Message from the President & Board Chair AN INDUSTRY THAT CAPITALIZES ON OPPORTUNITY, A RESILIENT CITY…CITY WITH SOUL How do you react and review the productivity of the destination marketing organization during a global pandemic? As Chair of the Board of Directors and President & CEO of Visit Jackson, our response to that question remains by employing the highest transparency and openness levels. To that end, it is our responsibility and honor to present Visit Jackson’s 2020 Annual Report to our stakeholders.
2020 began with the release and implementation of a new strategic plan, the dedication of new office space in the Historic Electric Building, and the JXN Welcome Center’s grand opening. New coalitions were initiated, including developing the Greater Jackson destination alliances, which secured new international business shared by the destinations. The overarching theme of this report is the necessity to utilize a fluid strategic approach. Visit Jackson has participated in disaster preparedness seminars at countless tourism conferences over the past several years. However, we think it is fair to state that no one was prepared for the external environmental factors associated with the Coronavirus Global Pandemic. Because of this, health, governmental, industry, and community-based alliances have been forged, establishing tourism resiliency and economic endurance; Visit Jackson simply calls it City With Soul STRONG! So, while our FY2020 Plan was vetted, developed, and approved, March 2020 introduced the necessity to call an audible. One of the first tactics Visit Jackson engaged was to join the other 24 Mississippi destination marketing organizations in lobbying the state leadership and legislature to request a lifeline for Mississippi Tourism. As a part of that collective ambition, Visit Jackson received a pro-rata share of the awarded Tourism Recovery Fund (TRF). While traditional revenue was
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2020 Annual Report
Typically, annual reports describe the organizational and financial health of an agency. Our goal is to adhere to industry best practices within the next few pages and provide the included data concisely and accurately.
