OUR MISSION Visit Fort Wayne conducts marketing and sales programs to attract visitors to our destination’s convention and tourism facilities so that our community can derive the economic and social benefits of a prosperous tourism industry.
OUR VISION Fort Wayne is the best destination in the Midwest for conventions, trade shows, sports tournaments and family getaway trips. Visitors enjoy their stay because of the famous “Hoosier Hospitality” they experience during their visit to Fort Wayne.
“We came and stayed three nights. We were going to stay two nights but the family was having such a good time that we tacked on another! Hope to visit again in a year or two!”
OUR GOALS • Conduct sales and marketing programs to attract conventions, meetings and tournaments to Fort Wayne • Produce advertising campaigns to attract leisure visitors and travel media attention • Provide visitor information services to promote our community and industry partners • Provide leadership to grow our community’s economy and tourism industry
2016 Annual Report The Fort Wayne/Allen County Convention and Visitors Bureau, dba Visit Fort Wayne, is a community and economic development organization. We are governed by a 21-member board of civic leaders, staffed by 14 professionals, and financed by both public entities and over 350 businesses, working together to attract more visitors to our destination.
Online Thank You Note
Our mission is to promote our city as a destination for conventions, trade shows, leisure visitors, and sports tournaments. We do this so that every business and resident can enjoy the economic and social benefits of a prosperous tourism industry.
NEW MARKETING IN 2016
New 501(c)3 Foundation Established
Tourism enhances our quality of life by generating new customers for places that residents enjoy, like attractions, arenas, ballparks, malls, restaurants, and festivals.
Increased Marketing for New Meetings
Please enjoy reading more about our accomplishments and plans for the future. Sincerely, Mike Nutter Fort Wayne TinCaps Chair, Visit Fort Wayne Board of Directors
Over 60 new 360º tours VISITOR AND TRAVEL CHARACTERISTICS
VALUE OF TOURISM
Where Visitors Come From
Expenditures by Visitor Type Per Day
According to VisitFortWayne.com visits, Visitors Center inquiries and ad responses, visitors come to Fort Wayne from the following states:
Lodging Guests.......................................................................... $133.29
Indiana....................... 54% Ohio............................. 9%
Visiting Friends & Relatives......................................................... $70.87 Day Trip Visitors............................................................................ $29.47
Expenditures by Type
Illinois........................... 8%
Food & Beverage.................... 34%
Michigan.................. 7.5%
Shopping.................................. 22%
Other...................... 21.5%
Over 5.8 million people visit Fort Wayne annually.
Transportation.......................... 18% Lodging..................................... 14%
Visitors by Trip Characteristics
Attractions/Entertainment...... 12%
Typical Travel Party................................................................ 3.2 people
This generates $38.9 million in tax revenues to local units of government.
Average Stay...............................................................................1.8 days First Visit to Fort Wayne............................................................... 44.2%
Visitors spend $576 million on a wide variety of goods & services.
Visitors by Travel Type Lodging Guests ........................44% Day Trip Visitors .........................25% Visiting Friends & Relatives .....20% Pass-Through Visitors ...............11%
927 S. Harrison Street, Suite 101, Fort Wayne, IN 46802 1-800-767-7752 • 260-424-3700
www.VisitFortWayne.com
Visitor spending sustains over 10,500 jobs in Allen County. Source: Economic Impact of Tourism in Allen County, Indiana Rockport Analytics and Indiana Office of Tourism Development
VISITOR CENTER RESULTS
ADVERTISING RESULTS VISITFORTWAYNE.COM
% 29 traffic on desktop
71% traffic on mobile devices
Visits to Website:
1.1 Million 19% increase over 2015 6% over national average
Unique Users:
675,000 7.8% increase over 2015 3% over national average
“My wife and I read a nice article about your city in the Chicago Tribune travel section. We haven’t been there in about 20 years but now we’d like to visit! Please send us a Visitors Guide and additional information!” Jim Hoffman, Naperville, IL
SOCIAL MEDIA
The Visitors Center welcomed
Visit Fort Wayne reaches nearly 27,000 people per day, with over 50,000 impressions, across all social media channels.
over 5,000 people in person and
15,400 people per day 6,100 people per day 5,400 people per day
Midwest Living 7 Outstanding Indiana Restaurants
2.5 Million
Huffington Post 5 Midwest Towns You Aren’t Visiting But Should
Those visitors were:
55-64 Most Common Age
More Often Women
8.5 million
$
in direct economic impact to our community!
Postcards
Mugs T-shirts
Travelocity 20 Best Cities to Visit with Kids
Over 300 conventions, tournaments, conferences and consumer shows that brought 515,000 visitors to Fort Wayne, who met at 36 different venues!
Host Them Here
32,609 visits to 17 museums and attractions – in one afternoon – our best year ever!
and
IN 2016, OUR CITY HOSTED:
00, INDIANA!
Be A Tourist in Your Own Hometown!
42,000 visitors
Chicago Tribune Seeds of Change Bear Fruit in Fort Wayne, IN
Savor Fort Wayne PY 2
Some from as far away as Argentina, Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, and UK!
which will bring
Most popular souvenirs:
COMMUNITY RELATIONS
HAP
37 new events
and email requests in 2016.
29 writers hosted in our city in 2016... resulting in 100 articles including:
Pageviews:
In 2016, our sales team helped book
assisted 10,000 more via phone
MEDIA RELATIONS
Travel IN Magazine Girlfriend Getaway in Fort Wayne
22% increase over 2015 Consistent with national average
GROUP SALES RESULTS
30,000 area residents have learned how to host their friends, family and meetings in Fort Wayne at HostThemHere.com
35 participating restaurants, over 200,000 pageviews, and thousands of meals enjoyed during this Restaurant Week.
Top menus viewed: Club Soda and Eddie Merlots, both with 7,000 views!
“I cannot begin to thank you enough for everything you did to make our conference a success. From the awesome host gift to the restaurant suggestions, to incorporating the regional aspect, to keeping the committee on targets, you were a lifesaver and went well above and beyond. Thank you! Let’s look at scheduling 2019 or 2020!” Christine Traina, Association of Indiana Counties, Inc.
VISITOR CENTER RESULTS
ADVERTISING RESULTS VISITFORTWAYNE.COM
% 29 traffic on desktop
71% traffic on mobile devices
Visits to Website:
1.1 Million 19% increase over 2015 6% over national average
Unique Users:
675,000 7.8% increase over 2015 3% over national average
“My wife and I read a nice article about your city in the Chicago Tribune travel section. We haven’t been there in about 20 years but now we’d like to visit! Please send us a Visitors Guide and additional information!” Jim Hoffman, Naperville, IL
SOCIAL MEDIA
The Visitors Center welcomed
Visit Fort Wayne reaches nearly 27,000 people per day, with over 50,000 impressions, across all social media channels.
over 5,000 people in person and
15,400 people per day 6,100 people per day 5,400 people per day
Midwest Living 7 Outstanding Indiana Restaurants
2.5 Million
Huffington Post 5 Midwest Towns You Aren’t Visiting But Should
Those visitors were:
55-64 Most Common Age
More Often Women
8.5 million
$
in direct economic impact to our community!
Postcards
Mugs T-shirts
Travelocity 20 Best Cities to Visit with Kids
Over 300 conventions, tournaments, conferences and consumer shows that brought 515,000 visitors to Fort Wayne, who met at 36 different venues!
Host Them Here
32,609 visits to 17 museums and attractions – in one afternoon – our best year ever!
and
IN 2016, OUR CITY HOSTED:
00, INDIANA!
Be A Tourist in Your Own Hometown!
42,000 visitors
Chicago Tribune Seeds of Change Bear Fruit in Fort Wayne, IN
Savor Fort Wayne PY 2
Some from as far away as Argentina, Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, and UK!
which will bring
Most popular souvenirs:
COMMUNITY RELATIONS
HAP
37 new events
and email requests in 2016.
29 writers hosted in our city in 2016... resulting in 100 articles including:
Pageviews:
In 2016, our sales team helped book
assisted 10,000 more via phone
MEDIA RELATIONS
Travel IN Magazine Girlfriend Getaway in Fort Wayne
22% increase over 2015 Consistent with national average
GROUP SALES RESULTS
30,000 area residents have learned how to host their friends, family and meetings in Fort Wayne at HostThemHere.com
35 participating restaurants, over 200,000 pageviews, and thousands of meals enjoyed during this Restaurant Week.
Top menus viewed: Club Soda and Eddie Merlots, both with 7,000 views!
“I cannot begin to thank you enough for everything you did to make our conference a success. From the awesome host gift to the restaurant suggestions, to incorporating the regional aspect, to keeping the committee on targets, you were a lifesaver and went well above and beyond. Thank you! Let’s look at scheduling 2019 or 2020!” Christine Traina, Association of Indiana Counties, Inc.
OUR MISSION Visit Fort Wayne conducts marketing and sales programs to attract visitors to our destination’s convention and tourism facilities so that our community can derive the economic and social benefits of a prosperous tourism industry.
OUR VISION Fort Wayne is the best destination in the Midwest for conventions, trade shows, sports tournaments and family getaway trips. Visitors enjoy their stay because of the famous “Hoosier Hospitality” they experience during their visit to Fort Wayne.
“We came and stayed three nights. We were going to stay two nights but the family was having such a good time that we tacked on another! Hope to visit again in a year or two!”
OUR GOALS • Conduct sales and marketing programs to attract conventions, meetings and tournaments to Fort Wayne • Produce advertising campaigns to attract leisure visitors and travel media attention • Provide visitor information services to promote our community and industry partners • Provide leadership to grow our community’s economy and tourism industry
2016 Annual Report The Fort Wayne/Allen County Convention and Visitors Bureau, dba Visit Fort Wayne, is a community and economic development organization. We are governed by a 21-member board of civic leaders, staffed by 14 professionals, and financed by both public entities and over 350 businesses, working together to attract more visitors to our destination.
Online Thank You Note
Our mission is to promote our city as a destination for conventions, trade shows, leisure visitors, and sports tournaments. We do this so that every business and resident can enjoy the economic and social benefits of a prosperous tourism industry.
NEW MARKETING IN 2016
New 501(c)3 Foundation Established
Tourism enhances our quality of life by generating new customers for places that residents enjoy, like attractions, arenas, ballparks, malls, restaurants, and festivals.
Increased Marketing for New Meetings
Please enjoy reading more about our accomplishments and plans for the future. Sincerely, Mike Nutter Fort Wayne TinCaps Chair, Visit Fort Wayne Board of Directors
Over 60 new 360º tours VISITOR AND TRAVEL CHARACTERISTICS
VALUE OF TOURISM
Where Visitors Come From
Expenditures by Visitor Type Per Day
According to VisitFortWayne.com visits, Visitors Center inquiries and ad responses, visitors come to Fort Wayne from the following states:
Lodging Guests.......................................................................... $133.29
Indiana....................... 54% Ohio............................. 9%
Visiting Friends & Relatives......................................................... $70.87 Day Trip Visitors............................................................................ $29.47
Expenditures by Type
Illinois........................... 8%
Food & Beverage.................... 34%
Michigan.................. 7.5%
Shopping.................................. 22%
Other...................... 21.5%
Over 5.8 million people visit Fort Wayne annually.
Transportation.......................... 18% Lodging..................................... 14%
Visitors by Trip Characteristics
Attractions/Entertainment...... 12%
Typical Travel Party................................................................ 3.2 people
This generates $38.9 million in tax revenues to local units of government.
Average Stay...............................................................................1.8 days First Visit to Fort Wayne............................................................... 44.2%
Visitors spend $576 million on a wide variety of goods & services.
Visitors by Travel Type Lodging Guests ........................44% Day Trip Visitors .........................25% Visiting Friends & Relatives .....20% Pass-Through Visitors ...............11%
927 S. Harrison Street, Suite 101, Fort Wayne, IN 46802 1-800-767-7752 • 260-424-3700
www.VisitFortWayne.com
Visitor spending sustains over 10,500 jobs in Allen County. Source: Economic Impact of Tourism in Allen County, Indiana Rockport Analytics and Indiana Office of Tourism Development