2013 – 2014
ANNUAL TOURISM REPORT ROCK HILL / YORK COUNTY, SC CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU
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1 | 2013-2014 Annual Tourism Report ∙ Rock Hill / York County, SC
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2013–14 HIGHLIGHTS
Direct Economic Impact in York County
$196M
$15.7M
84,092
TOURISM INCOME
DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT
HOTEL ROOM NIGHTS
57,723
81,006
44,148
EVENT ATTENDANCE
BROCHURES GIVEN
WEBSITE VISITORS
1,880
93
80
TOURISM JOBS
EVENTS BOOKED
PUBLISHED STORIES
Source: South Carolina Parks, Recreation & Tourism Dept. (Tourism Income & Jobs) and Rock Hill / York County CVB
2 | 2013-2014 Annual Tourism Report ∙ Rock Hill / York County, SC
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Message from the Executive Director What a great year for travel and tourism in York County, SC! During the 2013-2014 budget cycle, York County tourism continued to make great strides in growing its current tourism products while adding a few new amenities to the lineup. Staff at the Rock Hill / York County Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) partnered with tourism businesses to attract visitors to our area by continuing to produce a product that is unique, creative and experiential. This year, we focused on “partnerships” to gain a competitive advantage in the market and promote long-term development. The CVB and the York County Partners in Tourism (PIT) brought together 110 community and business leaders for the 2013 Tourism Summit titled “Building Our Bridge to the Future.” The lineup of speakers for the summit consisted of a team of travel and tourism experts who shared information on travel trends, initiatives and industry partnership successes. We continued our focus on partnerships throughout the year by joining efforts with the York County Planning Department to launch a new bike map throughout York County, as well as assisted in the development and introduction of a gateway sign located on Interstate 77. We also introduced “Experience York County!” a program that highlights immersive tours that bring visitors closer to the action, produced York County’s first ever tourism mobile app, brought in new sporting events, worked with western York County community leaders on the redevelopment of the Scenic Byway brochure, and provided a staff liaison to assist with the newly formed York County Hospitality Tax Committee. As we look ahead to 2014–2015, we are excited about what the year will bring. Our staff will present new sporting events, embark upon branding research and development for York County tourism and continue to search the market for the best ways to remain accessible to our visitors. It is our intent that each visitor will have such a wonderful experience that it must be shared and repeated.
OUR MISSION
To create a thriving travel and tourism economy in York County, South Carolina.
OUR VISION
Every tourism experience is so exciting that it must be shared.
STRATEGIC PLAN
Each year, the CVB staff drafts a Destination Business Plan designed to help staff with the direction of strategic planning. The 2014-2015 Business Plan has been completed by the CVB staff, reviewed and approved by the Rock Hill / York County Board of Commissioners. The staff will use the
Yours in travel and tourism,
Destination Business Plan to prepare its 2014-2015 Rock Hill / York County
Lisa Meadows, Executive Director Rock Hill / York County Convention & Visitors Bureau
3 | 2013-2014 Annual Tourism Report ∙ Rock Hill / York County, SC
Marketing Plan.
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CONTENTS 2013–14 Highlights 2 Message from the Executive Director
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Sports Score Again! 5 Winning Golf Partnerships
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Meet in York County 6 Touring by Bus Loads 6 Building Partnerships 7 Across State Lines & Around the World
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Our Story Goes Deep 9 Visitor Center Totals 9 EXIT 90 Gateway Beautification
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Board of Commissioners
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Meet the Rock Hill / York County CVB Staff
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Sports Score Again! The Rock Hill / York County CVB celebrated a banner year for sports. During the 2013-2014 campaign season, the CVB team brought in a total of 36 sporting events, a record high for the organization.
The combination of these sporting events generated $6.02 million in economic impact for the local economy and an all-time high of 13,521 room nights throughout York County. During this fiscal year, the CVB attended eight sports trade shows and conventions. The CVB’s attendance at these shows further expands the sports brand to a national scene and to ensure that all of York County, SC is seen as an amateur sports destination leader. The CVB has kept busy in recruiting brand new events to the area. The CVB partnered with the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) headquartered in Atlanta, GA to become the host for both the Men’s and Women’s Track & Field Championships and the Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships for 3 years through 2016. This partnership was solidified with Winthrop University coming on board as the host venue. The CVB, in partnership with Rock Hill Parks, Recreation & Tourism (PRT) landed Quidditch World Cup VIII for 2015, beating out Austin, TX for the rights to host this national event. This event will feature over 80 college teams and teams from Canada. With over 1,600 athletes expected, this once again proves we have what it takes to play the game! HIGHLIGHTS
Winning Golf Partnerships The Rock Hill / York County CVB and its partnership with Golf Packages of South Carolina continues to bring golfers to the area and generates a $106,444 economic impact.
53,000 Total Attendance 752 Total Rounds of Golf $6M Direct Economic Impact 13,521 Hotel Room Nights
By attending several key golf expos both in the United States and Canada, York County continues to position itself as a key contributor to South Carolina’s nationally ranked golf market.
5 | 2013-2014 Annual Tourism Report ∙ Rock Hill / York County, SC
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Meet in York County Kings Mountain State Park, Anne Springs Close Greenway and the Baxter Hood Center were venues as the SC Horsemen’s Council hosted the 2013 National Equestrian Trails Conference in July 2013.
York County meetings and conferences brought in over 1,500 visitors to the area. The continued successful partnership with the local hotels and meeting venues to drive business to York County has accumulated 1,102 room nights from various meetings, weddings and reunions.
Touring by Bus Loads The CVB’s various marketing efforts helped to bring in 30 groups from across the country to York County, SC for the 2013-2014 fiscal year. The groups ranged from North and South Carolinian day trippers to the overnight visitors from Pennsylvania and Ohio. From these groups, we were able to generate a total attendance of 5,123 and an economic impact of over $455,258.
Also this year, the CVB created a new student itinerary and refreshed four current itineraries. Those itineraries were shared with 900 potential group tour organizers and operators. In June 2014, White Star Tours of Pennsylvania and Wendy’s Services of Ohio visited York County, SC. The two groups were made up of travel planners who came directly as a result of the African American Travel Conference, which was held in York County in April 2013. It's always great to see a direct return of investment by repeat business!
6 | 2013-2014 Annual Tourism Report ∙ Rock Hill / York County, SC
HIGHLIGHTS
$455,258 Direct Economic Impact
5,123 Total Attendance 58 Total Group & Meeting Markets
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Building Partnerships York County Unveils Collection of Experiential Tours Experiential tourism is defined as:
“creating experiences that engage visitors in a series of memorable activities, revealed over a period of time, that are inherently personal, engage the senses, and makes connections on an emotional, physical, spiritual, or intellectual level.” In September 2013, the CVB began an initiative that allows groups to get an in-depth, behind the scenes tour of some of York County’s unique attractions. Through this program, the goal is for tourism partners to transform their visitors’ experience, gain a competitive advantage, revitalize their signature experiences and engineer new, engaging and immersive experiences!
York County Launches New Snack Bag Program Through the revitalized York County Attraction Snack Bag program, the CVB has been able to show our generosity and appreciation by assisting our partner attractions with a special treat for those visiting York County!
7 | 2013-2014 Annual Tourism Report ∙ Rock Hill / York County, SC
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Across State Lines & Around the World F A L L 20 1 3
APRIL 20 1 4
Brochure Demand Rising
County “Lure” Brochure Revamped
Due to the consistent travel inquiries, the Scenic Byway,
The attractions brochure, mailed in conjunction with any
Waterways and Fairways of York County brochures
brochure requests received through the AAA magazine
have been updated and reprinted three times since 2010
advertisements, was created to encourage leisure
with over 56,000 printed to date. The Scenic Byway
travelers to plan a longer trip. Because the brochure
brochure (formerly “Getaway On A Country Road”) was
includes the estimated visit time for each attraction,
the first of the series and its popularity resulted in the
many hotel employees use the brochure to make
creation of the Waterways and Fairways companion
recommendations to their guests.
pieces. Combined, they highlight 69 tourism partners and
The brochures have been mailed to all 52 states, 14
premier attractions.
countries, and 4 continents.
M A RC H 201 4
Leisure by the Numbers
Bike York County, SC Campaign The growing number of active visitors to Rock Hill and York County, combined with an emerging world-class
Total Leisure Room Nights 68,921 Leisure Advertising Inquiries 1,953
cycling community, inspired the CVB to develop a
Top 3 Advertising Lead Generators:
comprehensive road map for bicyclists.
AAA GO Carolinas 565
Published in March 2014, over 3,700 copies of the
AAA Website 534
Bike York County, SC road map have been provided
AAA Home & Away (Ohio) 284
throughout the eastern seaboard.
Who Stays Overnight?
Leisure Travel Someone in the area to visit an attraction (16.4%), family/friends (2.0%), university related (4.8%), or passing through (13.5%)
2.3%
Corporate / Business Travel Someone visiting the area for a work
33.4%
related purpose
Convention / Meeting Someone visiting the area to attend a
36.7%
tradeshow, training, or retreat
7.4%
Group Including sports team (15.1%), motor coach
20.2%
(1.9%), or wedding/reunion (3.2%)
Other Unaccounted check-ins, guest was not asked for purpose of travel
8 | 2013-2014 Annual Tourism Report ∙ Rock Hill / York County, SC
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Our Story Goes Deep
TOP 5 STATES
GROWTH The CVB purchased Vocus, a public relations software that enables professionals to plan, execute and measure influencer–oriented campaigns in one integrated platform. We also launched an App (pg 10)! STORYTELLING The CVB pitched a total of 1,686 story ideas to media contacts throughout the U.S. sent from the CVB’s media database, Vocus
Requesting Visitor Information
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(1,475 contacts) and McKenzie News Service (200 contacts). Vocus had 458 online pickups. In all, 39 press releases were
North Carolina
submitted and 80 stories published, which included 14 story contributions and 66 direct story pickups. The CVB was featured in the 2013 August edition of Meetings (South) Focus magazine in the section, “Surprise Party: South Carolina is loaded with Unexpected Pleasures.”
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INTERVIEWS As a member of the Catawba Regional Ag + Art Tour leadership team, the CVB helped coordinate its 2014 Kick-off Press Conference. The CVB also assisted
South Carolina
the York County Planning departments with the Exit 90 Gateway Sign reveal press conference. The CVB coordinated media visits / interviews with tourism partners (Sharon Golf Cart Rally, 75th Year, Still One Gear / Historic Rock Hill) by introducing new tourism products to the public, which resulted in additional media coverage with pre-scheduled and on-the spot interviews.
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ONLINE & SOCIAL MEDIA VisitYorkCounty.com received 44,148 total website hits from July 1, 2013–June 30, 2014 with 3,679 average monthly website hits. The CVB’s social communities include Facebook, Twitter,
New York
Pinterest, YouTube and Vine. The CVB Facebook page averages 243 “likes” per month and, with the implementation of a weekly editorial calendar, official Facebook campaigns and other creative additions, “likes” increased by 94% since last year.
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Visitor Center Totals
Ohio
1,310
665
2,581
4,556
81,006
Walk-Ins Visitors
Visitor Calls
Info Requests VisitYorkCounty.com
Travelers Assisted
Brochures Delivered
9 | 2013-2014 Annual Tourism Report ∙ Rock Hill / York County, SC
5 Indiana
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Exit 90 Gateway Beautification
WEB TRAFFIC (via unique urls)
582
BikeYorkCounty.com
439
RockHillFortMillHotels.com
384
In July 2014, the Exit 90 Gateway sign located southbound on Interstate
SCOutdoorFun.com
77 was completed! The new York County sign was built to welcome travelers to York County, SC. County leaders officially presented the sign to the public during a media event where attendees heard from various representatives from the signage project planning team. At the event, speakers gave an overview of the signage project explaining their
113
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individual involvement, the project goal, the process of development, etc. Prior to the development of the sign, York County leaders performed an Exit 90 Master Plan Study and one of the key issues identified by various stakeholders was the area’s lack of identity. The project goal was to
100
RockHillCelebrates.com
construct a monument sign with landscaping for scenic beautification along southbound I-77 at the Exit 90 interchange to announce to visitors that they are entering York County, South Carolina. The resulting Gateway Sign establishes a sense of place
65
YorkCountyGreens.com
and presents a positive vision for continued aesthetic and economic investment in the Exit 90 / Carowinds Boulevard area.
Our first tourism mobile app, “Visit York County, SC,” received 300 downloads within the first two months of launching!
10 | 2013-2014 Annual Tourism Report ∙ Rock Hill / York County, SC
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Meet the Rock Hill / York County CVB Staff
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Andrea Cooper Comporium Communications
David Grigg Bank of America
Michael Hunt Beef O’ Bradys
Julia Jordan
Rebekah Ardis
Sonja Burris
Visitor Services Manager
Communications Manager
AVP Nationwide Productions
Jason LaBarge HP Hotels
Tim Longmire Carowinds
Ron Miller Andy Clinton
Auvis Cole
Assistant Sales Associate
Sports Sales Manager
Family Trust Federal Credit Union (chair)
Brenda Robbins Community Volunteer
Gene Roper Leroy Springs & Company, Inc.
Mark Sexton City of Rock Hill / Rock Hill PRT
Lisa Meadows
Mikki Rentschler
Strauss Moore Shiple
Executive Director
Director of Finance & Administration
Olde English District Tourism Commission
Caitlin Totherow Accredited Destination Marketing Organization 2013 – 2016
Catawba Indian Cultural Center
Robert Walker Walker Medical Consultants, Inc.
Trina Ricks Visitor Center Specialist (part-time)
11 | 2013-2014 Annual Tourism Report ∙ Rock Hill / York County, SC
Charles Wood Ada Signs, Inc.
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F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N
Rock Hill / York County CVB 452 South Anderson Rd, Rock Hill, SC 29730 (888) 702 1320 • visityorkcounty.com
12 | 2013-2014 Annual Tourism Report ∙ Rock Hillshared / York County, SC Information in this publication covers July 1, 2013–June 30, 2014
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