FISCAL YEAR 2017-2018 ANNUAL REPORT
M I S S I O N S TAT E M E N T S Experience Columbia SC – Authority The Experience Columbia SC – Authority's mission is to strengthen the area’s economy by promoting tourism in the region through active recruitment of new meetings, conventions, leisure travel and sporting events and by enhancing existing tourism through exceptional customer service. Experience Columbia SC – Destination Marketing Organization The mission of the Experience Columbia SC – DMO is to strengthen the area’s economy by marketing and selling the region, its accommodations, meeting facilities, restaurants, facilities and attractions as a premier destination for meetings, conventions, tradeshows, special events and leisure travel and by working cooperatively with the hospitality community providing informative materials and assistive services that enhance and promote the desired image of the metropolitan area. Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center The mission of the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center is to provide a first-class venue offering superior operations management and state-of-the-science amenities for the successful coordination of meetings, conventions, tradeshows, entertainment and other special events utilizing the facility; enhancing the economic viability and image of the area. Experience Columbia SC Sports The mission of the Experience Columbia SC Sports is to strengthen the area’s economy by marketing and selling the region as a premier destination for sporting events, partnering with local sports organizations to grow and develop existing events, and by recruiting new events which provide an economic benefit to the region by generating room nights, food and beverage sales and associated tax revenues.
We want the whole world to know what makes Columbia SC so great. Think of us as the biggest cheerleader for the heart of South Carolina.
THE COLUMBIA REGION WELCOMES
14.7
MILLION VISITORS ANNUALLY
INCLUDING 5.5 MILLION OVERNIGHT
MAKING TOURISM A
2.1
BILLION DOLLAR
INDUSTRY FOR THIS COMMUNITY
21,000 JOBS SUPPORTED
GENERATING NEARLY
$107 MILLION IN STATE & LOCAL TAXES
Figures based on a report by Tourism Economics produced every other year.
Dear Partners and Stakeholders, What a year we had in FY2017-18! From a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity promoting our community as a premiere destination during a total solar eclipse to growing our newly refreshed brand, we have been busy at Experience Columbia SC. The Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center generated a record-breaking $1.3 million in contracted room revenue and welcomed over 300,000 attendees to the building in FY 17-18. Groups like the SC Green Industry Association, SC Music Educators Association, Southern Gas Association and many others brought multi-day events to the building with significant room night impact into the region. Sustainability continues to be a priority for the building with 13,000 lbs of cardboard recycled and over 34,000 lbs of food waste composted, resulting in over 34% of waste diverted from landfills. On the Experience Columbia SC Sports front, $8.4 million in economic impact was generated from sporting events hosted, with 45 events booked across the region (which resulted in 124,791 sports attendees!). The ECSC Sports staff are filling the funnel for future business and attended seven tradeshows met with 145 sports events owners face to face. The team is also busy preparing the community to host the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament first and second rounds, which was booked last year and is coming up in March 2019. The Experience Columbia SC CVB/DMO team contracted 119 events, resulting in 225,022 attendees, generating over $23 million in economic impact for the region from meetings and conventions. Groups like the South Carolina State Firefighters’ Association, Miss South Carolina Pageant and International Association of Structural Movers were among the groups with significant hotel room nights and impact throughout region. Our marketing department launched three television commercials, which aired nationally on networks from Travel Channel to Food Network, generated millions of advertising impressions from our highly visible digital billboard campaign, and revamped websites for Experience Columbia SC, Experience Columbia SC Sports and The Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. Our team hosted travel writers and social media influencers, and garnered media attention in publications such as Budget Travel, Food National Geographic Traveler, Food & Wine and The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. We also revamped our visitors guide, The Insider’s Guide, with fresh new photography, an expanded size and a magazine-like feel. Overall, collaboration with community leaders and partnership on projects that improve our community as a destination for visitors continues to be a focus for our team. Our involvement in long-term projects such as relocating our Columbia SC Visitors Center to a location with heavy foot traffic and premium visibility to updating Columbia’s vehicular wayfinding system and adding pedestrian kiosks to our districts ensures that the visitor experience is top-of-mind as we build and grow our destination. We look forward to continuing to build and promote a destination that makes residents proud and visitors want to return again and again. In Partnership,
Bill Ellen
CONTENTS Experience Columbia SC - DMO
7
Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center
9
Experience Columbia SC Sports
11
Experience Columbia SC Marketing
13
Experience Columbia SC Media Relations
15
Experience Columbia SC DMO team
ECSC at Fireflies Game
Celebrating our cab drivers with free boxed lunch
Tradeshow Booth at MPI in Charlotte
Connect Faith Tradeshow in Cincinnati
Cvent Tradeshow in Las Vegas
EXPERIENCE COLUMBIA SC DMO
181
ExperienceColumbiaSC.com
EVENTS SERVICED
56
NEW LOCAL
PARTNERS
TOP 10
STATES SEEKING COLUMBIA, SC INFORMATION
160,000 DISTRIBUTED
VISITOR GUIDES
226
POTENTIAL LEADS
119
H OT E L PE RFORMAN CE City of Columbia, Richland & Lexington Counties
CONTRACTED
EVENTS
RESULTING 225,022 FUTURE ATTENDEES
SC FL NC GA OH
65.3%
Fiscal Year Occupancy
PA NY TX IL CA
$
91.13
Average Daily Rate
$
59.70
Revenue Per Available Room
Over 23 MILLION DOLLARS
IN ECONOMIC IMPACT
From DMO Meetings & Conventions
KEY EVENTS MEETING NAME
LENGTH
ATTENDEES
ROOM NIGHTS
South Carolina State Firefighters’ Association*
7 days
6,000
1,590
United Sporting Companies Ellet Brothers/JSC
8 days
800
1,572
Miss South Carolina Scholarship Organization
10 days
2,000
1,111
Softdocs*
4 days
225
750
International Assocation of Structural Movers
4 days
400
546
*Hosted at Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center
7
Lexington Medical Center Foundation 2018 McDaniels Annual Golf Classic
CMCC Hydroponic Herb Tower
Farm-to-Table Dinner in the CMCC Garden
113th Annual Fire Rescue Conference
COLUMBIA METROPOLITAN CONVENTION CENTER
CONTRACTED ROOM REVENUE
300,000
$1,280,250
600,000
0
$1,059,370
$953,166
900,000
$1,277,644
1,200,000
$1,310,438
1,500,000
ColumbiaConventionCenter.com
300,000 Over ATTENDEES THIS FISCAL YEAR
FY 13-14 FY 14-15 FY 15-16 FY 16-17 FY 17-18
Social/Wedding Social/Wedding
Non-proямБt/Religious
12% Hobby/Sports Fraternal
7% 7
Government
%
3%
Non-Profit/Religious
Corporate
27%
EVENTS PER MARKET SEGMENT
15%
Hobby/Sports Fraternal
15%
360 EV EN TS HELD
37,891 AFFI LI ATE D HOTEL R OO MS
Government/Military
Association Education
14% Education
Association/Non-profit Corporate
KEY EVENTS HELD MEETING NAME
LENGTH ATTENDEES
ROOM NIGHTS
FLW Forrest Wood Cup
7 days
68,350 attendees
1,500
SC Science Council
3 days
600 attendees
400
Banzaicon
4 days
1,500 attendees
280
SC Green Industry Association
5 days
1,800 attendees
850
SC Music Educators Association
3 days
800 attendees
800
Southern Gas Association
5 days
950 attendees
450
SUSTAINABILITY HIGHLIGHTS
100%
LED LIGHTING IN BUILDING
67%
ENERGY REDUCTION
34.1%
WASTE DIVERTED FROM LANDFILLS
Over 34,000 lbs.
COMPOSTED FOOD WASTE
9
Spirit Communications Park
Williams-Brice Stadium
COLUMBIA SC WELCOMES NCAA IN MARCH 2019 Cobblestone Park
Cregger Track
In March 2019 Columbia SC will host the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament first sand second rounds. Experience Columbia SC Sports began hosting monthly community engagement meetings to prepare local partners and hospitality businesses for this milestone event. Find out more at basketball.columbiascsports.com
Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field
124,791
SPORTS EVENTS ATTENDEES
EXPERIENCE COLUMBIA SC SPORTS ColumbiaSCSports.com
Over 8.4 MILLION DOLLARS FROM 45 EVENTS HOSTED
18 7 print 3 radio
MEDIA APPEARANCES
2 TV 6 in-person
145
FACE-TO-FACE APPOINTMENTS
7
TRADE SHOWS ATTENDED
WITH SPORTS EVENTS OWNERS
KEY CONFERENCES ATTENDED
IN ECONOMIC IMPACT From Sports Events Hosted
45 20
SPORTS EVENTS
BOOKED ACROSS THE REGION
NEW EVENTS
BOOKED ACROSS THE REGION
OVER 5,000
CONTRACTED ROOMS
Experience Columbia SC Sports and Saluda Shoals Park voted as a top eight Soccer and Lacrosse Destinations and Venues in Sports Events Magazine.
MONTH
EVENT
April
NASC Symposium
September
S.P.O.R.T.S. The Relationship Conference
September
Connect Sports
Community Engagement."
October
4S Summit
November
TEAMS Conference
Sports Events Magazine’s #9 Outdoor
December
US Sports Conference
December
US Rowing Annual Convention
Sports Destination Management’s 2018 Reader’s Choice Award for "Favorite Destination for
Adventure Sports Spot.
11
BRAND SUCCESS With a year under its belt in 2018, the Columbia SC brand saw significant success. We conducted a survey and found that 60.3% of regional leisure travelers were more likely to visit Columbia SC in the next 12 months after seeing our advertising. It’s working, y’all.
INFLUENCER MARKETING We partnered with travel influencers such as Local Adventurer, Jennifer Chase and Lauren Carnes to tell the Columbia SC story through travel blogs, social media, and top publications like Garden & Gun. This method of advertising provides an authentic look at our destination and creates a sense of inspiration for potential visitors.
ADVERTISEMENT
1
2
3 5
4
6
LOW-KEY FOOD CITY OF THE SOUTH Garden & Gun follows Georgia photographer and food lover Lauren Carnes on a culinary road trip through Columbia, South Carolina From passion-project coffee to steaks with a view to waffle cones made with local eggs, there are more delicious reasons than ever to visit Columbia, South Carolina. Start the day off right with a Cubano or a Lavender Latte from Indah Coffee Company. After years of selling coffee at Soda City Market on Saturdays, the Indah team opened a brick and mortar location in Cottontown in May. For lunch, head to Shandon, where Russell Jones's lauded Devine Street gem, Tallulah, delivers on garden-to-glass cocktails and a menu of ingredient-driven dishes that showcase his Washington, D.C.–honed culinary chops. The Jack Rose Dining Saloon alum returned to his hometown to contribute to its rising food scene, and counts local purveyors such as City Roots, South
Carolina’s first urban farm, as one of his go-to sources. And with good reason. Not only does the property keep Columbia chefs stocked with microgreens, assorted mushrooms, and bouquets of seasonal flowers, it also hosts a Thursday farmers' market featuring organic produce, food vendors, and live music. Looking for an afternoon treat? Try the browned butter sea salt oatmeal chocolate chip cookie at Tallulah neighbor Silver Spoon Bake Shop. Then head to Five Points for an al fresco seasonal margarita at Publico Kitchen & Tap. Come dinnertime, the options are seemingly endless. The Oak Table serves up seriously prime steaks, plus a killer wine and tequila list (not to mention the best view of the statehouse in town). Nearby, Motor Supply Co. Bistro ranks supreme for mixologist Josh
Streetman’s bespoke cocktails (tell him your preferred spirit and flavors and he’ll customize a drink to match) paired with executive chef Wesley Fulmer’s harvest dishes. And for South Carolina’s signature whole-hog barbecue, try The War Mouth, where ingeniously high-lo sides, such as heirloom tomato salad with croutons and buttermilk string cheese, round out the meal. End the night with a next-level ice cream cone at Sweet Cream Company, where a waffle batter base made from nearby WilMoore Farms eggs and Adluh flour is topped with sixteen small-batch flavors of ice cream and sorbet—from Blackberry Kale to Grapefruit Rosemary. And then get some sleep. Tomorrow ’s another day, and there is plenty more where these meals came from.
1. Craft cocktails are a staple at Motor Supply Co. Bistro. 2. Farm-totable in full swing at Tallulah. 3. The Brie, jam, almond croissant at Silver Spoon Bake Shop. 4. Small-batch, handcrafted gourmet ice cream at Sweet Cream Company. 5. Fresh produce from City Roots' Thursday farmers' market. 6. Whole-hog barbecue plus all the fixin’s at The War Mouth.
Discover why South Carolina’s capital city is being hailed as The Real Southern Hot Spot by visiting ExperienceColumbiaSC.com
ExperienceColumbiaSC.com
COLUMBIA COLUMBIA SC SC ExperienceColumbiaSC.com ExperienceColumbiaSC.com
INSIDER’S GUIDE INSIDER’S R’S IDE IDE GU INS GUIDE
THE NEW INSIDER'S GUIDE EXPLORE EXPLORE COLUMBIA’S 23 23 COLUMBIA’S NEIGHBORHOODS COLUMBIA’S 23 page page page
NEIGHBORHOODS NEIGHBORHOODS DARN GOOD EATIN’ PG 8 GLORIOUS GREEN SPACES PG 16 MUS
RY MULTICULTURAL EXPERIENCES PG 20
DARN GOOD EATIN’ PG 8 GLORIOUS GREEN SPACES PG 16 MUS DARN GOOD EATIN’ PG 8 GLORIOUS GREEN SPACES PG 16 MUS
RY MULTICULTURAL EXPERIENCES PG 20 RY MULTICULTURAL EXPERIENCES PG 20
This year we also introduced a new version of our annual guide — focusing on a magazine size and feel. Plus, by condensing services through Miles Media, partners now have one point of contact for ad sales for our insider’s guide, e-newsletter and website advertising.
EXPERIENCE COLUMBIA SC MARKETING SOCIAL MEDIA IMPRESSIONS 15.1 million TOTAL FOLLOWERS 183,125 (as of June 30, 2018) TOTAL WEBSITE IMPRESSIONS 2 million SEARCH ENGINE 4.1 million
LEISURE PRINT ADVERTISING
Over 41 MILLION
IMPRESSIONS Billboards in Key Target Cities
Over 12 MILLION
IMPRESSIONS
National commercial campaign on Cooking Channel, Food Network, Hallmark Channel, OWN Network & Travel Channel
Over
250,000
MEETING PLANNER AUGUSTA'S INDEPENDENT VOICE
THE HEART & SOUL OF SOUTH CAROLINA
GUIDES DISTRIBUTED Through meeting industry magazines and at tradeshows
13
“As Charleston grows ever-more expensive, a flood of culinary talent has spilled over to Columbia, which is helping to bolster its growing constellation of stand-out bars and restaurants.” “Forward-looking. Dynamic. ‘One of America’s most livable communities.’ All of these accolades have been used to describe Columbia. And it’s no wonder. A mix of education, non-profit and state capital government businesses, along with the University of South Carolina’s 33,000-plus students and an active retiree community have created a vibrant city.” Carolyn Males, Local Life Magazine, January 2018
Gowri Chandra Food & Wine, October 2017
"One of Columbia’s most charming features (among the centers of government, higher education, history and other such weighty matters) is a unique town-within-a-town worth exploring for a day or even longer. Five Points is
“Everyone has Charleston on their bucket list, but there’s another South Carolina city that’s about to pop thanks to a recent urban revival. Known as Soda City,
Columbia’s compact, walkable downtown has a small-city feel with big-city things to do — from upscale restaurants and shopping to art museums — making it ideal for a long weekend.” Dan Koday, PureWow.com, March 2018
a hub of restaurants, bars, shops and galleries and first-timers and old hands alike head there for its special character of small-town hospitality." Sandra Woodward, atHome Magazine, March 2018
EXPERIENCE COLUMBIA SC MEDIA RELATIONS One way Experience Columbia SC strives to live out its mission is through public and media relations efforts. We promote the Columbia region by pitching story ideas and hosting media to garner regional, national and international destination coverage.
Here's Who's Been Talking About Columbia This Past Year: DATE
OUTLET
July 2017
The New York Times
“Where and How to See the Total Eclipse This Summer”
National
July 2017
Travelocity.com
“11 Incredible National Parks to Visit This Summer”
National
July 2017
Budget Travel
“Eclipse-Chasing: Where to Watch the August 21 Spectacle Across the Country”
National
Aug. 2017
FoodNetwork.com
“Partake of the Palmetto State: What to Eat in South Carolina” and “The Coolest Food and Drink Specials for the Great American Eclipse”
National
Sep. 2017
Southern Living Online
“The South’s Most Charming General Stores”
Regional
Oct. 2017
Food & Wine
“Where to Eat and Drink in Columbia, South Carolina, One of America’s National Best Food Destinations”
Oct. 2017
USA Today
“Get Lost in 10 Unusual Corn Mazes Around the USA”
National
Nov. 2017
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“South Carolina: Where to Eat When You Visit Palmetto State”
Regional
“New Southern Cuisine in Columbia, South Carolina”
National
STORY
SCOPE
Nov. 2017
Honest Cooking
Jan. 2018
National Geographic Traveler “The Best Small Cities in the United States”
National
Jan. 2018
Expedia
“The Best Places to Travel Each Month in 2018”
National
Feb. 2018
Thrillist
“8 American Cities Getting Big, Exciting Urban Overhauls This Year”
National
“In the Heart of Cola – A Mecca for the Shopping Savvy Await at Five Points & Devine”
Regional
March 2018 atHome Magazine Apr. 2018
Smithsonian Magazine
“This is the Best Place in North America to See Synchronous Fireflies”
National
May 2018
USA Today
“Baby Zoo Animals Born in Spring 2018”
National
June 2018
Garden & Gun
“The Bonds of Brotherhood – and Beef Jerky”
Regional
June 2018
SWAAY
“10 Cities to Visit to Ignite Your Independent Spirit”
National
June 2017
Thrillist
“The Best Places in America to Watch the Total Solar Eclipse”
National
June 2018
Family Circle
“A Festival for Every State”
National
74
STORIES GARNERED
235
MEDIA
LEADS
21
HOSTED
PRESS VISITS 15
ExperienceColumbiaSC.com