2019 Power of Tourism - Manitowoc Area Visitor & Convention Bureau by Door County Pulse

COASTLINES Manitowoc ManitowocArea AreaVisitor Visitor&&Convention ConventionBureau Bureau

The The Power Power of of Tourism Tourism

May, 2019

New Tourism Development Brings Excitement 2018 Telling the Story of Manitowoc for 25 in Years By Jason Ring

Executive Director, Manitowoc Area Visitor & Convention Bureau

By Jason Ring

Tourism is one of three leading industries in

Manitowoc Area Visitor & Convention Bureau has

elsewhere. We look forward to that investment paying

Executive Director, Manitowoc Area Visitor & Convention Bureau Wisconsin (along with Manufacturing and Agriculture), promoted the brand “Coast.” This brand is defined by off in several ways in 2018 including the opening of the

and in Manitowoc County it generates over 100 million our Brand Statement: Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center and installation of It has been more 25 years and the Manitowoc Area The a leaderalong in getting people toTrail. visit dollars for than our local economy each year. Since 2009 weIn the realm of community development, our knowlthe Tourism Spirit of Industry the Riversis stature the Mariners Visitor &have Convention Bureau is still going strong. Formed edgeable team is called upon to be experts on how to view a community. Once they visit that provides the opportuniTwo communities, forever tied together as one by seen tourism spending by visitors increase from 93 This work is planned for this summer with an official by city and local business leaders in 1993 the MAVCB, is things from visitor’s pointstretch of view. When Lake it comes to ty to consider taking a job there. This leads to relocating, thea most glorious of pristine Michigan Million dollars to over $112.1 Million in 2016. Looking dedication to take place in September. the Official Destination Marketing Organization for our improving coastline quality ofyou’ll life fiattributes of our community, nd anywhere in Wisconsin. Sixour miles buying a home and other local spending. New residents at just the numbers it might appear that Manitowoc lost area. Originally our major mission was to offer a welcome organization to how the tourism can takes play ayou then become cheerleaders for their new community which of looks unspoiled everything, and industry a path that ground in 2016 but when you look at the bigger picture In the next coupleadvertising. years we can forwardArea to and provide travel information to visitors coming into vital role infrom showcasing our community. After all before word of mouth Thelook Manitowoc Point A to Point B on foot or on bike. Resta on generates this slight is easybuilding to explain. continued development including renovations at the town on Hwy 151. decline Our original was a trailer and person moves to our community or brings their business to Visitor and Convention Bureau works hard to curate sandy beaches with room to spread out. Explore the Capitol Centre,Bymoving of peothe eventually the Visitor Centerthe was built. GPS, our communities they needCamp to firstatvisit community, of our Civic community. sharing& thatrenovation story we get In 2015 theInformation impact of hosting PGA Championship woodland dunes. the our majestic state forest story Meeme House at Pinecrest Historical Village, continued Google and smart phones have taken over a lot of the map and it is the tourism industry that plays a role in making ple to discover us. in nearby Kohler, WI helped Manitowoc County to where you can hear yourself breathe. Wade out to the communications related to forming a National Marine and direction giving. tourism Our website provides a lot of an the insee record numbers. Without event them of feel welcomed sand bars. here. Walk the piers and take in the lighthouses. We have an along exceptional team here at theMichigan MAVCB, and and formation that our Visitor Center staff and volunteers used Sanctuary the coast of Lake that similar size in 2016 it really is not an accurateI get asked Picnic in the parks. Soak up views of the sailboats the questions a lot like, why Manitowoc? You we all have a role in telling the story of Manitowoc & Two to provide. However we still see over 20,000 visitors stop development of the downtowns of both comparison. Looking at the years since 2011 our trend moored at the marina. Watch the country’s last the future This and year Two for National in to the VIC to get directions, referrals for things to do, or mean Two Rivers actually has a tourism industry? Why Rivers. Manitowoc Rivers. Travel & Tourism Week is a positive one. The chart below shows some of the remaining passenger steamship the horizon we are going to change does the tourism industry really matteremerge here?on Because. from the ordinary and let you hear just to use our clean restrooms. data we track. Note that 2011 and 2015 were years night an ocean withManitowoc travelers eager from Combining Yes. For allatof us. lit It up waslike seven years liner ago that our staff and volunteers about how they stothese man-made structures withtell thethe natural where was in nearby Kohler. pulled me toin.disembark. soothed by clean breezes offinthe It wasn’t longthere before thea PGA role ofGolf the event MAVCB expanded. I moved Be here to make a difference thelake ry to get visitors, meeting planners, tourprovides operators, sportsa beauty of the Lake Michigan coastline us with that keep summers and isturn the fall season Greeting visitors was not enough; we had to be more active community, and what I havecool found a community fullinto event planners, reunions andtoothers interested in visiting strong “tourism product” promote to visitors to our Two Rivers Annual an explosion of color. With noare pressure to stay on any ourcommunity. in getting visitors Manitowoc to our community. We started adver-Visitor of hard-working people. People here seeking change community.This combination will help keep tourism in Room people Tax Tax us from, Spending schedule, move easily beaches green Manitowoc County strong in the years ahead. tising in markets where areRoom visiting like and looking to the future. Therefrom is nothe doubt thattowethe have Milwaukee,2011 Chicago, Madison, and$75,007.00 into Michigan. We a strong tourism here. Outdoor recreation spaces tobusiness the quaint downtowns where the drawand of the $398,588.00 $105.1Million also started2012 marketing to Motorcoach$68,985.00 groups, offering greatMillion Lake Michigan of tourism, awesome museums lake isare stilldrivers pervasive, in an authentic fishing village, a $365,660.00 $100.8 activities, group dining and other amenities for groups. give peoplemuseum a place that to check out, but what merges maritime pastreally withmakes future,useven 2013 $506,035.00 $84,100.00 $107.1 Million great are the small you businesses our commuthehundreds shops thatofinvite to slow indown with an ice It was in2014 2006 that Manitowoc and Two Rivers $111.0 teamedMillion $538,004.00 $90,754.00 nity from dining, shopping, recreation, services andtoall cream sundae or pop in to buy and a kite. Be lulled sleep up with the2015 MAVCB to promote the tourism of both comthey do for visitors that make us strong. Our tourism study of $637,936.00 $100,651.00 $115.3 Million by the sound of waves. We’re the refreshing stretch munities. This partnership is symbolic of how a visitor sees in 2017 showed us that visitors had a strong positive opinLake Michigan. 2016see our $615,234.00 this area, they area without $113,103.00 the geographic $112.1 bound-Million ion of our community; a person’s most common reason for 2017 of this $622,462.00 $118,656.00 $113.4 aries. Benefits partnership have been seen by bothMillion not visiting was they were not aware of our area. This is Local investment in area businesses has contributed communities as the resources of each community together why marketing is so important, and why tourism matters to a rise in visitor spending. If we are not improving our add more for the visitor the to experience. in Manitowoc & Two Rivers. Improving image of Manitowoc has played hotels, attractions, restaurants and other facilities for an important role in positive trend. Since 2011 the visitors they will stop visiting us and spend their dollars Manitowoc AreaArea Visitor & Convention Bureau | PO| Box 966;966; 42214221 Calumet Ave.Ave. | Manitowoc, WI 54221-0966 | 920-686-3071 | Fax: 920-683-4876 | www.manitowoc.info Manitowoc Visitor & Convention Bureau PO Box Calumet | Manitowoc, WI 54221-0966 | 920-686-3071 | Fax: 920-683-4876 | www.manitowoc.info

COASTLINES

Connect on the Coast By Megan Bruckschen Manitowoc and Two Rivers offer a variety of unique and flexible meeting spaces for groups of up to 750 people. The venues in our area work closely with the Manitowoc Area Visitor and Convention Bureau on customizing their spaces to fit the needs of the group, while providing high levels of customer service. Our area will play host to a high number of groups in 2019. Here’s a snippet of the groups planning on dropping anchor in our area! - Council of American Maritime Museums - North American Police Work Dog Association - USS Tigrone Submarine Reunion - Wisconsin Society for Human Resource Management - Historic Naval Ships Association - Wisconsin Art Education Association - Wisconsin Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus Meeting planners often look beyond the venue when choosing a location for their conference or convention. The MAVCB works closely with area attractions, restaurants, shops and community partners in making connections allowing these meetings to not only take place but to ensure positive experiences are had. If you are part of a statewide or regional association, sporting event, civic group, fraternal order or other group we’d love to work with you on nominating Manitowoc and Two Rivers as a host location to the meeting planner or event committee! Reach out to Megan Bruckschen, mbruckschen@manitowoc.info, 920-686-3077 to collaborate.

Bringing Motorcoaches to the Coast By Megan Bruckschen Group tour operators seek out unique experiences and destinations to build their itineraries, planning 1-3 years in advance of their trips. As Sales Manager of the MAVCB, I attend multiple group travel shows to meet with operators from all over the country and let them know why they should visit our area. Those same operators are also seeing our message via targeted and individual marketing campaigns throughout the year. Manitowoc and Two Rivers offer an abundant variety of agricultural, culinary, historical, nature and heritage tour itinerary ideas for these groups. Our location also makes an ideal hub and spoke for groups visiting Door County, Green Bay, Sheboygan and other drivable day trips with overnights being spent in Manitowoc and Two Rivers. What do groups want to do when they are on a trip? - Museums offer a glimpse into the area the group is visiting whether it be historical or cultural. Tour operators want to know about what’s new at museums

and what behind the scenes opportunities are being offered for their VIPs. - Hands-on experiences encourage engagement between the group and the facility they are visiting. More often than not the group is trying something new that could be the highlight of their whole trip. - Most of us look forward to eating well and trying new things while on vacation and that is no different for group tours. Groups want to be immersed in local culture trying new foods and experiences that are unique to our area. Expect cheese to almost always be a topic of discussion when a group is planning a trip to Wisconsin. If you run into a group tour while you are out and about, give them a welcoming Manitowoc-Two Rivers “Hi”! Of all the things people will see and do, the friendly faces and customer service will set us apart from any other location on their itinerary.

The Power of Tourism

Visitor Spending in Manitowoc County was

$111.5 Million

1955 Jobs with a total personal income of $47 million were

supported by Manitowoc County last year Jobs – The Tourism Industry provides jobs across the spectrum of employment, from entry-level and part-time jobs to management, executive and entrepreneurial positions Largely comprised of Small Businesses Travel & Hospitality Jobs can’t be outsourced or exported Tourism directly and indirectly supports 199,073 jobs in Wisconsin, without these tourism-supporting jobs, the unemployment rate would be double Tax Revenue – Visitors to Manitowoc County generated $14.2 million millions dollars in state and local taxes in 2018 Car Ferry – Manitowoc is the port for the SS Badger Car Ferry bringing more than 40,000 cars and over 100,000 passengers into Manitowoc last season.

What Does a Visitor Center Do? By Lori Wanden I get asked all the time in friendly conversations, “Where do you work?” I tell them that I work at the Manitowoc Area Visitor & Convention Bureau. Their next question is “What do you do there?” My simple answer is that we provide visitors coming to our area with information regarding attractions, dining, shopping, places to stay and other services while they are here. Well we are that and much more. A Visitor Information Center or “Welcome Center”

primary purpose is to be a one-stop location where travelers can connect with our member local businesses, attractions and services. Our staff and volunteers are trained and friendly locals who know the area and want to be that informative resource for our visitors. They each have their own style and stories to tell when trying to engage the visitor. We are trying to create that positive experience for visitors so they stay longer or want to come back. We play a vital role in local Tourism. The information we provide is hopefully the most current and accurate. The MAVCB is a place where people

can get questions answered, whether visitor or locals. We not only have information about Manitowoc County, but all counties or areas of Wisconsin and Michigan. There are a number of local residents that stop by to get information when planning their next vacation. Each year we produce a Visitor Guide for Manitowoc County and those are distributed to visitor centers all over Wisconsin, carferry in Ludington and businesses throughout Manitowoc County. Through our website people can request one and we send those out. We send out more than 70,000 each year. One of the top requests is for directions and maps. We want to make sure they know how to get to where they are going and point out other things to see along the way. The Calendar of Events is big for both visitors and locals. Events are located in our visitor guide, on the website, in the local paper and we print an event brochure each year. For our members we put up posters inside the visitor center promoting their events and also have some on our outdoor electronic sign. Many of the visitors that stop tell us we have one of the nicest Visitor Centers in Wisconsin, not to mention the cleanest bathrooms. Outside we have a picnic area for them to eat their lunch at or let them walk their dogs and not to mention the car charging station for those with electric vehicles. Our office develops materials such as the popular Friday Fish Fry, Calendar of Events and Holiday Events on The Coast brochures. Many visitors are looking for a little piece of Manitowoc to take home so we provide some souvenirs that can be purchased. Maybe a postcard, magnet, t-shirt, poster, book or cookie cutter. With advances in technology we try to capture traveler information and stats that we can track in various reports on our system. Sometimes it is hard to get that information, but we keep working at it. We are that bridge between travelers and the local community. To learn more please visit: www.manitowoc.info.

COASTLINES

The Power of Tourism

Introducing the Wisconsin Coastal Food Trail By Jason Ring

Executive Director, Manitowoc Area Visitor & Convention Bureau Outdoor recreation has always been one of the top activities a visitor lists when asked what they do when they visit Manitowoc & Two Rivers. This drops off sharply in the winter months. In an effort to reach out to a new market and develop a stronger presence in winter the MAVCB is promoting its culinary partners with a new promotion: Wisconsin Coastal Food Trail. We have a strong inventory of producers in Manitowoc County and we feel that we can capitalize on the strength of the food traveler. Individually we have a lot of great places, but when you put them all together it is really an amazing group. A 2016 Food Travel Research by the World Food Travel Association (WFTA), shows that 93% of travelers can now be considered food travelers. By “food travelers”, WFTA says, “means travelers who participated in a food or beverage experience other than dining out, at some time in the past 12 months”. Modern day travelers are more experiential in all aspects of their journey; from cultural immersion to local food sampling, a trend that has become a major influence in the growth of travel destinations. While it remains a less explored art, culinary tourism is quickly picking pace, prompting service providers such as restaurants and hotels to add a keener touch into their cuisines as it is now of paramount significance on the customer’s decision to return or not. Wisconsin is home to other food, wine, and beer trails, but we feel what makes the Wisconsin’s Coastal Food Trail unique is its diversity. We have breweries and wineries, like most, but we also have cheese, butter, maple syrup, produce, bakery, ice cream, olive oil, a butcher shop, and a fish market as part of our trail. We look to roll out the program this spring and promote the trail year round. The great thing about the Wisconsin Coastal Food Trail is that every season brings a new look to the trail. Different items are in season, and different items are being produced, this hopefully leads people back to visit again and again. Another unique aspect of the Wisconsin Coastal Food Trail is that unlike strictly beer and wine trails, our trail is family friendly. Kids are welcomed as almost all of our stops have something for families to enjoy. We are still in the final details of this program, but you can always check the MAVCB Website www. manitowoc.info or social media for updates on the trail.

Volunteers Valuable Part of MAVCB Team By Pat Dirkman Volunteers have been the lifeline of the Manitowoc Area Visitor and Convention Bureau long before our current building was constructed in 1993. These dedicated individuals worked out of a travel trailer giving valuable directions and sharing their knowledge of local restaurants and attractions.

There were no smart phones or 4 lane interstates and the ability to allow google maps to provide the fasted route to your destination did not exist. Our volunteers have been instrumental in making the MAVCB a destination for travelers. Last year we welcomed visitors

from all 50 states and 28 countries. The diversity of our volunteer’s experience ranges from post master to teachers, nurses, wood workers, engineers, gardeners and many grandparents. Most of them have lived in the area for years and are rarely stumped by a business name from the past or a family from our community. Many of them have traveled the world and enjoy nothing more than meeting new people and sharing experiences. We currently have 40 volunteers and our scope of community participation has evolved from simply providing directions to include greeting the S.S. Badger Carferry passengers, providing information at the MAVCB tent/booth during various community events and grand openings, and also assisting at a water station for the HFM Marathon. Together with our marketing partners, we sponsor and participate in the Halloween Trick or Treat event and hold two brat fry’s throughout the year benefitting the

Miracle League of Manitowoc County. Although electronic devices have changed the way people travel, we remain dependent on our volunteers, who can now together with electronics, provide more detailed assistance. We remain the rest stop destination for many frequent travelers including “Paco” the dog and his family. What other volunteer in the world can boast their hometowns along the Lake Michigan coast built 28 submarines, had a Sputnik crash in their downtown, and is the home of the Ice Cream Sundae?

Paco