STRATEGIC PLAN HIGHLIGHTS

VLC BUSINESS PURPOSE

VISION

A world-class destination where residents and visitors stay and play.

MISSION

To advocate for the tourism industry and promote Lake Charles/SWLA as a dynamic destination serving our visitors and community.

VALUES

We believe in:

Impassioned Hospitality: Our servant attitude ensures that we deliver exceptional experiences to our stakeholders and our visitors.

Strategic Collaboration: We know that—with the right partners—we can accomplish more.

Authentic Kindness: In all our endeavors, we exercise intentional care and compassion.

REPUTATION

We will be known as: • Innovative and impactful leaders in the industry. • A transparent and efficient organization. • Credible and dedicated tourism professionals.

POSITION

VLC is the only organization in SWLA providing advocacy, promotion, and education for the tourism industry through: • Cutting-edge marketing and sales programs. • Industry leadership and collaboration with elected leaders/stakeholders. • Programs, partnerships, and communications that foster the visitor economy and develop the destination.

2021-2023 STRATEGIC PLAN

■ IMPERATIVES ■ OBJECTIVES

Refine data-driven marketing and sales decision-making. • Year-over-year growth in ADR, at least 0.5% above inflation. • Year-over-year growth in campaign ROI percentage, over 2020 baseline. • Better targeting of visitors, measured by a bounce rate below 60% by 2023.

Partner and advocate to develop our destination. • Year-over-year growth in aggregate score on community/stakeholder survey. • Destination master plan completed by 2021 • Year-over-year growth in earned partnership value (EPV) average score over 2020 baseline.

Amplify our organizational effectiveness. • Year-over-year growth in employee engagement score (Gallup Q12.) • Bring all whole systems model category scores to 4.0 or higher by 2023. ■ INITIATIVES

1. Identify criteria and execute a process to retain an agency of record. 2. Execute a visitor behavior study. 3. Develop and implement an approach to transition VLC to a flexible marketing strategy. 4. Redesign our sales data collection partnership with hotels. 5. Strategically expand our data fluency in all departments.

1. Create a destination master plan. 2. Expand “Destination SWLA” beyond hotels and add partners to Extranet. 3. Research, design, and implement a tourism ambassador program. 4. Redesign a rigorous process to review and approve grants and co-ops. 5. Design and implement a monthly communication to partners and stakeholders. 6. Design a community engagement program for all VLC staff.

1. Optimize our organizational structure. 2. Conduct a facility needs assessment. 3. Catalog and assess the effectiveness of our technological systems. 4. Grow our culture of accountability through 360 evaluations. 5. Thoughtfully redesign internal communications and staff meetings.