedthe two major goals proposed by itscreators: to attract research to thearea, which in turn would lead togrowth of industrial/productionfacilities, and to end “brain drain”(intellectual emigration) inNorth Carolina.Today, RTP is surrounded by avariety of other Durham businessparks in the fields of pharmaceuticals,microelectronics, biotechnology,textiles, instrumentation,telecommunications, medicaldevices, and many others. Althoughnot a city, Research Triangle Parkhas a special Durham postalsubstation—Research Triangle Park,NC 27709—and is serviced byDurham utilities.The Research Triangle Regionnow boasts one of the highestconcentrations of Ph.D.’s in thenation, but back in the 1950’s, fewwould have believed any of thiswas possible.5Professional sales and servicesstaff dedicated to helpingplanners save time and makeeach event a success.1-800-446-86048 For Additional Information Call 1-800-446-8604 or Visit www.durham-nc.comFlying Fotos & DCVB