ADDITIONAL PARTNERSHIPS & MARKETING TACTICS

Jackson International Airport Partnership

Jackson–Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport is the primary transportation hub for air travel in Mississippi. Beginning in October 2022, Visit Jackson is initiating an enhanced partnership with the Jackson Municipal Airport Authorities’ Navigator Program, a volunteer program. The position is responsible for providing excellent customer service to all visitors coming into and leaving Jackson. The program has several activities related to best practices for customer services, such as guided tours, assistance with special needs (ADA), language translators, and conducting customer service surveys. Our goal includes welcoming and directing customers, visitors, and passengers as they deplane and head to their desired location within the airport. The specific role of Visit Jackson is to provide travelers with information on attractions, restaurants, and hotels located within the state’s Capital City. With a hands-on approach, meeting and greeting customers will help them feel safe and present an overall friendly experience upon arrival that will set an efficient tone for the destination. The partnership with the Navigator’s role is to create a positive first impression of Mississippi and the Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport to organizations and travelers that have chosen Jackson to meet, play or stay.

The JSU Effect

The resurgence of College football in the Capital City, Jackson State University, Millsaps College, Tougaloo College and Belhaven University continues to have a substantial economic impact on Jackson. The national attention that has been accompanied by heightened football attention is an opportunity to position the City With Soul as a prime sports tourism destination. Visit Jackson has an opportunity to partner with athletic programs to showcase the city’s history, arts, culture, and culinary assets. Millions of followers and those exposed to Jackson athletic programs now have opportunities to experience the destination via multiple broadcast mediums. Executing partnership strategies have the propensity to influence and attract new first-time visitors that may have never considered a visitation.

For the 2022/2023 fiscal year Visit Jackson will make a commitment to help solve limited parking problems at the Veterans Memorial Stadium, the host location for all Jackson State University home football games. JSU football games draw in upwards of forty thousand people per game. The game parking lot will only hold 1726 vehicles, this space inclusive of more than 400 tailgate spaces, leaving about 1326 parking spaces for a 60,000-event facility. Visit Jackson goal is to partner with surrounding parking lots to reduce parking compression through providing charter transportation up to ten hours a day for home games. This will help control the safety of gamegoers (from crossing busy streets, parking in non-parking areas). Visit Jackson will also hire security to manage the partners parking lots while they are enjoying the game, to ensure the safety of patron's vehicles.