HITTING THE STREETS
TA
BLISHED 18
Got social. Really social.
Surpassed 5,000 likes on Facebook in July 2018.
#Instaworthy
HIGH ENGAGEMENT
Average Engagement Rate across social platforms (Facebook & Instagram) of 12.3%.
NOTEWORTHY CONTENT: STREET ART
Street art continued to be a source of conversation on traveldubuque.com, social media, and our Welcome Center. With nearly 30 murals to be completed by the end of 2018, it’s not hard to see why visitors and residents are obsessed with these colorful works of art.
CONTENT THAT RULED
Street Art, Fall, Riverboats, Budget Friendly Spring, Landmarks of Dubuque and more.
VIRAL CONTENT
Facebook Event for USS LST 325 reached 1.2M users.
ok Follow us on Facegrboam & Insta !
Spread the word across the country. MINNEAPOLIS Welcomed over 111,000 IOWA CITY DES MOINES visitors to traveldubuque.com including visitors from all 50 CEDAR RAPIDS states and 127 countries. DAVENPORT
(July 1, 2017 - June 30, 2018)
OMAHA
4
GALENA DUBUQUE
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The staff at the Welcome Center updated merchandise and even added a popcorn machine. Stop by for a free bag of popcorn and a smile from one of our knowledgable experts.
CITIES
VISITOR BREAKDOWN
Overall, travelers spent an average of 3.9 days in Iowa and made an average of 2.9 trips to Iowa. The average party size was 2.5 people and average spending was $432.81.
MADISON CHICAGO
OCCUPANCY
GROUPS LIKE
76.0%
75.6%
61.9%
60.7%
58.8%
54.5%
55.6%
61.0%
51.9%
44.4%
42.4%
42.5%
41.2%
30
45.0%
52.0%
40
53.6%
61.7%
50
20 10 JUL
10
AUG
SEP
OCT
Helped fund 21 events.
Brought in 77,000 sports or event related visitors through the Sports Commission and additional support provided by Travel Dubuque.
NOV
DEC
JAN
FEB
MAR
TRAVEL DUBUQUE WHERE IOWA STARTED
JUN
Emerged in other markets.
USS LST 325 IN DUBUQUE
16,620 visited the last remaining operational WWII LST with an estimated impact of $1.8 Million.
HANDAN DELEGATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Robert Grierson (Chair), Wendy Runde (Past Chair), Mark Wahlert (Vice Chair), Mayor Roy D. Buol, Mike Van Milligen, Jay Wickham, Ric Jones, Tom Wagner, Chad Wagener STAFF: Keith Rahe (President & CEO), Sara Hanten (Vice President of Operations), Julie Kronlage (Vice President of Sales), Taylor Cummings (Director of Marketing), Tyler Daugherty (Director of Sports & Events), Becky Carkeek (Director of Guest Services), Whitney Sanger (Sales Manager), Adele Herman (Social Media Marketing Manager), Karen Lyness (Welcome Center), Michelle Moody (Welcome Center), Jackie Piper (Welcome Center), Vicki Maiers (Distribution), Marv Maiers (Distribution)
MAY
Including Military Reunions, Car Clubs & motorcycle groups.
IMPACT $9.5 Million in estimated economic impact. EVENTS LIKE Team of Dreams in Dyersville with over 2,500 attendees and an economic impact of $532,500, Winter Iowa Games that has been in Dubuque since 1993 and hosted over 5,300 competitors and attendees this past year with an economic impact of $795,000, America’s River Festival with over 8,200 attendees and an estimated impact of $984,000.
APR
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SPECIAL MOMENTS
0
13
Engaged with Sister Cities.
SISTER CITIES
Includes Dornbirn, Austria; Handan, China; & Pyatigorsk, Russia.
HANDAN, CHINA DELEGATION
Hosted 13 delegates from Handan, China in August 2018. During their time here a cooperative plan was signed and a tour of the community took place. A delegate from the Sister City Committee traveled to Handan, China in September 2018.
We watched 2,870 people in the travel industry work hard to make visitors experiences memorable.
(Special thanks to al l of
8
you!)
Assisted 71 conventions & meetings.
I’M A DUBUQUER: NONA
63.6%
DUBUQUE OCCUPANCY STR REPORT OCCUPANCY
71.8%
Iowa State University - Road Scholar who generated an estimated economic impact of $175,000 and Country Travel Discoveries who generated $44,063.
Average yearly occupancy for July 2017 - June 2018 in Dubuque was 61.75% compared to the STR Report 58.18%.
FENELON PLACE ELEVATOR
Hosted over 2,200 participants with groups from across the Midwest including 15 from Wisconsin, 9 from Iowa, 8 from Minnesota, 4 from Illinois, 3 from Michigan and more.
7
Shared the stories of 566 businesses.
This includes services like offsite event planning, transportation and registration assistance, welcome bags, and more.
Learn more about Nona in the Travel Guide!
GEOGRAPHY
46 from Iowa, 21 from the Midwest, and 4 National groups.
EVENTS LIKE
North American Trainers Association in Dubuque since mid 2000’s, Iowa Association of Business & Industry who have seen record attendance in Dubuque for their conference, Upper Midwest American Planning Association who brought in $131,855 in estimated impact, as well as groups like Livestock Marketing Association who brought in $409,000 in estimated impact and National Guernsey Association who brought in $202,122 in estimated impact. Both of these events bring delegates of the two and four legged nature!
TOURISM WEEK
GEOGRAPHY
The STR Report establishes a baseline for current Iowa occupancy trends by aggregating occupancy rates from Polk, Scott, Linn, Pottawattamie, Black Hawk, Johnson, Dubuque, Story, Woodbury, and Dallas counties.
72.5%
69.9%
60
77.2%
70
67.3%
80
78.0%
5
Attracted 60+ Group Tours to Dubuque.
Greeted 10K visitors with a smile.
WELCOME CENTER
TOP
FROM ONLINE TRAFFIC
SMITH TRAVEL RESEARCH (STR) REPORT
33
We let travelers (and residents) tell the story of Dubuque with user generated content. This content drove success across social platforms.
3
6
JULIEN DUBUQUE MONUMENT
UE
DUBUQ ES
MILESTONE
w o n K
Experienced a remarkable year for occupancy.
A
ED
2
ERE IOW
ART
We embraced who we are, starting with changing our name from Dubuque Area Convention & Visitors Bureau to Travel Dubuque. We also introduced the tagline - Where Iowa Started
S G N I H T 14 T S A L D I WE D E W T A H T YEAR O T U O Y WANT ABOUT.
WH
ST
1
Laid claim to Dubuque’s heritage.
,
14
9
Worked to help further inclusivity.
INCLUSIVITY GOAL
Create a flexible framework and tools to share the opportunities in our area and to provide a positive and welcoming experience for all.
PARTNERSHIPS
Collaborated with the ‘I’m A Dubuquer’ project to further the campaign on traveldubuque.com and the 2018 Travel Guide.
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Hosted Tourism Week.
This year included a Root Beer Float, Great Dubuque Scavenger Hunt, Hospitality Breakfast, and more. Save the date: May 6-10, 2019
Helped drive $338.14 million in economic impact to the area. Travel and tourism is a crucial part of the economic engine of Dubuque. When people visit, they want to live, work, and create a life here. Travel Dubuque is proud to be a part of that story.
Annual Report
E R E H W S I E U Q U DUB . D E T STAR
a w o I
TRAVEL
Dubuque .COM
Photo Credits: Digital Dubuque, Interstate Aerial, Candid Contrast Photography, Karmen Wilder Designs, Travel Dubuque, @7hillsbrew, @985photography, @jasonweinberger, @_rainajohnston, @abbycarolinemcintosh, @adnanaayy, @adventures_with_dadlife, @adventurousvagabond, @ainsleymalis, @andiemazon, @annajoycegreen, @anugangoda, @atnuetz, @beautiful_bliss, @bellabender, @browngirlsunflower, @candlereadycakes, @ch08ris, @cj_warrior19, @convivium_urban_farmstead, @d.birms, @dannykohler, @darcislife, @dbqfest, @dreaming.traveler, @ellenxny, @elzamora, @englandandiowa, @eofaproductionstudios, @ericamiller9, @erinloebach, @everyphotostore, @exceptional.smiles, @fiveflagsdbq, @grandharborresortdbq, @hannahtimmerman01, @hmoline, @hoteljuliendubuque, @innergytraveler, @jamesloganbaseball, @jeff2803, @jrios808, @k.murph12, @kar.ibu, @karissaxoxoxo, @kassidy_hardgrove, @katieoehrle, @kennedy.the.golden.doodle, @lexalorrai, @lifewith.littlemen, @lindsey_arp, @lindseybock, @mahoneyabby, @malitos_watch, @misszimmer, @mrs.reedusdixon, @perfectlyimperfectninja, @princessamile, @saramcgovern4, @sydfoxy, @tangling_orchid, @theiowan, @twin_girl_swag, @xojennkeil