Tourism in review [Feb. 2005]

TOURISM in review . . .
FEBRUARY 2005
Volume 35
VICS
Super Bowl XXXIX brought tremendous attention to Jacksonville, FL, but it also helped focus attention on coastal Georgia. Overflow from the NFL-sanctioned event generated room nights and helped the Kingsland/ St. Marys Visitor Information Center (VIC) spotlight what there is to offer in the state. The VICs organized a "Sportin' through Georgia" Mardi Gras parade float and showcased sporting events in Georgia to the approximately 40,000 spectators. During the parade, VICs distributed 600 Georgia On My Mind travel guides and 400 "stress ball" peaches, plus threw candy and Mardi Gras beads to the crowd.

Tallapoosa VIC

The Tallapoosa VICs celebrated their 25th birthday, Feb 16. The Tallapoosa Business Association furnished a coffee break throughout the week and the DeKalb CVB served hot dogs and cake. The Historic High Country Travel Association also participated.

VICs welcome Canadian visitors

VIC managers held a mid-year meeting in Savannah on Feb. 16 to share ideas on improvements, discuss goals, uniforms, and Canadian promotion, and to make plans for the reminder of the year. After the meeting the group took a familiarization tour of historic Savannah sponsored by Grayline Trolley Tours.
Georgia VICs are kicking off a new initiative in March to recognize Canadian visitors traveling in Georgia. Director of Visitor Information Services Jeff Tatum is spear-heading the project, along with Kingsland Center Manager Sheryl Johnson.
Every fall, thousands of Canadians travel through Georgia on their way to Florida, and many stop in at a state visitor center. Canadians have been known to spend an extra night in the state when a VIC specialist recommends an attraction or festival they might be interested in.
So in appreciation of Canadian visitors, all state VICs will now have a Canadian flag on their counter along with packets of information containing a Georgia On My Mind travel guide, calendar of events, Georgia map, pendant with the American flag and Canadian flag, and a hotel/motel coupon book with a special ad for the Canadian travelers.

EVENTS
GDEcD participated in the February 21 - 23 Georgia Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus (GACVB) meeting in Augusta. GDEcD Commissioner Craig Lesser and Deputy Commissioner Janis Cannon made presentations to the association on the state of Georgia tourism. Director of Global Sales Bob Harris met with Ann Thomas the owner of Western Discovery Tours and the current chairperson for CrossSphere (formerly National Tour Association).

INTERNATIONAL

The tourism division's international sales team has been busy over the past year. Statistics for 2004 were released during the GACVB conference in Augusta.

2004 STATISTICS
GERMANY UNITED KINGDOM

Statistics include:
$18.9 million in earned media was generated in Germany and $2 million in earned media in the United Kingdom.
German Wholesalers/Tour Operators featuring Georgia product increased from 56 to 65.
U.K. Wholesalers/Tour Operators featuring Georgia product increased from 24 to 70.
Virgin Holidays U.K. sold over 1,350 room nights.
Thomas Cook 2004 bookings for Georgia increased 114% over 2003.
Titan HiTours booked over 2,100 room nights.
FTI produced over 2,000 room nights in 2004

Audrey Deheeger and Nazreen Mughal

The GDEcD's tourism division conducted a shopping familiarization tour Feb. 23 - 25 for representatives of Major Travel U.K., one of the largest London agencies organizing U.S. shopping trips. Product Manager Audrey Deheeger and Product Coordinator Nazreen Mughal visited the Atlanta Metro area and scouted the Mall of Georgia, North Georgia Premium Outlets, Lenox Mall, Phipps Plaza, Perimeter Mall, and Filene's Basement in Buckhead. Major Travel U.K. currently features U.S. cities including New York City, Chicago and Minneapolis.

DOMESTIC SALES
Georgia tourism's sales team hit the road in February promoting domestic packaged travel during the American Bus Association's marketplace, February 4 - 8 and Travel South Showcase, February 11 - 16. Both conventions consisted of pre-set appointments with tour planners. According to GDEcD Domestic Group Sales Director Laurie Rowe, the group market is changing to appeal more to the baby boomer market. "I'm now seeing the proof of this through tour and travel companies offering independent travel options as well as the traditional group motor coach market," Rowe said. "An example of this is Vacations Made Easy (www.vacationsmadeeasy.com) and Travel Networking Partners, which deal primarily with bank travel groups and are now beginning to offer FIT individual travel options to customers."
Sales leads and a recap from all shows will be available by March 15. Contact your regional representative or Nija Vereen for a copy.
The DeKalb Convention & Visitors Bureau created an "outside of the box" promotion during this year's American Bus Association convention and marketplace in Chicago. Jeff Mills with the DeKalb CVB placed his photo-wrapped van, which includes DeKalb attractions of Stone Mountain Park, Fernbank Museum of Natural History, the Atlanta Silverbacks, Michael C. Carlos Museum and more on the marketplace floor for every delegate to view. Thousands of people registered for door prizes and obtained information on the destination. By the end of the show the bureau booked more than $1,092,000 in business for the county. This economic impact doesn't cover the pending group activity from other operators' inquires.
The Georgia tourism division co-hosted a post-Travel South familiarization tour entitled the "Mighty Waters and the Waves of Change" with the state of Alabama and focused on the Civil Rights movement. The tour departed Memphis and traveled through Alabama visiting Birmingham and Montgomery. Then they participated in a Civil Rights driving tour of Atlanta and visited the Martin Luther King Center, the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum, and dined at Mary Mac's Tea Room. During this tour, business was solidified with Mid Atlanta Tours, which brings in between 4 - 10 student/youth groups to Atlanta per month. Plans to further develop a bi-state Civil Rights itinerary are currently underway.

MLK, Center

Jimmy Carter Library & Museum

Nija Vereen-Torrence

GDEcD participated in Georgia's second annual Southern Women's Show (SWS) in Savannah, February 17 - 20. Visitation for the show was over 11,000 people, which was an increase from last year. The Savannah Visitor Information Center staff represented the state and distributed Georgia On My Mind travel guides and information about special events in Georgia. The consumer shows are open to members of the Georgia tourism industry for co-op. For more information on co-op sales opportunities with GDEcD go to www.MarketGeorgia.org .
The annual Bank Travel Conference, a meeting for travel industry professionals, was held February 10 - 13 and designed to increase the knowledge of financial institutions' Loyalty Program Directors in the areas of bank sales and travel skills. The marketplace consists of prearranged appointments between bankers and 250+ travel companies and destinations. This show provided an opportunity to sell Georgia as a destination to thousands of upscale seniors. GDEcD Tourism Sales Coordinator Nija Vereen-Torrence represented the state.
MARKETING
Georgia's spring advertising campaign is underway and will run through June.
Broadcast marketing efforts include: Drive markets in Atlanta, GA; Birmingham, AL; Greenville/ Spartanburg, SC; Jacksonville, FL; Tampa / St. Petersburg, FL; Sarasota, FL; Tallahassee, FL; and Orlando, FL. The state's commercial is also running on 78 Georgia stations through June 20 as part of a custom package with the Georgia Association of Broadcasters.
Print marketing efforts include: Esquire, GQ, Golf Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Bon Appetit, Country Home, Food and Wine, Garden Design, House and Garden, This Old House, Traditional Home, Gourmet, InStyle, AJC, Preservation, O Magazine, Southern Living, Season Magazine, AirTran Airways' Go Magazine, Golfstyles Atlanta, Vibe Magazine, Upscale Magazine, Ebony Magazine, Black Enterprise, Essence Magazine, and AAA publications in GA, TN, FL, SC, NC.
Online marketing efforts include: Interactive Keyword Optimization, Google, Overture, Concierge/Epicurious General Content SitesYahoo!, Excite iWon; ValueClick Georgia Content PagesThe Weather Channel, History Channel, Family Fun/ Disney Online, Outdoor Recreation Travel & Sports Sites Away Network, CBS Sportsline

PUBLIC RELATIONS
The 2005 Travel Media Marketplace is just around the corner, March 17 - 23. Final preparations for the state's largest media event are underway and, by close of registration in February, Georgia had 35 national and regional travel writers planning to attend. All Georgia travel associations
will be represented during the March 20 marketplace in Macon.
Reaction to the Georgia tourism division's new online clip report has been tremendous. In January, GDEcD began sharing the new report, which tracks statewide tourism related news print articles and tourism division initiatives in an electronic format. In the past, all news clips were reported quarterly in hardcover binders, which made it difficult to share stories with industry partners. The new format will allow the division to share information by posting it online. Industry partners now have access to the report that contains stats on media impressions and ad value. Also the information will now be reported monthly, as compared to the previous quarterly updates.
To access information to the monthly clip reports go to www.MarketGeorgia.org under Media /Georgia Tourism Clip Reports.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Lance Armstrong is coming to Georgia again! Don't miss Lance Armstrong defending his 2004 Dodge Tour de Georgia title April 19 - 24. For more information and continuous updates, visit www.dodgetourdegeorgia.com .

Co-Op Marketing Program applications are due April 8, 2005. The GDEcD Tourism Division has $500,000 to distribute. Go to www.MarketGeorgia.org and click on Marketing to download application materials.

The Southern Governor's Association will be held in Greensboro, GA on August 28 -30. Governor Sonny Perdue is chairman of this year's conference and has chosen Heritage Tourism as his top initiative.

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The Governor's Conference on Tourism will be held in Valdosta, September 14 - 16. For a copy of the tourism nomination form, sponsorship information and the 2006-2008 Host City Bid forms, please contact Nerissa Serrano at nserrano@georgia.org or visit www.MarketGeorgia.org.

Georgia Governor's Conference On Tourism
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Atlanta

New Discoveries 2006 will be held April 5 - 8, 2006 in Atlanta.
What is it? It's a day to showcase new or improved product in Atlanta and throughout the state of Georgia. The event is hosted by the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Georgia Department of Economic Development.
Why are we doing this now? It will be the ten year anniversary of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. It's a perfect time to celebrate all the wonders Atlanta and Georgia have to offer!
Who is invited to the tradeshow? Hotels, resorts, attractions, convention & visitors bureaus, ground operators, receptive operators, restaurants, shopping venues and any other Georgia supplier with an interest in growing its group tour business are invited. Tour operators, AAA counselors and selected travel agents and receptive operators from the U.S. will also be invited, along with trade and consumer media.
For more information, contact GDEcD Director of Global Sales Bob Harris at bharris@georgia.org.

Bob Harris

HISTORIC HIGH
COUNTRY

NORTHEAST GEORGIA
MOUNTAINS

ATLANTA METRO

PRESIDENTIAL PATHWAYS

HISTORIC HEARTLAND

CLASSIC SOUTH

PLANTATION TRACE

MAGNOLIA MIDLANDS
COLONIAL COAST

REGIONAL UPDATE
For information about what is happening in Georgia Tourism's Nine Travel Regions go to: http://www.georgia.org/tourism/market_ga/media/regional_updates.asp