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
Travel Trend Reports Ready
A first-time partnership with the Tennessee
Department of Revenue has produced a new research report by which the
industry can now track consumer travel trends more current than any other
state-oriented research regularly released.
The Department of Tourism’s quarterly
Travel Trend Reports show the most current consumer behaviors for selected
tourism activities throughout Tennessee.
Three reports are available online: Sales Trend,
State Tax Trend, and the Local Tax Trend. Reports can be generated by
fiscal or calendar year, by county (up to a 10-county comparison), by
region, by tourism development district or by the three grand divisions
of East, Middle and West Tennessee.
Each report provides “real time”
totals for the current Fiscal Year, as well as historical data, starting
July 1998. These reports are not intended to match the data presented
in the “Economic Impact Report” prepared by TIA (Travel Industry
Association of America).
The quarterly Tennessee Travel Trend Reports are available online at www.state.tn.us/tourdev/reports.
Microsoft Excel 97 or above is required to view them; be sure to open
the “Overview and Usage Guide” provided on the web page.
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“What’s New for 2004”
Released An overview of the Tennessee’s tourism
industry’s newest attractions, facility upgrades and events
for 2004 is posted to the department’s website media page at
www.state.tn.us/tourdev.
An e-blast alerted travel editors, travel agents, tour operators,
AAA/CAA offices and freelance travel writers to the document’s
posting in early January. The annual review of industry developments assists the media with new story ideas and helps travel planners in upgrading tour information. Through the year, the department will update this page as more information becomes available. Submit your “What’s New” items to the Communications Division at whats.new@state.tn.us. |
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Tennessee & Memphis Host Travel
South Showcase Dinner
This year’s Travel South’s annual Marketplace
kicks off February 28 in Mobile, Alabama. On tap is a showcase of Memphis
and the rest of the state as the city of Memphis, in conjunction with
the Department, hosts the closing dinner on March 2. Memphis and the state
of Tennessee hosts the entire Marketplace event in 2005.
During
the past 20 years, the Travel South annual marketplace has grown to be
one of the premier gatherings of travel professionals dedicated to increasing
group tour business.
This year, the show convenes over 200 domestic and international
tour operators to meet with almost 400 travel industry suppliers from
the 12 Southern USA states. In addition, more than 40 journalists from
Canada, Japan, UK, Brazil and the US will attend the marketplace to learn
about destinations, hotels, attractions and tour companies.
Travel South USA is America’s oldest and largest regional
travel promotion organization and represents an unprecedented opportunity
for showcasing Tennessee to domestic and international operators.
To learn more about the marketplace events or register to attend, visit www.travelsouthusa.com, email: tsusa@mindspring.com, or call 404-231-1790. To inquire about remaining sponsorship opportunities, contact Lee Curtis, the Department’s Director of Sales, at 615) 741-9045 or by emailing lee.curtis@state.tn.us.
It’s Official & Sure to
Be Creative!
As you know, the Department engineered a
shift in our advertising program by breaking our single advertising
services contract into two: one for creative and one for media buying.
Doing so netted fantastic results with this
official announcement of our two new partners:
Chandler Ehrlich, based in Memphis, will
be charged with producing the print, broadcast and overall creative
elements of our year-long initiatives. A marketing communications firm
with considerable experience in advertising for tourism-related businesses,
Chandler Ehrlich won the bid, in part, by submitting the lowest hourly
creative fees of any proposer.
The Buntin Group, of Nashville, has been
charged with administering the Department’s comprehensive paid
media campaign and ancillary media contracts. The company is one of
the largest full-service marketing communications firms in the southeast
and is among the top 150 in the country. Buntin proposed a 2.5% commission,
10.5% less than our previous contract, which leaves more money in the
overall budget for actual media buys.
Both agencies, under the direction of Commissioner
Susan Whitaker, met in a marketing strategy summit with Department of
Tourism senior leadership and other contractual partners in December,
including Miles Media (vacation guide) and USA800 (fulfillment) to ensure
a fully integrated marketing campaign for 2004.
Both Chandler Ehrlich and Buntin are finalizing the 2004 creative campaign which will begin in April.
Legislature Returns to a Salute
Tourism industry and state officials welcomed
the Legislature’s return to Nashville and the Second Session of the
103rd General Assembly with a “Salute to the State Legislature”
on January 13 at the Sheraton Downtown.
The annual salute, hosted by the Tennessee
Tourism Roundtable, gives tourism industry members an opportunity to network
with members of the House and Senate about laws and issues affecting Tennessee’s
second largest industry.
Also, upon their returning to Nashville, legislative members found copies of the new 2004 Tennessee Vacation Guide in their mailboxes, compliments of the Department of Tourism.
Agri-tourism Initiative Offers Local
Educational Workshops
The Department has joined several partnering agencies in
educating farmers on the possibilities that exist to build agri-tourism
activity into their seasonal operations.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture, the University
of Tennessee Center for Profitable Agriculture, the U.S Department of
Agriculture and the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development will sponsor
the following three workshops in February.
Feb. 12 at the West Tennessee Experiment Station, in Jackson
Feb. 19 at the Williamson County Expo Center, in Franklin
Feb. 25 at The Holiday Inn Convention Center, in Morristown.
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The workshops are the latest effort in a major campaign
to increase farm income, expand tourist income in rural communities
and establish sustainable, long-term agri-tourism programs across
Tennessee. The one-day workshops, which are free of charge and include lunch, will concern insurance and farm safety issues and how to market agri-tourism enterprises. They will also include personal success stories from other farmers across the state. |
Agri-tourism is an activity, enterprise or business which combines agriculture and tourism. Such programs can create economic activity and impact farm and community income.
Department Reps Work Consumer Trade
Shows
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Stronger sales efforts that include
lead generation initiatives to build the Department’s marketing
database are at the heart of our Consumer Trade Show agenda in
2004. Working with representatives of State
Parks and the tourism industry, our Regional Marketing and PR
Managers (Nicky Reynolds, Derrick Smith and Ramay Winchester)
are attracting potential visitors to our trade show booths through
giveaways and sweepstakes at each show. Free golf dates at a Tennessee course,
free lodging in a Tennessee state park, and other state and industry
sponsored prizes have been awarded at each show. To qualify, visitors
to the Tennessee booth are providing their contact information
for the Department to follow with a mailing of a free Tennessee
Vacation Guide and/or e-mails of consumer e-newsletters and
information about upcoming events and state park specials. Our complete show calendar, including locations, dates and numbers of attendees projected for each show, includes. |
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Show & Location |
Dates Jan. 2-4 Jan. 9-11 Jan. 15-18 Feb. 20-29 Feb. 27-29 March 13-21 |
Attendees
15,000 15,000 15,000 185,000 15,000 185,000 |
| If you would like to donate any giveaways or prizes to help promote Tennessee tourism at these shows, please contact Lee Curtis by email at lee.curtis@state.tn.us. | ||
National Conference for Attraction
Professionals in San Antonio
February 1 is the early bird registration deadline
for attendees of the National Conference for Attraction Professionals
(NCAP) Feb. 19-20, in San Antonio, TX. The NCAP is the only national program
designed to address the challenges of attraction industry professionals.
It is hosted by TIA’s National Council of Attractions (NCA).
The conference provides tools and information
to enhance productivity, helps develop yield management techniques for
increased revenues and focuses on guest-centric models for improved customer
service. Trends in Internet marketing, employee training and emerging
distribution technology are also discussed. Reduced group rates at The
St. Anthony - a Wyndham Historic Hotel, may still be secured based on
availability. Although attendees are encouraged to register by the February
1 early bird date, registration will be accepted as late as the day of
the event, at the door.
View the NCAP program and register on line at www.tia.org/councils/ncap_program.asp, or contact Melissa DeBoard at mdeboard@tia.org or call (202) 408-8422.
Department Plans West Tennessee
Press Trip
The Department will bring a Spring press
trip to West Tennessee to spotlight major celebrations, such as the
50th Anniversary of Rock ’n’ Roll in Memphis and attractions
throughout the region that feature Delta culture (foods and musical
mix), African American heritage, Civil War history, Arts & Crafts
trails, and outdoor recreation.
The tour will cover the entire West Tennessee region, including rural locations, plus the city of Memphis. While dates are slated for mid to late April, the exact itinerary has not been set. To suggest touring points for the West Tennessee press trip, please send an email to tourism.news@state.tn.us. All suggestions will be read and considered. The Department produced a similar and successful tour in the Upper Cumberland area recently. Media invitations will go out soon to major market outlet editors and freelance travel writers who specialize in Tennessee and the Southeast.
GET THE GUIDE!
The Tennessee Vacation Guide at 800-GO2-TENN or online
www.TNvacation.com
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COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION |