ANNUAL REVIEW

Transcription

1 ANNUAL REVIEW EastErn regional tourism District

2 Fiscal year has been a very good year for tourism in eastern Connecticut. Fair weather during the peak seasons, stable funding for the Regional Tourism District system, an improved statewide tourism-marketing program, an improving economy and lower gasoline prices have all contributed to one of the best years since the great recession, despite an awful winter. As we step back to analyze the year, particularly the dynamics and impacts of the tourism economy in Mystic Country along with those of the State and the country, there are some facts and trends that draw our attention. Research conducted and reported over the last 18 months clearly shows that tourism is essential to the economy of eastern Connecticut. It is one of the top three contributors to the economic base of the region. For the state as a whole Mystic Country contributes the largest percentage of tourism economic impact in Connecticut. Interestingly, while the southern portion of the eastern region s tourism industry is significantly larger, the overall impact of tourism in the northern portion of the eastern region although smaller is even greater on the economy of northeastern Connecticut. Visitors to Mystic Country, as compared with visitors to the Central and Western districts, are significantly different. They have a lower total family income, visit the area more frequently, are interested in leisure travel and much less for business, spend less on each visit but overall per party spend more than the other regions over the course of a full year. Visitors now rely more on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) than traditional websites for information about areas they are visiting or plan to visit. Mystic is clearly the most identifiable tourism destination in all of Connecticut, but there are nearly as many definitions of where/what Mystic is as there are visitors. International travelers have an increasing awareness of Mystic Country as a destination, especially visitors from Pacific Rim areas and traditional European countries. There are many changes now in play for the tourism industry, nationally, statewide and regionally. With new technologies come new channels to obtain information, make decisions and choose among significantly more competitive opportunities. Tourism promotion must constantly be aware of behavioral changes, stay current with technologies as they apply to tourism and leverage the work of all who provide products and services to and for potential visitors. The Eastern Regional Tourism District team of staff, volunteers, industry constituents and professional consultants are dedicated to advancing tourism in Mystic Country. We are grateful for their efforts and thank them all. This page: River Fire on the Quinebaug River, Putnam On the cover: CHARLES W. MORGAN departs Mystic for her 38th Voyage. Reprinted with permission by Mystic Seaport

3 This report details the many activities and accomplishments of the Eastern Regional Tourism District (ERTD) in support of the tourism economy in eastern Connecticut. Highlighted below are some of the specific events and accomplishments that occurred in Organization and Finance Finances for the ERTD in FY 15 were relatively stable. During the 3rd quarter a 5% budget rescission was mandated by the Governor for the entire fiscal year appropriation. This meant that the entire amount for the year was reduced from the 3rd and 4th quarters, magnifying the impact on planning and cash flow. In addition to the appropriation from the State, cooperative partnerships with our constituents provided additional revenue in excess of $75,000 to the ERTD. This outside funding allowed for expanded marketing and sales efforts that would otherwise not have been available. As a result of fiscal stability in the last two years the Board of Directors was able to reinvigorate and reconstitute the committees and governance structures as outlined in the Bylaws. This provided for more direct input from the industry constituency regarding needs and programs offered by the District. As the year closes the membership on these various committees and advisory groups continues to grow and constituent input and communication is sustained at a high level. Unfortunately, as the fiscal year comes to a close the outlook for FY 2016 remains uncertain. Proposals ranging from elimination of the ERTD to budget reductions of 5% and 10% remain under active consideration. Faced with possible closure we are unable to plan for or place marketing efforts in the important 1st quarter, or Fall season, of Fiscal We hope that this situation is resolved soon so that planned activities can be implemented. Industry Relations The District s strong relationships with regional partners and industry constituents have enabled a wide range of tourism building initiatives. During the past year we: Created an industry oriented website, Industry.MysticCountry. com to provide relevant data, research results, master event calendars, press room, photographs and direct database access to our constituents. Continued our partnership with the Greater Mystic Visitors Bureau (GMVB) by supplying content to the Mystic.org website including mini promotion creative, quarterly consumer eblasts, social media content and photography. Continued a partnership with The Day publishing to produce 250,000 copies of the Mystic Country Visitors Guide distributed by the District and industry partners to prospective visitors. Worked in close cooperation with the statewide Connecticut Office of Tourism to coordinate Mystic Country advertising and promotion with the statewide efforts. Reestablished a working partnership with The Last Green Valley Heritage Corridor to promote assets in the Northeast. Worked with the Regional Planning organizations and Chambers of Commerce in Eastern Connecticut to keep them apprised of tourism activities and trends in the region. Marketing and Public Relations Marketing, public relations and social media are the very heartbeat of the efforts and activities of the ERTD. Over the past year we have: Focused on marketing niches and trends with unique trails such as Foodie Finds; Sundae Drives; Antiques Trail; Pet-Friendly; Mystic Pizza Movie Trail and Scenic Drives Increased presence and frequency on social media platforms Subsidized constituent advertising in high-impact print publications Participated in State-sponsored advertising initiatives, both in print and online Conducted sweepstakes on digital media platforms Maintained contact with consumers through quarterly eblasts Created a consumer friendly Major Events Calendar, published online and updated quarterly Created 25 mini-promotions published on Mystic.org, and promoted through various social media outlets Maintained the SeeMysticCountryCT.com blog with at least five to eight new blog articles a month Attended tradeshows Hosted travel bloggers Pitched stories to travel writers for placement in print and online publications As we look forward to next year there are a number of new ideas and initiatives we plan to introduce including Mystic Country video online and the development of Mystic Country apps for mobile online application to direct potential visitors to events or to make travel easy in the area. Northeast Mystic Country is representative of three distinct niches: the Coast and its relationship to water/boats/seafood; the excitement of casino gaming and entertainment; and the bucolic quiet beauty of New England and the scenic countryside. Northeastern Connecticut abounds in the visitor-sought beauty of country and the unique qualities it provides. To ensure that these qualities are fully and adequately represented the ERTD has met monthly with representatives of the Northeast Committee who advise and direct activities promoting this special area. This past year brochure distribution and paid print advertising were top priorities. With our Chamber of Commerce partners and The Last Green Valley, we have made significant improvements and progress in these efforts. International Markets International travelers have always recognized the ERTD as a premier New England destination. International travelers are discriminating since they are offered so many destination opportunities. As a result those destinations, which are not actively pursuing overseas visitors, are often forgotten. This past year the ERTD, along with partners in our region, have raised the profile of Mystic Country as a destination. Working with the New England-wide Discover New England (DNE) group the annual conference of overseas tour operators was held in our area. Full page in language advertisements were placed in DNE consumer publications in Great Britain, Germany and Japan. In addition the ERTD hosted over 30 international tour operators to our region. While the results of these efforts are never immediate they do have the effect of attracting high value travelers over a long period. In fiscal year 2015 we have already begun to see the fruits of these initiatives in Mystic Country. Ed Dombroskas Executive Director Eastern Regional Tourism District/Mystic Country

4 Howard T. Brown Memorial Park, Norwich Marketing & Advertising Mystic Country Major Events Interactive Online Calendar In 2013, the Eastern Regional Tourism District rolled out a printed event calendar detailing signature and major events happening in the eastern Connecticut region as a piece to distribute to the press. This year, the press piece was expanded upon and developed into an interactive, online publication for the consumer. Featuring more than 200 events in Mystic Country the event calendar has been formatted into a magazine style and not only features more photography and events than before, but also contains links to each event s website. The calendar will be updated quarterly and can be found at Industry.MysticCountry.com. By the Numbers 754 Leads Yankee Magazine full page ad in May/June 2014 Travel Issue and listing on Yankee.com Leads CT Getaway Guide Free Standing Newspaper Insert (FSI) for Fall/Winter Leads CT Getaway Guide Free Standing Newspaper Insert (FSI) for Spring/Summer Leads CT Visitors Guide 2014: Mystic Country co-op advertising spread. 203 Leads to date (ongoing*) CT Visitors Guide 2015: Mystic Country co-op advertising spread. Mystic Country Visitors Guide 150,000 Copies Distribution of Mystic Country Visitors Guide ; negotiated distribution contracts and managed distribution. 250,000 Copies Mystic Country Visitors Guide full run: provided content for free listings and photography; provided advertising space for northeast advertorial section. Discover New England Newsletter Travel Exclusive newsletter ed to international consumers. Consumer Newsletter In cooperation with the GMVB, the ERTD published a quarterly consumerbased newsletter outlining interesting things to see and do in Mystic Country. The newsletter is distributed to a list of over 50,000 consumers. *as of June 1, 2015

5 Mystic Country Trails This year two trails were updated and reprinted by the ERTD. Working with the Connecticut Office of Film, the ERTD reformatted and reprinted the 20th Anniversary Mystic Pizza Trail and with the addition of 31 new eateries and events reprinted the popular Foodie Finds brochure. Mystic.org Total Visits June 1, 2014 May 31, 2015 = 532,251 down 18.81% when compared year-over-year (June 1, 2013 to May 31, 2014). Average Pages Per Visit = 3.12, up 8.32% when compared year-over-year (2.88 pages per visit). Average Time on Site (Average Visit Duration) = 00:02:41, up 17.27% when compared year-over-year (00:02:17). In total 419,833 people visited Mystic.org during , averaging 34,986 unique visitors per month. Special ERTD-created and updated Mystic.org minipromotions for the year included: Fireworks in Mystic Country Get Out on the Water Sundae Drives Cabin Fever Antiques Trail Foodie Finds Roadside Eats Haunted History Mystic Country by Fireside April Vacation Mystic Pizza Trail Open House Day Gardens & Wine Farmers Markets St. Patrick s Day Summer Music Pet-Friendly Cut-Your-Own Tree Scenic Drives Egg Hunts in Mystic Country Fall Favorites Maple Sugaring Holidays on Main Street Autumn Adventures Holiday Tidings & Santa Sightings Distribution & Fulfillment 150,000 Mystic Country Visitors Guides were distributed by the ERTD. Major distribution locations included: 200 AAA offices throughout the Northeast; Bradley Airport; Amtrak Northeast hubs; Fairfield and Westchester County train stations; CT Welcome Centers; New York Thruway and Northern NJ Thruway; I-95 and I-91 in CT and MA; Boston Hotels & Info Centers; New England Tourism Center in Montreal; and various local and regional hotels, restaurants and info centers. Approximately 10,000 copies of the Mystic Country Visitors Guide were mailed or delivered through website requests, phone requests, fulfillment of Mystic Information Center and CTVisit.com requests from individuals, conference and group planners, special event requests and trade show follow-up. Sales Trade Shows Attended American Bus Assn. Marketplace ABA (Group Market/Mystic Country booth) Destinations of New York DONYS (Group and Receptive Operators/Mystic Country booth) Discover New England Annual Summit DNE (International Market/Mystic Country booth) Greater New Jersey Motorcoach Assn. Marketplace (Group Market/CT Regions) HSMAI MEET with NESCVB (Meetings Market/New England booth) ITMI Symposium 2015 (Group Market/Mystic Country booth) Meetings Quest (Meetings Market/Mystic Country booth) National Tour Assn. Travel Exchange NTA (Group Market/CT Regions booth) New England Travel Showcase NETS (Group Market/Mystic Country booths) Ontario Motorcoach Assn. Marketplace OMCA (International Market/Mystic Country) USTA s International Pow Wow IPW (International Market/CT booth) Co-op Partners CT Marine Trades Association Discover Putnam Essex Steam Train & Riverboat Flanders Fish Market Florence Griswold Museum Foxwoods Resort Casino Greater Mystic Visitors Bureau Hilton Garden Inn - Preston Hilton Mystic Holiday Inn New London Holiday Inn Norwich Howard Johnson Inn Mystic Hyatt Place Mystic Inn at Harbor Hill Marina Inn at Mystic Mashantucket Pequot Museum Microtel Uncasville Mohegan Sun Mystic Aquarium Mystic Marriott Hotel & Spa Mystic Seaport Mystic Whaler Nature s Art Village Ocean Beach Park Olde Mistick Village Residence Inn Roseland Cottage Spring Hill Suites Waterford The Spa at Norwich Inn Willimantic Brewing Company

6 Leads Leads from trade shows totaled 308, plus additional leads from International trade shows attended by Discover New England. Requests for Proposals (RFP) The ERTD distributed 11 Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for a total of 3,160 room nights plus an additional 5,000 room nights in the second year of the US Youth Soccer tournament contract. FAM Tours The ERTD hosted 96 participants in five Familiarization Tours in FY These FAM Tours represented groups from the UK and Ireland, Italy, China Travel Agents and tour operators from around the country. Assistance ERTD assisted a number of meeting planners, tour operators and group leaders with site visits, options for transportation and tours, meals, activities, Mystic Country Visitor Guides, maps and brochures. Industry Support Mystic Country Industry Website A hub to learn about industry-related news and updates, Industry.MysticCountry.com continues to be updated to help eastern Connecticut tourism constituents find ways to get involved in tourism promotion and marketing opportunities. The site also allows properties to update their directory listings, events and specials in the ERTD Database. Sales Committee Twenty-three members, representing hotels and attractions throughout the region, met quarterly to discuss sales strategies and co-operative projects. Northeast Committee Monthly meetings were held to discuss tourism marketing priorities. Locations for the meetings changed every month throughout the Northeast communities. A full page was placed in Explore!, a new publication from The Last Green Valley. A half-page ad was placed in the Visit NECT visitor guide. Through the Windham Chamber, a full page ad was placed in Windham Arts Council s publication, CHAT. A two-page advertorial highlighting the Northeast was placed in the Mystic Country Visitors Guide. Brochure Swaps Two successful brochure swaps were held in Groton and Pomfret, bringing together constituents and their printed materials to share and distribute at the opening of the tourism season. After the swaps, remaining materials were delivered to Connecticut Welcome Centers. Tourism Marketing Boot Camps ERTD joined with regional partners to produce two highly successful half-day workshops on social media for the tourism marketing professional. These Boot Camps featured beginning and advanced sessions on Facebook, Twitter, marketing with the Eastern Regional Tourism District and more. Locations were in Mystic and Danielson. 5Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme

7 Public Relations & Social Media Media and Travel Trade Outreach Maintained and continually updated a comprehensive calendar of events for eastern Connecticut. Submitted over 175 events to 50 regional media throughout the year for organizations that do not have communications staff. Maintained ongoing contact with travel writers and editors via seasonal mailings. Pitched stories about the region and worked with visiting writers interested in exploring the region first-hand by hosting in area accommodations. Updated Industry website and press page regularly with new content. Public relations outreach resulted in more than 125 placements that appeared in magazines, newspapers, online and on television. In addition to hosting individual writers, the region hosted five familiarization tours (FAM tours) for travel tour groups interested in learning about the Mystic Country region. FAM tours were held for groups from Japan, England, Germany and Italy. The District also hosted a FAM for US travel organizers. The ERTD worked with trade writers who write about the region from a meeting or event planner s point of view. There were five placements in key trade publications regarding the region. The region is currently working with a powerful blogger FAM set for late June This event will bring eight blogger families to the area. Millions of social media impressions are expected to result from this group visit. Mystic Aquarium, Mystic Seaport, Harbour House at the Inn at Mystic and Mango s Wood-Fired Pizza Company at Olde Mistick Village are all participating in making this event special. Numerous media follow the District on Facebook and Twitter in order to gather news and information about upcoming events and activities to cover. CT Office of Tourism Support The ERTD attended state tourism meetings and conferences and coordinated with statewide tourism campaigns, providing support to state agencies with images, content and ideas. Consumer Outreach Produced specially-themed Mystic Country Moments segments weekly. These radio spots feature area events and activities for the weekend ahead. The segment airs weekly on WELJ FM, Q FM, WLLM 98 AM, and The Wolf FM. Social media continues to grow and is a tremendous tool for notifying and influencing consumers (potential visitors and in-state residents) about upcoming events and sharing iconic images that influence attitude towards the area. Social Media and Blog The District s social media presence has grown. (See the inset below.) This remains the only region-wide social media network in eastern Connecticut. The region s blog, SeeMysticCountryCT. com, has turned to focus on select events and more detailed topics that pull information from across the region. Walking and kayaking trails and ideas are two examples of subjects that were particularly well-received. Sixty-five articles were written and posted on a wide variety of events and topics. At the end of May, the site was updated to be mobile-friendly in order to accommodate the growing number of Social media continues to grow and is a tremendous tool for notifying and influencing consumers... Mystic Country Social Media Outlets* FaCeBOOk facebook.com/mysticcountryct Growth: 28,516 fans to 35,678 (25% growth) TwiTTer twitter.com/mysticcountryct Growth: 2682 to 3498 (30% growth) people that are using mobile devices to explore and plan travel. The District s blog traffic has increased year-over-year. Sessions are up 22%, users are up 26% and pageviews are up 25%. Organic search and social media are the top ways that visitors find blog content. 93% of blog traffic comes from the US. Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Pennsylvania are the top five blog visiting states. Tourism Constituent Outreach The ERTD published a monthly Business of Tourism newsletter. This electronic newsletter is sent to over 1,500 industry professionals in eastern Connecticut and beyond. For FY 14-15, 24 issues of the Business of Tourism were distributed 11 standard issues and 13 supplements. The region also supports the social media tools of regional constituents with online conversation and sharing. instagram instagram.com/mysticcountryct Growth: (114% growth) PinTereST* pinterest.com/mysticcountryct GROWTH: 92 to 115 (25% growth) Visit SeeMysticCountryCT.com to view a merging of all of Mystic Country outreach vehicles. *As of June 1, 2015

8 Blue Slope Country Museum, North Franklin media outlets that included Mystic Country in their news as a result of ERTD outreach: AAAJourneys Magazine AAAJourneys.com/webextras Associated Press (AP) Arrive (Amtrak) Association News Best-Place-to-Retire.com BestVacations.com Boston Globe Boston Globe Magazine BostonGlobe.com BuzzFeed.com Cabin Life Magazine CaptainsandCruises.com CNN.com Coastal Connecticut Magazine Connecticut Family Connecticut Food & Farm Connecticut Magazine ConnecticutMag.com Courant.com CTNow.com The Day Destinations Magazine Drive I-95 newsletter Drive I-95 Book EatDrinkMoveRepeat.com Examiner.com ExploringJane.com FamilyTravelMagazine.com Fox-CT (Foxct.com/daytrippers) Frommers.com FunTravels.com GetawayMavens.com GoNewEngland.About.com Hartford Courant Hibu, New London Honeymoons.about.com HotRodsandMore.com Huffington Post Long Island Pulse LuxuryTravel.com MassholeMommy.com Meetings Focus Magazine Mom Knows it All /valmg.com Mystic Matters SEC-TV NBCConnecticut National Public Radio (NPR) New England Boating Magazine The New York Times NewEnglandRacingNews.com Nicole Bushey Blog Norwich Bulletin Norwich Magazine NTA Courier Magazine NY Newsday NYTimes.com Parent Guide News Reminder Newspapers Reverberations.net Smart Meetings Sound & Country Magazine Sports Events Magazine The2writers.blogspot.com TheCultureTrip.com TheNationalMotorist.com TheWashingtonTimes TracyLeeKarner.com Travel With Kal Travel+Leisure TravelChannel.com TravelersUSANotebook.com TrifterTravel.com Tripatini.com USA Today USA Today s 10Best.com We3Travel.com Weather.com WFSB-TV WFSB-TV Better Connecticut WINY Radio Yankee Magazine Eastern Regional Tourism District 27 Greenmanville Avenue, Mystic, CT