Tourism in review [June 2002]

Tourism

June '02 in review . . .

Volume 4 June

... In June, the State tourism division launched a "Georgia Getaways Campaign," using $1 million supplemental '02 funding, which was designated specifically for marketing tourism and to help jump-start the economy. The campaign began June 24th and will run through July. Over 2,500 spots will run on 18 television and radio stations in Ga., Ala., Fla., S.C., N.C. and Tenn. Additionally, with the help of our industry partners, the tourism division is conducting a "grass roots public relations blitz." Attractions and destinations throughout the State have been called upon to write press releases on how tourism has helped increase their business or how tourism has had a strong economic impact in their local area.
... Based on recommendations and input from our industry partners, the State tourism co-op program has been redesigned to offer a simplified matching structure and a wider variety of eligible marketing projects. For 2002-2003, $500,000 has been designated to help fund marketing projects throughout the State of Georgia. Program guidelines and applications are available on the department's web site at www.GeorgiaOnMyMind.org under "Georgia Tourism Partners."
... The tourism division tempted the taste buds of Georgia's travel writers and tour operators as part of a summer public relations and sales campaign. Over 50 four-pound bags of Vidalia onions, donated by Bland Farms, were distributed to key tour operators, travel agents and media contacts. Recipes and statistics were attached to the bags of onions along with a note thanking the individuals and companies for their support of Georgia Tourism. Many recipients, such as Southern Living, communicated their appreciation.
... Tourism coverage for the month of May has been phenomenal, with figures representing 21,833,819 impressions, worth approximately $356,345 in advertising equivalency. These figures are increasing as articles continue to flow in. Tourism coverage results included 12,000 impressions from the Best Places to Sip Sweet Tea release, 115,000 from a Callaway Gardens Anniversary release and more than 1,400,000 from the Events Around Georgia newsletter. There was also significant coverage of antebellum Madison and of Civil War heritage in Andersonville. The New York Times completed a full page spread on the Kangaroo Conservation Center in Dawsonville.
... Travel Media Showcase was held in Montgomery, Alabama, on June 23-26, where journalists from all over the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, and South America were in attendance. Georgia was one of the top exhibitors. Trish Croll, GDITT Media Relations Manager, conducted interviews with 27 travel writers who requested information about the Peach State. Travel Media Showcase is an excellent opportunity for Georgia to offer story ideas directly to media and give them information on top attractions in the State.
... Travel and Tourism Research Association's Annual Conference was held in Washington, D.C., June 23-26. Kevin Langston, Assistant Deputy Commissioner, & Nicole Lamkin, Market Research Manager, attended this year's conference, which held the theme of "Capitalizing on Tourism Research for Marketing Success." TTRA 2002 represented the first major conference this year in the travel and tourism market research arena to provide marketers and researchers with a real look at viable information concerning the state of the tourism industry after 9/11.
... During the TTRA conference Nicole Lamkin was named Secretary of the Southeast Chapter of the Travel & Tourism Research Association (SETTRA). The SETTRA Chapter is in the process of "revitalizing" to offer the southeastern states (N.C., S.C., Ga., Fla.) of TTRA opportunities for collaborative research options and building networks between travel industry professionals and researchers at the regional level.
WWW.GEORGIAONMYMIND.ORG

Tourism

June '02 in review . . .

Volume 4 June

... GDITT was well represented at Pow Wow 2002 in New Orleans, LA over Memorial Day Weekend. Pow Wow is a large conference hosting top tour operators from around the world. This year Georgia received a huge increase in overseas interest and held a total of 46 appointments with United Kingdom and German operators. Due to GDITT's efforts at Pow Wow, several operators will be booking tours in Georgia. "Specialists Holiday Group" out of the UK has set dates for tours in 2003. They're looking for new properties and rates in Atlanta, Macon and Savannah. The tours have the potential of booking 2,760 room nights for Georgia! Another example is "Travelsphere" out of the UK. They also have motorcoach groups coming to Atlanta and Savannah. With a 25 room average per group, and a total of 31 different tours staying over night in Georgia, this means a potential of 775 room nights in Georgia and $131,750 in revenue.
... GDITT hosted a "Georgia on My Mind Golf Day" in both the UK and Germany June 17-21, 2002. The focus was to help build relationships with Golf-oriented tour operators/wholesalers and bring awareness to Georgia's golf product. In Germany, 18 German tour operators and media attended the golf tournament and dinner and in the UK there were 24 golf tour operators and media. So far, United Kingdom media organizations have published two articles and in Germany five articles have been published as a result of the trip. Bob Harris and Anne Young also participated in the UK's Visit America Week functions, including a media marketplace.
... "Georgia On My Mind Day" was observed June 1, 2002 at the Plains Visitor Center where they held the Fifth Annual Leroy Young Fishing Rodeo. Leroy, who had a passion for fishing, was the grandson of Sandra Walters, former manager of the visitor center. Two hundred and sixty six kids ages 1-15 participated in the fishing rodeo and over 2,000 fish were caught.
... Phase one of the "See Georgia First Show" is now complete. Plans for the second round of mall shows are currently under development. Weekend shoppers had the opportunity to See Georgia First in this series of travel shows put on by visitor center staff and representatives from local tourism attractions. The shows provide a fun way to reacquaint people with all that Georgia has to offer. There were three shows held this year in Douglasville, Augusta and Columbus. There were a total of 43 exhibitors who participated by showing nearly 146,000 shoppers, who were in the malls during show hours, what the state has to offer.
... Assisted room night reservations were up statewide in 2002. Georgia's 11 Visitor Centers experienced a 13% increase in actual assisted room night reservations (FY 2001 = 20,006/ FY 2002 = 22,616) and hotel revenue showed a 14% increase (FY 2001 = $1,081,341/ FY 2002 = $1,231,028). The total overall economic impact of 22,616 assisted room night reservations in Georgia was $8,496,143.74 in FY 2002. That is up from $5,301,216.00 in FY 2001.
... A Notice to Tourism Partners! The deadline for all updated information on the GDITT web site is August 1, 2002. The Georgia On My Mind 2003 travel guide will be printed from the web site database. Also, the July through December 2002 Georgia Calendar of Events is now available to the public. Please go to our web site or call 1-800-VISIT GA to get your copy today. Fulfillment totals for June, 2002 were 21,122.

WWW.GEORGIAONMYMIND.ORG