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traveler THE INDUSTRY NEWSLET TER
FROM TRAVEL DUBUQUE
Spring
T R AV E L E R - T H E S P R I N G E D I T I O N
KEITH RAHE President & CEO krahe@traveldubuque.com SARA HANTEN Vice President of Operations shanten@traveldubuque.com JULIE KRONLAGE Vice President of Sales jkronlage@traveldubuque.com TYLER DAUGHERTY Vice President of Community Engagement tdaugherty@traveldubuque.com
We love Dubuque.
It’s a place that inspires us to come to work every day. The Travel Dubuque team is responsible for spreading the word on all the fantastic things to see and do, and we take that responsibility seriously. Know what else we take seriously? People’s visit to Dubuque. That’s why we consider ourselves their guide and host while they are #WhereIowaStarted. CONTACT US 280 Main Street Dubuque, IA 52001 800.798.8844
FOLLOW US Keep up to date with Travel Dubuque by following along on Facebook & Instagram and tag us @traveldubuque or use #WhereIowaStarted
TAYLOR KELLOGG Vice President of Marketing tkellogg@traveldubuque.com BECKY CARKEEK Sales Manager bcarkeek@traveldubuque.com MICHELLE RAHE Director of Guest Services welcomectr@traveldubuque.com KAREN LYNESS Welcome Center JOAN FROMMELT Welcome Center MARV MAIERS Brochure Distribution VICKI MAIERS Brochure Distribution ROBIN NAUMANN Welcome Center
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F R OM T R AV E L D U B U Q U E
A NOTE FROM
Keith Rahe
It’s that time of year. Where the weather warms up, outdoor activities commence, we see an uptick in visitor traffic throughout the region, and all are excited for what the 2022 travel season has in store. We wrapped up National Tourism Week, which took place May 2 - 6. The first Food Truck Friday was held in Washington Park with more food vendors than we’ve had to date. The first Farmers’ Market and Millwork Night Market of the season have taken place along with the opening of many of our seasonal attractions. The busy season is upon us. Later this year, we will welcome a record number of riverboats to the shores of Dubuque. We will also see the second MLB game for the area at the Field of Dreams. Group tours are on the books with a definite uptick in bookings and interest. Marketing plans are made for a summer campaign strategy to drive visitors from a 200-mile radius to the area. As we work towards sharing the story of Dubuque, we invite you to reach out, get involved, and learn more about how Travel Dubuque can play a part in making this our best travel season yet. Sincerely,
President & CEO
TRAVEL DUBUQUE
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Featured Story
Tourism Week MAY 2 - 6, 2022
On May 2-6, 2022, Travel Dubuque celebrated those who directly and indirectly impact tourism in the Dubuque area for Tourism Week. We posted information about the industry, Travel Dubuque, and tourism on our social media throughout the week. On May 4, we hosted a ‘season opener’ for the 2022 tourism season at the Miracle League Complex and celebrated tourism with yard games, playground fun, a chalk drawing contest for kids, and Magoo’s Pizza food truck. Held at the Dubuque County Fairgrounds, the annual Hospitality Breakfast was a time to gather, network, and celebrate the industry and its professionals and look ahead at what is to come in the next year. During the breakfast Travel Dubuque unveiled a new promotional video and awarded Madelynn Harris (Hotel Julien Dubuque) with the 2022 Front Line Employee and Barb Block (Dubuque Arboretum & Botanical Garden) with the 2022 Outstanding Tourism Individual.
SPECIAL THANKS:
Thank you to Alex Dixon (Q Casino), Brian Preston (Dubuque County Conservation), Kurt Strand (National Mississippi River Museum), and Marissa Hoffman (Midwest Girl) for sharing their tourism stories!
The first Food Truck Friday of the 2022 season was held in Washington Park following the breakfast. (Thank you to MidwestOne for sponsoring.) Thank you to all who attended and participated in Tourism Week for 2022!
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What ’s New
ABOUT THE ARTIST: BEAU STANTON
Working in various mediums, Stanton’s public work takes the form of large-scale murals, mosaics, stained glass, and multimedia animations. Heavily informed by historic ornamentation, mythology, and the classics, his work seeks to draw parallels between past narratives and contemporary human issues such as climate change, environmental conservation, and post industrialization.
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Latest Mural in Dubuque
FROM TRAVEL DUBUQUE + VOICES PRODUCTIONS
In 2021, Voices Productions and Travel Dubuque initiated a ten-year partnership to curate and art direct a new mural at 105 Locust Street in downtown Dubuque. This large south-facing wall acts as an exciting “artistic gateway” for travelers entering Dubuque. Each year, the mural will be repainted and renewed, showcasing new artists and exploring various themes and subjects related to life in Dubuque. The mural depicts the Roman sculpture of a river deity known as Arno, accompanied by Mississippi lilies and river imagery.
F R OM T R AV E L D U B U Q U E
Marketing Updates
Marketing Roadmap FY 2023
The following goals were released at the 2022 Hospitality Breakfast for the ongoing strategic marketing plan for the leisure travel segment.
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CONTENT CREATION.
Focus on content marketing - work to improve existing content, generate new content, and expand across platforms. Create Content Marketing Manager Position Emphasis on video & photo production Take advantage of platforms for content sharing
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GROW A FOLLOWING.
Create and/or continue presence on social and digital platforms (including Email Marketing, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest) to increase organic and paid impressions and build Travel Dubuque minded audiences. Create & track seasonal key performance metrics for growth Consistently share content to audience Create funnels to move audiences from platform to platform
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FURTHER INCLUSIVITY.
Develop an inclusive image across all creative through tone, imagery, and content. Build stronger or foster relationships with local advocacy groups Invest in talent & visual creative that is more inclusive Invite ‘othered’ communities to be storytellers Become intentional
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BROADCAST OUR STORY.
Create a strategic ad buy and marketing plan to tell the story of #WhereIowaStarted and promote it as a destination for travel. Continue advertising on social and digital platforms Explore & test new audience relevant platforms Create a uniform campaign across platforms to reenergize our brand
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Marketing Updates
Travel Guide wins Travel Iowa Award OUTSTANDING PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL
Travel Dubuque received the award for Outstanding Promotional Material in the Metro category for the 2022 Travel Guide. The award-winning edition was designed, published, and managed in-house. This annual publication is a crucial component for the marketing efforts of the Dubuque area and one of the primary resources for travelers and citizens for all the things to experience #WhereIowaStarted.
Advertising Open FOR 2023 TRAVEL GUIDE
UPLOAD AN EVENT
Upload your events to the Telegraph Herald calendar of events to sync to the Travel Dubuque online events calendar. UPDATE LISTINGS
Update your TravelDubuque.com listing.
Travel Dubuque’s annual Travel Guide is the travel resource for visitors coming to the Dubuque area. 70,000 copies will be distributed throughout Iowa, the Midwest, Welcome Centers, lodging facilities, attractions, area universities, colleges, and more. Advertising is now open and closes on October 3, 2022. Learn more.
Content Marketing Manager
ADDITION TO THE TRAVEL DUBUQUE TEAM
Travel Dubuque has recently created and hired for the position of Content Marketing Manager. This new role will assist in executing the overall marketing efforts to brand the Dubuque area as a destination for travel by focusing on the content strategy for Travel Dubuque. Stay tuned for more information on this position and the exciting things to come!
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Sales Updates
What’s Happening CIRCLE WISCONSIN MIDWEST MARKETPLACE
One of the many events that the Travel Dubuque team attends each year, Circle Wisconsin Midwest Marketplace, brings together group tour planners from throughout the country to meet with destinations and book tours. Over 30 one on one appointments were taken and the best part, business was booked!
IOWA PARKS & RECREATION CONFERENCE This annual conference was in Dubuque March 21-24, 2022 with nearly 200 attendees. Meetings like this that take place in quieter months for conventions & meetings are a significant added boost to our economy.
CONVENTIONS & MEETINGS We are always talking to meeting and event planners about Dubuque and telling them why we are the best choice for their event. Here are some of the groups that we spoke to in the first quarter of 2022: United Postmasters & Managers of America – Iowa Chapter Catholic Order of Foresters – Iowa Chapter (for their Iowa meeting and their National meeting) Studebaker International Iowa League of Cities Midstate’s Organized Crime
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN Q2:
Riverboats Return: View a full schedule at traveldubuque.com/riverboats Iowa Snowmobile Congress Conference: An estimated 400 attendees at the Grand River Center June 8-12, 2022. Iowa Association of Business & Industry Conference: An estimated 600 attendees at the Grand River Center June 14-16, 2022. Historic Progressive Dinners: In April, we kicked off the Historic Progressive Dinner season, with a bright outlook for 2022 visits from group tours.
Travel Dubuque, and our DMF partners, are always ready to work with planners by offering incentives and complimentary services. If you attend meetings or events outside of Dubuque, let’s work together to bring them to Dubuque! Contact Julie Kronlage for more information.
Have you heard? FREE MONEY
If you haven’t already heard about the Meet in IA grant opportunity, visit www.meetinia.com. This grant is to support new and existing events that take place between May 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022. Want more information? Feel free to contact Julie Kronlage at the Travel Dubuque office or the contacts listed on the Meet in IA website.
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Sports & Events Updates
What’s Happened THEISEN’S SNOCROSS NATIONALS
JANUARY 14-15, 2022
The Dubuque Country Fairgrounds welcomed over 7,000 to the Theisen’s Snocross Nationals event on January 14-15. Teams and guests traveled from more than a dozen states and parts of Canada to take in the highflying action. Marketing for the event went over exceptionally well, and the following numbers were generated via their social branded ads. 23,850 total reach, 14,450 organic reach, 9550 paid reach, 32,520 total impressions, 16,600 organic impressions, and 15,900 paid impressions. Because of the marketing reach and the event’s continued success, the fairgrounds were able to recruit a new Snocross series, Midwest Snocross Series. The competition for this series took place on February 25-26.
WINTER IOWA GAMES
JANUARY 22-23, 2022
Despite the lingering effects of COVID, the 2022 Winter Iowa Games drew roughly 2,000 competitors. Some numbers were still lagging because of COVID, but most saw a solid rebound to pre-covid marks. The following sports were over the weekend: Skiing, hockey, indoor soccer, martial arts, pickleball, road race, swimming, and youth volleyball.
DUBUQUE ON ICE BREWFEST
FEBRUARY 12, 2022
After a 1-year break because of COVID-19, the 10th annual Dubuque on Ice Brewfest was back and celebrated at a new location, The Grand River Center. A combination of VIP and GA tickets were available for purchase, and over 1,700 attended the event. Over 70 Breweries/vendors from around the Midwest will represent over 150+ different beers/wines for sample. Organizers are working on February 25 for the 2023 date.
MISSISSIPPI RIVER GYMNASTICS CLASSIC
MARCH 5-7, 2022
Operated by 360 Sports Events LLC and hosted at the Five Flags Center, the MRGC saw 460 athletes from 4 states (IA, IL, OK, WI) compete in the weekend classic. This figure was up from the 348 athletes who competed in 2021. Over 1,100 people attended the event, and 130+ overnights were generated across 12 hotels in the area.
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WHAT’S HAPPENING IN Q2:
Vintage Torque Fest | April 30- May 1, 2022 Mississippi River Classic | June 4-5, 2022 All-Star Ballpark Heaven Baseball Tournaments May-July, 2022
JUN 10, JUL 8, AUG 19, AND SEP 9 IN 2022
Walk, bike, or drive to Washington Park where food trucks will line the streets, ready to celebrate the end of the week with you. Local live music is provided by 365ink. For a lineup of trucks, visit traveldubuque. com. (Truck schedule subject to change.)
F R OM T R AV E L D U B U Q U E
Q1 by the Numbers MARKETING
36,453 online sessions to traveldubuque.com 15,385 in our audience across social EVENTS 17,835 event-related guests $2.6 million in estimated economic impact MEETINGS & GROUPS 1 Conventions Booked 8 Conventions In Process 0 Conventions Lost WELCOME CENTER
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT:
Tourism Award Winners
699 Visitors in the Welcome Center 521 Travel Guides Mailed After the coldwinter months, it was great to see many families and teachers coming to Dubuque for their Spring Break in March.
APRIL 19-20, 2022
Four Dubuque County businesses were awarded honors at the 2022 Iowa Tourism Conference on Wednesday, April 20, in downtown Des Moines. Travel Dubuque, National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, the City of Balltown, and Beyond the Game received awards from Travel Iowa and the Iowa Economic Development Authority. Outstanding Attraction of the Year for the Metro category was awarded to the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium. The City of Balltown received the award for Outstanding Community in the Rural category. Outstanding Event of the Year in the Rural category was awarded to Beyond the Game. Travel Dubuque received the award for Outstanding Promotional Material in the Metro category for the 2022 Travel Guide. “As a region, we’ve had a great year after a tough time for our industry due to the pandemic. To come back swinging with recognition at the state level is a great boost for our county,” shared Keith Rahe, President & CEO of Travel Dubuque. “The best thing about this is that all of these awards represent partnerships across businesses, city governments, and more. Things are just better when you work together.” 11
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