Dear Fellow Tourism Industry Professionals and Friends,
This E-newsletter
is produced by the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development and is
offered as a free service to the industry and others with an interest
in Tennessee Tourism.
This newsletter is part of our ongoing dialogue with the industry, so please reply and send us tips to tourism.news@state.tn.us. If you know someone who could benefit from this information, please share this issue with them. If you wish to unsubscribe, follow the directions at the end of this transmission.
TENNESSEE
TOURISM OUTPERFORMS NATIONAL TRAVEL BAROMETER
If you haven’t seen the study, Travel Industry
Association of America reports good news for Tennessee in its latest TravelScope
Research release. Close to 39 million visitors traveled to Tennessee in
2002, a two percent increase over 2001 travel volume, outpacing national
growth (+.3%). Tennessee continues to rank 12th among the 48 contiguous
states in total visitor volume.
Highlights from TIA’s annual study, which measures
a variety of travel indicators, include: Just under 26 million people
visited Tennessee for pleasure in 2002, an increase of two percent over
the year prior; 20% of all travelers, 7.7 million, were from Tennessee,
on par with the 2001 total; other top states of origin for Tennessee visitors
were Georgia (9%), Kentucky (9%), Alabama (7%) and North Carolina (6%);
business travel in Tennessee fell below seven million trips in 2002, to
6.7 million, representing a six percent decrease from 2001; one third
(34%) of visitors were day visitors, more than twice the national average
(15%); sixty-six percent of visitors spent one or more nights in the state
with the average stay registering 3.0 nights.
More information from the member study is available via the department or can be immediately accessed by contacting the Travel Industry Association of America at www.tia.org.
To participate in the program, the tourism organization must submit a written request to Commissioner Whitaker prior to October 15, 2003, indicating the amount of the marketing project match requested, the total marketing plan, the anticipated return on the investment, and the supporting tourist trends for the past three years. The department may approve all or a portion of any request based on the availability of funds, total number of requests to participate in the program, and anticipated return on investment. For the guidelines, click www.state.tn.us/tourdev/pdf/matchingfunds.pdf.
GOVERNOR’S CONFERENCE ON TOURISM SLATED FOR MEMPHIS IN 2004 AS CITY CELEBRATES 50th ANNIVERSARY OF ROCK ’N’ ROLL
Next year's Governor's Conference on Tourism will head to Memphis, the birthplace of Rock 'n Roll. Delegates will find the city abuzz with plenty of events centering around the 50th Anniversary of the musical genre Elvis Presley made famous.
This year's conference, recently concluded in Gatlinburg, attracted 557 attendees, the most ever for the state wide event. During his keynote luncheon address, Governor Phil Bredesen challenged the industry for innovative marketing ideas and practices. A complete recap of the conference, including Friday's breakout discussions that followed Commissioner Whitaker's presentation, is forthcoming in the next week.
The conference is co-sponsored by the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, Tennessee Tourism Roundtable and a host of industry organizations.
BROADCAST EMAIL REPLACES BLAST FAX SERVICE The Department of Tourist Development now provides a “blast email service” which can broadcast your festival, special event or announcement to more than 2,000 industry and 5,000 media contacts across the state and nation. All releases are subject to editing by the department, and must include accurate dates, locations and telephone numbers. We have discontinued our blast facsimile service due to cost and time inefficiencies.
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If your attraction, city or region has something slated to open, be renovated, restored or revived, please let us know. We're compiling our regular "What's New for Tennessee"media advisory to help local, international, freelance and syndicate writers generate feature stories and other editorial through the coming year. Your submission forms the basis for our November 14 release. The hard deadline is November 1. What’s New is also used for AAA and group travel. Don’t
assume we know “What’s New” in your area. E-mail
your information today to Lorene.Lambert@state.tn.us
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INTERNATIONAL MARKETING UPDATE
David Nicholson, in Great Britain, and Wolfgang Streitboerger,
in Germany, report the following international activity: They are currently
developing the English, German and Dutch versions of the TN international
guides. Scheduled for delivery in November, these 32-page guides are published
for the Tennessee industry on a nonprofit, pay-to-play basis. The featured
destinations are Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga, Pigeon Forge, Oak Ridge
and Lynchburg.
On another note, the German office mailed close to 2,000 brochures last year to fulfill consumer requests. The British office is in the middle of helping the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau invite European media and tour operators to the Rhythms of the South Marketplace in Oct./Nov. 2003. Nicholson and Streitboerger have also been playing a leading role in establishing the Deep South USA marketing partnership comprised of the German bureaus of Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, and the European bureau of Alabama. They help operate the German website www.deepsouthusa.de.
FALL COLOR FORECAST IS OPEN!
Many of our public and media inquiries this time of year relate to fall foliage. This year's color is expected to be spectacular, brought on by plenty of springtime rain and a drought free summer. To assist travelers in finding fall color routes and events, the department opens its popular toll free "Fall Color Forecast"line at 1-800-697-4200.
Callers hear weekly messages on color location, suggested
driving routes and upcoming events. The messages are updated every Monday.
The telephone information line is open now through Nov. 30th.
AGNES GORHAM RETIRES & RECEIVES
INDUSTRY ROUNDTABLE AWARD
Agnes Gorham, East Tennessee’s marketing and public
relations manager for the department, and one of the most knowledgeable
tourism professionals in the state, recently retired from her state position.
A past director of the department’s East Tennessee Heritage &
Community Development Division, Agnes also served as a regional director
of the Middle East Tennessee Tourism Council.
“Through 20 years in the industry, Agnes is a tremendous
resource, partner and friend to all of us in tourism; and we at the state
department will greatly miss her expertise and willingness to serve,”
said Commissioner Susan Whitaker. “I’m confident she’ll
continue to be involved with tourism in some capacity for many years to
come.”
During the 2003 Governor’s Conference in Gatlinburg, Agnes received the coveted “Knights of the Roundtable” award and a standing ovation from tourism industry delegates.
GET THE GUIDE!
The Tennessee Vacation Guide at 800-GO2-TENN or online
www.TNvacation.com
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