Tourism in review [June 2004]

Tourism

June '04 in review . . .

Volume 28 June

DEPARTMENT
Georgia's Tourism Division is now part of the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), formally named the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism (GDITT). GDEcD moved the last week of June to mid-town Atlanta and is located at 75 Fifth St., N.W., Suite 1200, Atlanta, Georgia 30308, 404-962-4000.

Glenn Cornell Craig Lesser

Other big changes include the retirement of GDEcD Commissioner Glenn Cornell. Mr. Cornell has been an outstanding leader for economic development and growth within Georgia. He turned over his duties to Craig Lesser, a well known businessman appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue to lead GDEcD and continue economic growth in Georgia. Lesser was a partner in the firm of Griswold Lesser, LLC, which provides strategic advice and counsel on public affairs issues to companies such as Atlanta Gas Light Resources, BellSouth, Mirant Americas and Williams Environmental Services. The new commissioner also brings 20 years of experience in corporate governmental affairs and communications strategy.

G-8 SUMMIT
Representatives from the State Tourism Division attended the G-8 Summit on Sea Island June 8-10th. Deputy Commissioner of Tourism Janis Cannon, Director of Global Marketing Bob Harris and representatives from Georgia's Public Relations team all joined forces with state marketing and tourism partners to help promote Georgia as a destination among the national and international press.
Janis Cannon Bob Harris

Tourism

June '04 in review . . .

Volume 28 June

PUBLIC RELATIONS
AmericanStyle Magazine readers have voted Athens one of the Top 25 Arts Destinations in the country. For seven years the magazine has polled its 200,000 readers on this topic and Athens ranked 16th for 2004. The Georgia Museum of Art, the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia, the Lyndon House Arts Center, and local galleries and artists throughout the area all helped Athens make the list for the third year in a row.
National Geographic Magazine and the History Channel are making plans to give the Port Columbus National Civil War Naval Museum some well deserved national publicity. Museum executive director Bruce Smith said a National Geographic photographer will be shooting pictures that reference the famous battle between the ironclad ships USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (Merrimac). The History Channel will arrive at the museum later this summer to begin filming a documentary on Lt. William B. Cushing, a daring young naval officer often referred to as "Lincoln's Commando". The special airs early next year.
A few of Georgia's public golf courses are receiving notable coverage. In the upcoming July/August issue of Golf for Women, the magazine lists two Georgia courses among its "Top 50 Courses for Women." The Seaside Course at the Sea Island Golf Club ranked first, and the Oconee Course at Reynolds Plantation ranked fifth. The courses (all public) were evaluated for playability, multiple tee offerings, layout, aesthetics, amenities and overall quality.
The summer issue of Group Tour Magazine also spotlights Georgia in articles such as "Animal Encounters" by Amanda Black, "Historic Antebellum South Cruises," "Historic Athens," Stone Mountain's new "Ride the Ducks" adventure and Savannah. Georgia's Travel Media Marketplace was also highlighted in the magazine editor's letter by Carol Smith, who attended the March event in Athens.

Georgia media coverage for Fiscal Year 2004 was substantial. The following is the most up-to-date report on media impressions generated about Georgia Tourism throughout the state.

Fiscal Year 04 (July 03 April 04)
Media Impressions: 743,087,640 Value: $10,754,213

Calendar Year 2004 (Jan. 04 April 04)
Media Impressions: 290,487,312 Value: $4,250,618

Tourism

June '04 in review . . .

Volume 28 June

GEORGIA TRAVEL MEDIA MARKETPLACE
2004 Travel Media Marketplace (March 19-24, Athens)* Media Impressions: 1,320,000 Value: $21,714
*Several journalists who attended the 2004 event are in the process of writing or awaiting publication of their articles.
2003 Travel Media Marketplace (February 19-22, Savannah) Media Impressions: 3,226,590 Value: $838,183

NEW YORK MEDIA TOURS
2004 May Media Tour Two months out from the editorial tour, results are already in the pipeline. Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel will be including Blairsville's new Mountain Crossings Footwear Museum in an upcoming issue. Conde Nast Traveler will be featuring Atlanta in an upcoming "Room With a View" segment and running an overview of the new attractions opening in Atlanta in 2005 in their "What's Next" section in the September issue. Conde Nast Traveler also referred the Travel Channel to the Tourism Division and will produce a segment entitled "America's Best Beaches" and plan a shoot in early August on Cumberland Island. Country Living Magazine will be traveling to Savannah in July to gather photos and information on the Mansion on Forsyth and other Savannah attractions. Museums for Families is moving forward with the development of its 2005 Atlanta calendar and is in constant contact with Georgia Tourism for recommendations and input.
2003 July Media Tour Media Impressions: 5,098,300 Value: $220,598
Publications visited included Golf for Women, Conde Nast Traveler, Women's Day, Business Travel News, Successful Meetings, T + L Golf, Departures, Golf World, Golf Digest, Family Circle and Cigar Aficionado.
(Information compiled by MS&L)

Tourism

June '04 in review . . .

Volume 28 June

The Atlantic-Caribbean Chapter of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) meeting was held June 10-13 in Lafayette, LA, where GDEcD Communications Manger Trish Croll spoke on an associate panel entitled "Crossing the Great Divide-Working Together" and discussed ways travel writers and public relations professionals could improve communication and create a better working environment. Nearly 200 public relations professionals and travel writers attended the meeting. During a travel writer media marketplace, leads were developed with freelancers and editors who write for the St. Petersburg Times, Boston Globe, News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), Michelin Travel Publications, Private Pilot, San Diego Union Tribune, Los Angeles Daily Breeze, The Florida Times Union, etc.

The travel and tourism section of the Public Relations Society of America and SATW joined forces in Oakland, CA, June 27-29 for a conference to discuss better ways to gain national media placements and listen to experts from both the PR and Media fields. Panel discussions included "How to Make Your Web site Media Friendly," "How to Organize a Big Time Press Mission," "Travel & Tourism Talk Show," Food Media Panel, The Travel Channel, Group Tour Magazine Media Panel, Electronic Media Panel, Guidebooks Media Panel, Inflight Magazine Media Panel and a Media Marketplace with over 100 national, regional and local media attending. GDEcD Communications Manger Trish Croll and Robin Bennett with the Dekalb CVB pitched Georgia at the marketplace and gathered story leads.

REVENUES

RESEARCH
According to the latest Smith Travel Research Standard Historical TREND Report, Georgia hotel revenues are up 9% for the first five months of 2004 over 2003. This equals an increase of $80 million in revenues. All travel regions reported an increase of at least 4 % with Southern Rivers and Atlanta Metro regions up 8.7% and the Coast showing the highest increases 11.7 %.
For just the month of May, statewide Georgia hotel revenues were up 9.2 % over May of 2003. This equals an increase of $17.5 million in revenues. The Coast region showed the highest increase at 14 %, with the Atlanta Metro region showing the second highest increase with 10 %. For additional information contact Georgia's Tourism Division Marketing Research Manager Nicole Lamkin at 404.962.4086 or nlamkin@georgia.org.

Tourism

June '04 in review . . .

Volume 28 June

Governor Sonny Perdue

LEGISLATIVE
Governor Sonny Perdue has signed House Bill 984. Through this legislation any business, including tourism-related, that create five or more jobs within a designated "Opportunity or Enterprise Zone" can qualify for up to $3,500 per job tax credits. The tax credit can be taken against net income and/or withholding depending upon location and type of business.
This bill was originally drafted to assist manufacturing and telecommunications facilities, but was expanded to include tourism-businesses as the result of a listening session on tourism incentives held by the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism (now GDEcD).
For more information on these new incentives for tourism development contact Brian Williamson, Director, Business & Financial Assistance Division with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs at 404-679-1587 or www.dca.state.ga.us.

GOMM Day at the VIC's

VICS
The Columbus Visitor Information Center's Georgia On My Mind (GOMM) day on June 11th attracted hundreds of visitors. Eleven exhibitors from tourist attractions around the area highlighted what there is to see and do in Georgia. Dekalb County's Convention and Visitors Bureau served hot dogs and the crowd enjoyed grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fresh Georgia peaches, sodas, bottled water and peanuts.
GOMM Day was also a big success in Lake Park. The VICs went through 1,300 sodas, 1,000+ hot dogs, 450 grilled peanut butter& jelly sandwiches, 300 Cabbage Patch movies, 50 watermelons and much more. Over 1,000 cars passed through the center between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Twenty tourism partners promoted their specialties. The center also had the opportunity to welcome home around 200 Army Reservists returning to Georgia from training at Fort Blanton in Florida.

Tourism

June '04 in review . . .

Volume 28 June

MARKETING
The Georgia Tourism Division's Spring/Summer advertising campaign is well underway. The total Spring/Summer Campaign value is $3,838,925. See Chart or go to MarketGeorgia.org for a full breakdown of all media outlets.

2004 Spring/Summer Advertising/Promotional Campaign

Total Spent

Free Added Value

Television (May - July) 5 out-of-state drive markets + regional buy 2 in-state markets

$895,235

$621,815

Print (March July) 5 regional publications 6 Southeast Tourism Society special sections 2 direct mail postcards to 50,000 households

$386,797

$336,730

Radio Free Promotions (Summer) Free getaway trips provided by industry used to
negotiate free air time in regional markets

TBD

TBD

Promotional Projects (May) Coupon book distributed in over 200 Kroger
stores (circ. 600,000) Newspaper insert in 23 out-of-state markets
(circ. 750,000)

$23,506

$376,494

African-American Heritage Advertising (Annual) Print ads in target specific publications Radio campaign with the ACVB

$205,658

$281,568

Online (February - May) Advertising campaign Sweepstakes of 5 giveaway trips

$178,378

$297,874

Outdoor Advertising (July - September)

Atlanta campaign 8 boards + rotating posters

$234,870

$0

Visitor Information Center campaign 8 boards

TOTAL (7/2/04)

$1,924,444 $1,914,481

Tourism

June '04 in review . . .

Volume 28 June

ANNOUNCEMENTS
GDEcD is proud to announce the 2005 and 2007 Governor's Conference on Tourism Host Community winners. Bids were submitted by communities and venues throughout the state. Based on strict criteria, evaluators selected Valdosta to host the conference in 2005 and Tifton in 2007. The Governor's Conference on Tourism host city for 2006 will be re-bid next year along with site selection bids for 2008. This year the conference will be held in Statesboro, September 15-17. Please visit www.MarketGeorgia.org for information and registration for the 2004 Conference.
Host city representatives did an outstanding job with presentations highlighting the unique culture, personality, and benefits of their community," Deputy Commissioner of Tourism Janis Cannon said. "The Governor's Conference on Tourism is a preeminent opportunity for idea exchange and marketing innovation. The conference addresses the role of tourism in Georgia's economy, as one of the State's leading industries and provides a forum to discuss business development and strategy."
After a lengthy bid process, GDEcD has awarded contracts to Manning, Selvage, and Lee for public relations work for each division and Ant Farm Interactive will handle website services for GDEcD. No announcement has been made at this time on a winning bid for an advertising agency.
Just in time for fall, Cagle's Dairy plans to carve their corn maze into the shape of the state of Georgia and put "Georgia on My Mind" underneath it. They plan to use an aerial photo to market the attraction and offer a link to the state's website. For more information go to www.caglesdairy.com.

AWARDS The Southeast Chapter of the Travel & Tourism Research Association (SETTRA) has been selected 2003-2004 TTRA Chapter of the Year at the TTRA 35th Annual Awards Luncheon held in Montral, Qubec Canada on June 23.
The award is presented to the chapter that best furthers the mission of TTRA through spirit, innovation, effectiveness and creativity. "Nicole Lamkin, GDEcD Research Manager, has been the chairman for the southeast chapter for the past year and this recognition brings further credibility to the importance of market research and the high quality of the research being conducted by our region," Cannon said.
The keystone to this selection was the decision of the chapter to establish a working relationship with Southeast Tourism Society, to bring the two organizations together for the best benefit of the industry.
REGIONAL UPDATE For information about what is happening in Georgia Tourism's Nine Travel Regions go to: www.georgia.org/tourism/market_ga/media/regional_updates.asp