Industry Relations: Tourism Development Program

Transcription

1 Industry Relations: Tourism Development Program Description California s Tourism Development Program has been operating for over 16 years to brand and promote California as one of the world s premier travel destinations in order to increase travel-related revenues. The Tourism Development program is an effort between CTTC and regional destination management organizations throughout California. Through Tourism Development education, support and participating in co-op programs, travel trade, regional visitor s guides, and Web submissions, destinations of all sizes can stretch their tourism dollars while partnering with successful state-branded promotions in domestic and international markets. With limited resources to promote individual communities and assets, more and more organizations see value in marketing together as regional partners. Background The California Cultural and Heritage Tourism Corps (CCHTC), supported by CTTC, is a major player in bringing together rural with many different perspectives preservation, tourism, economic development, the arts, local residents, private concerns, elected officials and public land managers to develop rural, cultural and heritage tourism in California. Participated in National Travel Association (NTA), Go West and Pow Wow conventions with booth themed to promote rural travel and itineraries. Strengthened coalitions between rural regional partners, California Welcome Centers (CWCs), Amgen Tour of California, California cultural & heritage tourism and, governmental and nongovernmental organizations. Increased presence at consumer trade shows promoting the rural product, cultural and sustainable assets distributing regional information and guides, and encouraging visitation and adding to length of stay. Continued relationship with Scenic Byways to craft travel itineraries and augment content for visitcalifornia.com. Fostered important relationships with the University of California and California State University systems. CTTC provides student internship opportunities with Industry Relations and Research departments, offered student discounts for attendance to Commission educational forums, and engaged educators to participate with CTTC symposia opportunities.

2 Increased Web traffic to visitcalifornia.com with reciprocal links and contributing current and relevant content from regional associations Web sites. Participation in collaborative regional events and workshops held throughout the state with presentations made by CTTC s Tourism Development and Industry Relations staff. Participated in the national cultural ONE Conference (held in Pasadena in January 2011). This national conference focused on marketing, applying the culture, shopping and dining to tourism businesses and social media, especially strategies and implementation, partnerships and return on investment. New for Rural will be rolled into the CTTC s overall Five-Year Strategic Marketing Plan for CTTC will be conducting consumer research with primary objectives to understand how domestic and international travelers think of California in terms of regions, and options how to best label what we currently termed California gateway regions and California s rural regions. Preparation for referendum. CTTC will continue to solicit support and information for fam tours, public relations content, industry newsletters, travel trade support, Web site support and more by the regional associations. CTTC will continue leveraging the California Sustainable Tourism Symposium to assist rural destinations in promoting their green, eco, geo, nature and sustainable tourism assets. Objectives/Metrics To promote California and support Destinations state wide. To promote and facilitate local partnerships including the education of culture and heritage industry partners as to how they can preserve, protect, promote and interpret their communities assets as a way to drive tourism. To develop a viable public-private tourism collaboration. To link public and commercial Web sites to CTTC to optimize collaboration. To encourage increased visitation and length of stay in California. Support and synchronize with all California Welcome Centers. Increased access to information and resources through regional speaking engagements.

3 Budget Sustainable $30,000 Tourism Development $20,000 Outreach $20,000 Cultural* $30,000 * Includes scenic byways, cultural co-ops and Preserve America.

4 Industry Relations: Industry Events Description On behalf of the travel industry, CTTC coordinates a variety of events and activities aimed at reaching industry stakeholders, elected officials and the assessed business community. These events include an annual legislative reception, where CTTC works to build long-lasting relationships, educate/ inform Congress of the importance of tourism industry to California s economy, communicate issues of importance both federally and statewide, and discuss federal travel and tourism issues. CTTC also provides opportunities for the industry to submit their marketing efforts and to be recognized by their peers and CTTC through marketing awards, including the Destination Leadership Awards and California Marketing Excellence Awards. Additional partner receptions and events also take place throughout the year, often in conjunction with the quarterly Commission meetings. Background CTTC held the 2nd Annual California Sustainable Tourism Summit on October 14-15, 2010, at the Ritz-Carlton Highlands, Lake Tahoe. Based on feedback from last year's attendees, this year's Summit was expanded to a day and a half, bringing industry partners together for educational and networking opportunities. The inaugural summit brought education on what is sustainable tourism. In 2010, attendees learned how to market sustainable tourism and convert sustainability into tourism dollars. The Summit presented information about resources available to market your programs to draw in this growing demographic, and provided new and exciting options to current customer bases. For the first time, CTTC also combined the popular International Summit and Destination Day into a single two-day event: the California Tourism Outlook Forum, April 26-27, The event featured the return of the popular CEO Forum (renamed the Policymakers Forum), the annual Partners in Hospitality and Tourism Legislative Reception, and a solid day of educational programming for over 200 industry attendees. In order to ensure as much legislative participation as possible, the 2011 Legislative Reception will take place on the Capitol Lawn. CTTC is also a sponsor of the annual California Travel Association (CalTravel s) California Travel Summit, and continued the successful sponsorship program of Commission meetings and other industry events.

5 New for CTTC will once again hold a Sustainable Tourism Summit in fall 2011, with a focus on urban sustainability, retail and transportation best practices in the Los Angeles area. Plans for the Summit also include a sustainable food reception with experiential cooking, eco clothing fashion show and inspirational speaker. February 2012 will be host to a new California Tourism Marketing Excellence Awards Gala, while the Partners in Hospitality & Tourism Legislative Reception is again planned for April 2012 in Sacramento. CTTC will continue its series of educational events for industry stakeholders in 2012, with a focus on international content, destination best practices, new trends and research, and more. Dates are yet to be determined. Objectives/Metrics To educate the industry, Commissioners and elected officials about CTTC programs and the benefits of tourism promotion through events and outreach programs. Measured by attendance and participation. For the April reception, CTTC s goal is to get as many members of the California delegation to attend to meet and hear firsthand from California s tourism leaders on issues of importance both federally and statewide, as well as build long-lasting partnerships. Measured in number of Congressional attendees and industry partners. Increase sponsorship for educational programs and events to offset costs. Budget Industry Events, Educational Forums, & Legislative Receptions: $314,500

6 Industry Relations: Industry Relations Representatives Description CTTC contracts with five consultants to meet with the more than 1,200 assessed businesses within their respective districts of Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, San Francisco, Northern and Southern California. The Industry Relations Representatives educate assessed businesses within their district on cooperative opportunities, participation in trade shows, publications, upcoming conferences, and other marketing programs. Industry Relations Representatives are also asked to represent CTTC programs at local and regional workshops and forums where the constituency group is interested in tourism development. The Industry Relations Representative directs all billing/ assessment calls to designated assessment personnel and participates in the following activities: Regularly scheduled CTTC staff/industry Relations representative training including regularly scheduled Webinars and monthly conference calls. Place and execute s/phone calls to assessed businesses within a region on a monthly basis. Calls consist of outreach, education of CTTC assessed business on marketing programs and upcoming events, trade shows, etc. Arrange and execute one-on-one assessed business meetings, focusing on the top 200 within each of the districts. Research and attend monthly industry meetings and events such as restaurant group meetings, retailer association, local hotel councils, chambers or any other tourism-related meetings that reach the assessed business community or groups. Keep detailed information regarding meetings, update database contacts and frequently communicate with CTTC staff regarding communications. Schedule and execute monthly district presentations and speaking engagements on behalf of CTTC with the goal of meeting assessed businesses. Submit the list of registered guests and follow up on opportunities. Research and inform CTTC senior staff on speaking/podium time available at industry meetings and venues. Provide CTTC Insights Online editor content suggestions for online newsletter; district events, tourism industry announcements and worthy news ideas (including contact information). Assist CTTC in maintaining and updating data base constituents, contact information and identify new constituent submissions.

7 Meet with non-assessed businesses, destination marketing organizations (DMO) and CVBs monthly to make the connection with the tourism industry in each district. Background This program has proven extremely important to the viability of CTTC through the passage of the 2007 referendum by a 91% approval, and continues to provide valuable industry input into CTTC s policies and programs. For fiscal year , CTTC s four Industry Relations Representative participated in over thousands of calls, hundreds of s, attended 150 events, and completed over 850 onsite visits and 20 presentations. New for CTTC carried out an RFP process in March 2011 to establish five new Industry Relations Representatives, contractors representing the five new California districts. These five new representatives will follow a new set of responsibilities and requirements to better serve the needs of California s districts. CTTC has recognized the importance of meeting with assessed businesses during their routinely scheduled industry segmented events, meetings and conferences. CTTC Industry Relations Representatives will be identifying local hotel councils, restaurant chapters, transportation partners and conferences where the industry may become more engaged in CTTC programming. Industry Relations Representatives attend these meeting for additional touchpoints and visibility. CTTC sees the value of integration of the Industry Relations Representatives and the Assessment Team, with a retreat scheduled for May. Objectives/Metrics The five Industry Relations Representatives selected will educate California assessed businesses within their districts on CTTC programs, co-ops, domestic and international trade show opportunities publications, upcoming conferences, and other marketing and partnership programs. Budget Industry Relations Representatives $450,000

8 Industry Relations: California Sustainable Tourism Symposium Description With California being on the cutting edge of sustainable destinations, CTTC was tasked by its constituency to create a sustainable educational platform that will address the needs of tourism industry stakeholders who participate in nature, eco, geo, green, sustainable and recreational tourism. The California Sustainable Tourism Symposium (CSTS) was created for those who are dedicated to sustaining the environment, culture and heritage of their region while sustaining economic growth through tourism. Responsible sustainable tourism encompasses economically feasible, environmentally sound and socially equitable tourism in every community within California. CTTC puts together an annual California Sustainable Tourism Summit each fall to bring together tourism partners from all over California for educational and networking opportunities. The Summit presents sustainable best practices utilized by top industry leaders and offers information about resources available to market these programs. Background The California Sustainable Tourism Symposium was launched to meet the interest and demands of our industry in eco, public lands, and sustainable tourism partners. CTTC recognizes the importance of sustainable tourism development as an essential approach to achieving development goals without depleting natural and cultural resources or degrading the environment. CTTC has produced an online handbook to assisting local DMOs, destinations, policy makers and planners in implementing an integrated and sustainable approach to tourism development in their communities. This handbook specifically deals with the concepts, best practices and techniques for sustainable development, providing information on the implementation of such a strategy, market planning, managing socioeconomic and environmental impacts, marketing and general management of the tourism sector as a whole. CTTC will work with the California State University system to produce an annual Sustainable Guide. CTTC continued building relationships with the University of California and California State University systems, providing student internship opportunities with Industry Relations and Research departments, offered discounts for attendance to Commission and educational forums, and engaged educators to participate with CTTC symposia opportunities.

9 New for Sustainable tourism will continue to be woven into the CTTC marketing objectives. CTTC will work to integrate marketing messaging and feel to reflect sustainable California assets. CSTS will be focusing on urban sustainability, retail, and transportation best practices. In October 2011 in Los Angeles, the summit will feature a sustainable food reception with experiential cooking, an eco clothing fashion show and host inspirational speaker. CTTC developed a page on the tourism.visitcalifornia.com Web site where sustainable best practice documents are available for download. CTTC will also work to expand eco-awareness content on visitcalifornia.com, as well as increase the sustainable tourism resources available on tourism.visitcalifornia.com/green. Continued outreach for sustainable content development will be a priority this year through CTTC s content submission tool. Objectives/Metrics Define California s sustainable brand and its tourism offerings. Create a workable framework for CSTS as a collaboration of industry partners. Communicate sustainable tourism opportunities and best practices to the tourism industry. Increase awareness of California sustainable tourism as measured by visits to green pages on CTTC Web site. Increase access to information and resources on tourism.visitcalifornia. com/green. New and strengthened coalitions between CTTC and governmental and nongovernmental organizations. Strengthened relationships between CTTC and the U.S. Travel Association s Green Initiative, as gauged by positive feedback by U.S. Travel. Assist with attracting governmental corporate and foundation sponsors to further leverage CTTC budget. Budget CSTS $20,000 The California Sustainable Tourism Summit is also sustained by sponsorships.