Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau
2012 progress report
Leadership Viewpoint The Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau knows quite well that “Tourism Is BIG Business.”
CONTENTS 1
Mission Statement, Board of Directors, Blue Ridge Parkway Visitation
Barton J. Wilner Chairman
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– 53 travel journalists visited from around the United States and Canada resulting in Virginia’s Blue Ridge being featured in a host of national publications, valued at more than $667,000.
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Landon C. Howard President
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Virginia’s Blue Ridge Brand
5
Destination Marketing
6
Public Relations, Annual Meeting
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Conventions & Sports Sales, Motorcoach Tour Sales
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Visitor Services & Hospitality Training, Partnership
2012 highlights include: – Virginia’s Blue Ridge, the region’s new tourism destination brand, was unveiled on April 19th.
Staff, Tourism Impacts
Measurable Success: Macro-Economy, Lodging Tax Revenue, Hotel Room Demand
Your Bureau has been hard at work, both publicly and behind the scenes, to create the perfect environment for our region to be successful in promoting tourism and economic development for many years to come.
– Hotels in Virginia’s Blue Ridge sold over 57,000 more rooms than in 2011 – a 5.8% increase.
– Roanoke City, Salem and Roanoke County have significantly enhanced their regional partnership to fund the marketing and promotion of our new brand, Virginia’s Blue Ridge. – New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci, First Lady Maureen McDonnell and Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling all participated in our nearly SOLD OUT Annual Meeting. The tourism industry’s dedication to working together contributed to these successes in 2012. With the new investment formula in place, the Bureau will have the capability to attract even more visitors to Virginia’s Blue Ridge. Thank you for your continued support, partnership and pride in our region. Warm regards,
Barton J. Wilner Landon C. Howard Chairman
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State of the Bureau, Budget History
www.visitvablueridge.com
President
mission statement The Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) exists to promote Virginia’s Blue Ridge as a unique destination, with an outstanding quality of life, for leisure tourism, meetings, sporting events, recreation and business, and to facilitate the financial and cultural growth of the community as an exceptional place to live, work and recreate.
Board of Directors Barton J. Wilner
R. Carey Harveycutter, Jr.
Entre Computer Center Chairman
Salem Civic Center Treasurer
W. Lee Wilhelm, III
Susan E. Short, Ph.D.
Richfield Retirement Community Vice-Chairman
Virginia Tech Past-Chairman
Gary D. Walton The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center Secretary
Dave Andersen
Pete Peters
Dominion Lodging
Botetourt County Parks, Recreation & Tourism
Doug Blount
Charles A. Price, Jr.
Roanoke County Parks, Recreation & Tourism
Harrison Museum of African American Culture
Jeremy Carroll
Ssunny Shah
Glenn, Feldmann, Darby & Goodlatte
Ramada Inn Conference Center
B. Clayton Goodman, III
James E. Taliaferro, II
County of Roanoke – County Administrator
City of Salem – Assistant City Manager
Shirley B. Holland
Joyce Waugh
Carilion Clinic
Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce
Mary Beth Layman
Carthan F. Currin, III
Vinton War Memorial
MB Contractors (FY 11-12)
Jeff Marks
John Dudley
WDBJ Television, Inc.
Residence Inn by Marriott, Roanoke Airport (FY 11-12)
Christopher P. Morrill
Rhonda Morgan
City of Roanoke – City Manager
The Arts Council of the Blue Ridge (FY 11-12, FY 12-13)
Dharmendra Patel
Debra H. Weir
Samip Management
Franklin County Commerce & Leisure Services (FY 11-12, FY 12-13)
BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY Visitation Blue Ridge Parkway visitation continued to rebound. The number of visitors entering the Roanoke Valley from the six Blue Ridge Parkway exits in the region increased 2.94% in 2012.
YEARLY TOTALS 2009 1,339,568
2010 1,252,741 (-6.48% change)
2011 1,320,408 (5.40% change)
2012 1,359,191 (2.94% change)
2012 PROGRESS REPORT
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STAFF ADMINISTRATION Landon C. Howard President
Heidi R. Mowry
Administration Manager
MARKETING Debora Wright
Director of Marketing
Trena S. Pividal
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Coordinator
David Aldridge
Roanoke Valley CVB welcomes David Baldacci to the Annual Meeting
Marketing Specialist
TOURISM & COMMUNICATIONS Catherine Fox
Director of Tourism & Communications
CONVENTION SALES
Christopher J. Nicholas
Visitor & Information Services Supervisor
Part-Time Staff: Barbara Fink Tarah Holland Janet Lampman Betsy Osborne Jane Smith Velma Thomas
Volunteer Staff:
Ann Andrews Hugh Brown Joe Cummings Marlene Efkeman
Kelly D. Burd-Adams Director of Sales
Gary W. Crizer
National Sales Manager
Vickie Meeks Miller
Convention Sales & Services Coordinator
Tourism Impacts Measured Results: Tourism is BIG Business which creates “economic impact” and furthers economic development. As a result of the RVCVB achieving the primary objective, the following 2011 numbers* will expand over time: – Virginia’s Blue Ridge Visitor Spending: $703 million – Virginia’s Blue Ridge Visitor-Related Jobs: 7,160 – Virginia’s Blue Ridge Visitor-Related Payroll: $138.4 million – Virginia’s Blue Ridge Visitor-Related State and Local Tax Collections: $50.9 million *Source: Virginia Tourism Corporation
2012 Tourism Impacts
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+
$10,951,500 Conventions & Sports Sales $95,160 Motorcoach Tour Sales $38,404,323 Leisure Travel
$49,450,983 Generated by the Roanoke Valley CVB
www.visitvablueridge.com
mEASUREABLE SUCCESS The Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau
INFORMATION BROKER MACRO-ECONOMY Potential Customers
serves as an information broker for Virginia’s Blue Ridge macro tourism economy representing and
Virginia’s Blue Ridge Visitor Industry
working with over 400 hospitality and tourism businesses and government partners including the Cities of Roanoke and Salem and Counties
Consumers
of Botetourt, Franklin, and Roanoke.
Attractions
Travel Agents Tour Operators
The RVCVB’s primary objectives are to expand
Restaurants
Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau
market-size as monitored by two key measures: Hotels
– Room Demand, which is the measure of the
Rental Cars
Meeting Planners
number of rooms sold in the VBR region. – Room Tax Collections, which are Transient
Retail
Occupancy Taxes (TOT) paid by visitors while staying in lodging properties in funding jurisdictions or as described in the RVCVB’s Bylaws as “participating localities.”
Lodging Tax Revenue 5.9%
HOTEL Room Demand
1.8% 1,080,000 1,060,000
14.9%
1,040,000 1,020,000 1,000,000
61.1%
980,000 960,000
16.3%
940,000 920,000 900,000 2008
Locality
2012 Revenue
2009
2010
2011
2012
Rooms Sold
City of Roanoke (7% tax rate). .....................$3,113,553 City of Salem (7% tax rate).............................$831,289 County of Roanoke (5% tax rate). ................. $759,916
ROOMS SOLD (Source: STR)
County of Botetourt (5% tax rate). ................ $300,017
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
County of Franklin (5% tax rate)......................$90,118
993,012
916,661
975,622
997,490
1,055,363
Source: local governments
$5,094,893
2012 PROGRESS REPORT
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Virginia’s Blue Ridge Brand Strategic Brand Platform: Target Audience:
For those seeking a rich mix of culture and outdoors
Frame of Reference:
Virginia’s Greater Roanoke Valley, linking to areas within an hour radius of Roanoke/Salem (Botetourt Co., Franklin Co., Smith Mountain Lake, Bedford, Floyd, Blacksburg to Natural Bridge)
Point of Difference:
Boasts the largest metropolitan center in the Blue Ridge Mountain chain
Benefit:
Adding surprising vibrancy to the serene splendor and outdoor adventure of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains
With the launch of the new brand in April 2012, the Bureau redesigned all collateral and marketing/sales materials to carry the Virginia’s Blue Ridge logo and new look.
Ad campaign for Virginia’s Blue Ridge
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www.visitvablueridge.com
Destination Marketing
www.visitvablueridge.com Website Statistics
The Bureau continues to place an emphasis on electronic marketing. By introducing online marketing initiatives with banner ads and listings, search engine optimization (SEO), and pay per click (PPC) programs, the Bureau produced a record number of unique website visitors. Additionally, the mobile site strengthens our presence as more people are using their mobile devices for a source of tourist information.
compared to 2011
– Unique Visitors increased 78% – Page Views increased 81%
The Bureau now offers monthly training sessions to provide partners a means to input their information onto the website and mobile site. Since the implementation of the program, we have trained over 170 partners.
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
TARGET MARKETS
Leisure Travelers
NY
– 238,136 Unique Website Visitors – 46,631 – 49,649
PA
Unique Mobile Site Visitors
MD
WASHINGTON, DC and NORTHERN VA
Inquiries
VA
ROANOKE
VIRGINIA BEACH GREENSBORO
WINSTON-SALEM
– 334,416 TOTAL
RICHMOND
NC
RALEIGH
CHARLOTTE
334,416 .44 % of inquirers who visited (Source: 2013 Conversion Study)
x
SC
GA
147,143 2.9 people in party (Source: VTC) $90.00 daily trip spending per party (Source: VTC)
x x
FL
Target City Primary Target Market Secondary Target Market
$38,404,323 in Direct Spending
Online Advertising – 8,901,662 Impressions with 79,098 unique website visitors – E-Newsletter with over 19,000 opt-in database – Estimated $58,845 in free advertising – Received a $50,000 grant
Monthly eNewsletter
Received a $50,000 grant
Rail History Sweepstakes
2012 PROGRESS REPORT
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Public Relations Media/PR Results – Number of Journalists Hosted – 53 – Media Coverage Circulation – 35,163,208 – Media Coverage Advertising Equivalency – $667,080
Media tour with Sean Luther in Downtown Roanoke Tourism alerts from the Bureau BUZZ!
Annual Meeting On May 9th, the Roanoke Valley CVB annual meeting attracted just over 450 attendees. Guest speakers Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling and First Lady of Virginia Maureen McDonnel spoke on behalf of their support of the tourism industry. The keynote speaker was David Baldacci, New York Times best selling novelist and author of 23 books including “Absolute Power”, “Saving Faith”, “Zero Day” and his newest novel “The Innocent”. He captivated the audience with his stories and his big news about his novel “Wish You Well” soon to be a filmed in the region.
David Baldacci shares a few stories and discusses his new novel with Bart Wilner
Annual Meeting Award Recipients Presidents’ Tourism Excellence Award – Granger Macfarlane Tourism Ambassador Award – Trixie Averill Golden Star Award – Clay Goodman, Chris Morrill and Kevin Boggess
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www.visitvablueridge.com
Guest speaker Lt. Governor Bill Bolling., First Lady Maureen McDonnell and keynote speaker David Baldacci
Conventions & Sports Sales 2012 was a productive year with highlights including a sales mission to Nashville, direct floral sales campaign targeting women’s groups and a hand in co-sponsor Senator Warner’s Women’s Conference. All opportunities for potential new leads for booking groups in the future. Senator Warner welcomes the Virginia Women’s Conference attendees
Sales Productivity – Leads: 37 (new business 89%) – Bookings: 19 – Attendance: 24,950 – Estimated Total Room Nights: 20,242 – Estimated Direct Spending: $10,951,500
Conventions & Sports Hosted – Total Hosted: 14 (includes 8 Valleywide groups) – Total Attendees: 18,794 Quidditch competition at Green Hill Park
– Total Room Nights: 7,824 – Direct Spending: $7,918,580 – 27 groups were serviced with a total attendance of 28,604
Motorcoach Tour Sales The RVCVB attended the American Bus Association Marketplace and the joint marketplace with Virginia and North Carolina Motorcoach to re-establish contact with tour companies in 2012. Tracking reports indicated 147 overnight motorcoach tours occurred in the last six months representing 3,227 overnight rooms. Tour Leads (new business)....................................................................... 24 Bookings.................................................................................................. 10
A bus tour travels along the Blue Ridge Parkway
Step-on guided tours booked with the Roanoke Valley CVB....................... 35 Total Estimated Economic Impact...................................................... $95,160
A step-on guided tour stops at the Roanoke Star & Overlook
2012 PROGRESS REPORT
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Visitor Services & Hospitality Training The Visitor Services team strives to encourage overnight visitation, extend the average stay, and increase visitor spending by providing relevant visitor information about the region. We accomplish this by fulfilling visitor requests, offering partner referral services to better represent our hospitality industry, participating in community events such as the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, customer service excellence training targeted toward the hospitality industry, and greeting visitors at the Roanoke Valley Visitor Information Center, open 9am-5pm daily, located at the corner of Shenandoah Avenue and Williamson Road, and by Segway at various events.
September workshop held at the Sheraton Roanoke Hotel and Conference Center
Seven Customer Service Excellence Hospitality Training workshops were held for 128 attendees including special training sessions provided for the Roanoke Regional Airport staff.
Roanoke Valley Visitor Information Center
Partnership The Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau serves as an information broker for Virginia’s Blue Ridge area macrotourism economy representing and working with over 400 industry partners.
Many thanks to our partners for providing $70,955 of in-kind goods and services. This amount leverages our capabilities to make a greater impact for our key programs.
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www.visitvablueridge.com
4.2%
STATE OF THE BUREAU
9.3%
The Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau is an independent 501(c)(6) non-profit corporation. The Bureau is supported by funding from 5 local governments and over 400 private sector partners.
2.4% 0.6%
13.4% 55.7%
14.4%
Funding Sources
City of Roanoke................................................................................................................................................ $781,251 County of Roanoke........................................................................................................................................... $201,600 City of Salem.................................................................................................................................................... $187,874 County of Botetourt............................................................................................................................................... $8,500 County of Franklin.............................................................................................................................................. $33,811 State Grants & Miscellaneous Funds................................................................................................................. $129,701 Partnership........................................................................................................................................................ $59,525
$1,402,262
% OF BUREAU BUDGET DEVOTED TO MARKETING
2007/2008 67.9%
2008/2009 67.7%
2009/2010 66.2%
2010/2011 74.0%
2011/2012 77.8%
2012/2013 78.2%
Budget History The Bureau’s budget increased 7.6% in 2012/2013.
1,500,000 1,250,000
2007/2008
2008/2009
2009/2010 Total Budget
2010/2011
2011/2012
$1,097,167
$1,402,262
$1,015,066
$1,303,546
$982,456
$1,327,243
$929,400
$1,403,652
$939,190
$1,387,640
500,000
$912,340
750,000
$1,344,390
1,000,000
2012/2013
Marketing Budget
2012 PROGRESS REPORT
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Virginia’s Blue Ridge
66
81
64
Roanoke VT
77 220
64
460 95
40
The Roanoke Valley in Virginia’s Blue Ridge boasts the largest metropolitan center in the Blue Ridge Mountain chain.
Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau – www.visitvablueridge.com 101 Shenandoah Ave. NE – Roanoke, VA 24016-2044 – 540.342.6025