Director s Message. MERRIAM VISITORS BUREAU 2016 Annual Report. Karen Crane Karen Crane, Director EXPLORE MERRIAM

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1 MERRIAM VISITORS BUREAU Annual Report * * * * * EXPLORE MERRIAM NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS K A N S A S * * * * * to K A NSA S CI T Y MERRIAM VISITORS BUREAU 6304 EAST FRONTAGE ROAD, MERRIAM, KANSAS Director s Message Another year is in the books for the Merriam Visitors Bureau! It seemed as though flew by here in Merriam, but not without many earned successes and notable happenings. From launching a newly designed website, to celebrating a year-long milestone anniversary at Merriam Historic Plaza, our achievements were many, but would certainly not be possible without the help of our area partners. With the support of our local governing body, tourism advisory council, neighboring destinations, City staff and the entire Merriam community, tourism is being recognized as a big economic driver in our city, and we plan to continue building upon this forward momentum. The state of tourism is one of great opportunity. Research indicates record levels of optimism for travel in the coming year, stable gas prices, and a strengthened labor market. However, there are still obstacles to work around if we wish to sustain a healthy travel climate for years to come. While we cannot predict natural disasters or advisory warnings which greatly impact travel, we can encourage our destination partners to plug into trends which will undoubtedly affect the consumer s choice when traveling. Things like personalizing the customer experience, remaining competitive with online lodging brokers like Airbnb or VRBO, and offering enhanced technology solutions geared toward greater guest satisfaction. Perhaps one of the most basic things we can do might still be the most traditional and valuable make the guest feel welcome from the gate. Customer service will always remain paramount, especially in the travel and hospitality industry. We must invest in good people who are willing to go the extra mile when working the front lines. As we move into 2017, our goals will be equally challenging but rewarding. Our work here at the CVB continues to make a positive impact in our community, and it is our privilege to share our accomplishments and future plans with you! With thanks, Karen Crane Karen Crane, Director

2 Industry Data Merriam Hotel Performance 59.9% $73.96 $8.3M OCCUPANCY ADR REVENUE OCCUPANCY 58% 68% 64% 60% AVG DAILY RATE $63.47 $62.23 $69.77 $73.96 REVENUE $6.9 M $8 M $8.4 M $8.3 M They re awesome at bringing in new business for hotels. They do all the legwork for tour groups and are like a one-stop shop for visitors. Jessica Arenholz, General Manager, Drury Inn TRANSIENT GUEST TAX (TGT) Collections have remained steady and stable in Merriam for four consecutive years $507,652 $498,887 $500,407 $542,476* * transient guest tax collections include additional catch-up payments that were not applied to their collection year. Tourism Works for Merriam! Did you know? Without the taxes that visitors generate while staying in Merriam, each household in our City would have to pay an additional $525 to generate this revenue. The Power of K A N S A S T R AV EL KANSAS TRAVELER SPENDING 2.9% Lodging 16.3% Air Transportation Local Transportation 25.2% Food & Beverages 23.9% Retail 16.2% Recreation & Entertainment 15.5% WHERE KANSAS VISITORS COME FROM 61% KANSAS 38.7% NON-RESIDENT 0.3% ACROSS THE POND Kansas welcomed 35.4 MILLION VISITORS IN 2015 That s as if everyone from Texas, Nebraska and Missouri visited Kansas in one year! KANSAS GENERATES $10.4+ BILLION IN TOTAL ECONOMIC IMPACT through VISITATION SPENDING TOURISM EMPLOYMENT in Kansas IMPACTS OVER 94,126 JOBS That s more than the populations of Manhattan and Leavenworth combined! Tourism employment has grown five straight years, out-pacing state employment growth. TOURISM ACTIVITY BRINGS IN $588 MILLION IN STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVENUES TRAVELER SPENDING GROWTH has averaged 5.5% ANNUALLY since 2009

3 DEBBIE RESCHLY Columbia Parks & Recreation Marketing Distributed 15,000 Merriam Visitor Guides through travel center fulfillment, local delivery, tradeshow placement, direct mail and online request. AND took home 2 nd place in outsourced visitor guide design at the state tourism conference. Shazam! Launched the newly designed EXPLOREMERRIAM.COM highlighting area events, visitor special offers, group tours, seasonal itineraries, kids activities, visitor trip planning tips and much more! GEORGETOWN PHARMACY SODA SHOP ***** MERRIAM KANSAS ***** to KANSAS CITY NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS exploremerria m.com I can t thank you enough for arranging the surprise trip for our group. What can I say about Anton and Dan they are masters! So different, so unique people couldn t pick a favorite stop. We are all still talking about what we saw; the instruments, the loft, everything. The ice-cream sundaes at the soda shop were also perfect. We all felt Dennis heart was in being a soda-jerk and he was settling for pharmacy. He was great with the group. Thank you again, your itinerary is the best. We all highly recommend it! GUITAR LAMP STRAWBERRY HILL POVITICA K.C. STRINGS GROUP TOURS MIXTURE LEE JEANS HERITAGE HALL Redesigned the Group Tour Profile for group tradeshows, lead follow-up and online download. Three-peat! CVB staff annually contributes to the Small Market Meetings website. Our third-year running, this e-coverage continues to post-up higher than average clickrates and keeps Merriam front and center to readers across the globe. Socially speaking The CVB increased social following across all networks by eight percent DAY ON THE HILL February Consumer/Industry Shows MISSOURI BANK TRAVEL May TOUR KANSAS SHOWCASE August 13 AD PLACEMENTS yielded 3.17 million impressions Added 1,319 Merriam photos to the image library Better than average! Our open rate (24.5%) on digital publications is higher than the national average for the travel and tourism industry (20.65%).

4 Meetings, Events & Tours Group tours we ve got em! In fact, Merriam added the Lee Jeans Heritage Hall Museum tour to the mix in, and now we re able to market the internationally-known Lee brand to new and returning groups. In total, Merriam offers seven tour options for groups, and in, those locations were visited by 824 people. Open House Celebration marked 10 years for Merriam Historic Plaza, so we had a party. Well, we had 12 parties actually, but who s counting. Each month, the CVB offered a special visitor promotion for walkin guests. Then, in September, we hosted an open-house complete with refreshments, tours and a special video highlighting the past 10 years at MHP. Catch the video online at MHP Meetings! Over 350 people used the meeting room at Merriam Historic Plaza in! 1KEA Helpers In October, tourism professionals arrived in Olathe for the annual Kansas Tourism Conference. To showcase the region, Merriam was granted the opportunity to host the kick-off the event, and together with IKEA Merriam, we greeted over 200 industry folks from all across the state. We provided a fun environment with music, food, selfie stations, scavenger hunts and a little labor of love building the ever-popular Kallax shelving unit. This event was definitely a favorite and yielded high praise from those who attended. Regional Partnerships From regional marketing placements to shared tradeshow space, it makes sense to cross-promote our neighbors in exchange for added crosspromotion for Merriam. As we ve learned over and over again visitors do not see the State Line or city boundaries they are here for experiences and our region is bursting with options. Working together only enhances the message and our collective reach.

5 Visitor Services was an active year for visitation to Merriam Historic Plaza. A few enhancements greeted incoming visitors to the Bureau offices at Shawnee Mission Parkway and I-35. Take a look: Walk-ins: 878 New visitor locator map: 43 pins from 22 states CVB staff made this map out of cork and 100-year old Kansas barnwood. Tourism To-Go Visitors with limited time to peruse the information racks at MHP were treated to pre-made Tourism-To-Go Kits filled with top-ranked visitor favorite resources including maps, a visitor guide and more! Pokemon Go MHP was the site of a gym battle stop of the #1 ranked app and game of the summer. When the digital creatures return again next summer, we are ready to market more of Merriam to the gamers through targeted promotions. Wall of commerce The large wall spanning the hallway at the Bureau is now a beautiful gallery arrangement of local business photos! Come by to see shops and storefronts from decades ago to brand-new additions to our retail landscape you ll be impressed by the amazing businesses who call Merriam home!

6 Looking Ahead 2017 Our work is never done at the CVB office. There s always an opportunity to serve visitors greeting a bus, distributing guides, hosting a meeting rental, conducting site visits the list goes on. It is our privilege to promote our wonderful destination and we are grateful for those who choose to call Merriam a stop on their travel journey. We re thrilled to host people in our places, feet in our street and heads in our beds! Take a look at what s coming in 2017 from the Merriam Visitors Bureau: NEW Merriam Meeting Planner s Guide NEW Group Tour Planner e-newsletter #52weeks on Instagram More videos The return of the Summer Bucket List Thanks for choosing Merriam, Kansas! Did you know? The sculpture located at Merriam Historic Plaza is often called The Bear Pit but is actually named Motherhood by the artist, Kwan Wu. The first hotel in Merriam was the Western Hills Motor Hotel located on E. Frontage Road between Shawnee Mission Parkway and 67 th St. It had 60 rooms, a pool, air-conditioning, a television and a radio and wall-to-wall carpet. There are 12 historic signage stations at Merriam Historic Plaza! Come on by and learn about Merriam s history. Long-distance descendants! The staff at the CVB still keeps in touch with the great-great-granddaughter of our town s founder, David Gee Campbell. She now lives in Alaska. Eight local Merriam makers who inspire creativity and entrepreneurship are featured in the 2017 Merriam Visitors Guide feature story called Movers & Makers.