Quad Cities: Quarterly Publication of the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau July 2007 Reporting Fiscal Year 2007 4th Quarter April, May, June 2007 ROI The Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau (QCCVB) has successfully secured two new events that will be held here the Iowa State H.O.G. Rally in June 20-23, 2008 and the Women s National Disc Golf Championship in 2009. Lynn Hunt from the QCCVB; Pam Fischer, local H.O.G. Chapter member; and Daryl Paddock from the Isle of Capri attended the 2007 rally in Charles City, Iowa, to promote the Quad Cities area. June 2008 will be a biker bonanza for the Quad Cities. The Iowa State H.O.G. Rally will happen the week directly after Sturgis on the River, so we hope to lure bikers from the region to experience our own bike week. Milan and the Quad Cities was awarded one year of a three-year contract with the Professional Disc Golf Association, which will be shared by Huntsville, AL, and Richmond, NC. Milan will host the second year of the contract in late September or early October with competitors playing rounds at Camden Park and other courses in the Quad Cities area. At least 150 women from across the United States are expected to participate in the three-day event. Additionally, competitors are expected to bring family, friends and caddies to the tournament. The experience of attending and promoting next year s rally allowed us to formulate a lot of new ideas, said Lynn Hunt, Vice President of Sales. During our first day at the rally, hotel reservations for 2008 went from 6 to 50. Contents Busy September is Coming 2007 Midwest Birding Symposium Stats: Hotel/Motel Information Website Lodging Reservations Visitor Inquiries 2 Mississippi Valley Welcome Center Union Station, Davenport Visitor Center Counts 4th Qtr. 07 TOTAL 4th Qtr. 06 TOTAL FY07 FY06 FY05 18,426 19,468 70,915 66,122 69,476 1,584 1,151 5,325 3,364 4,615 International Pow Wow Tradeshow Culinary Travel is Booming Stats: Sales Numbers New Name Host It Here! Visitors from China Sports Report Stats: Trade Shows Quad Cities Kid s Club Leisure Email Campaigns 3 4 Moline Depot 1,827 1,669 5,839 5,657 6,924 QC Airport 765 1,002 3,027 4,319 4,626 GRAND TOTAL 22,602 23,290 85,106 80,921 86,705 2007 Queen Riverboat Visits International & Summer Travel Stats: Media Contacts Reader Response from Advertising Website Visits Co-op Advertising 5 * FYO6 and FY05 Totals also include the Village of East Davenport numbers. FY06 1,459 and FY05 1,064 Wayfinding Is Coming to the Q-C Annual Meeting Is Sept. 20 New Additions at the QCCVB 6
Get Ready for a Busy September in the Q-C Is your staff prepared for a month of increased visitors? Do you have enough supplies? Can you put signage up to welcome them? Let s roll out the red carpet for these guests! Sept. 1-2 Rock Island Grand Prix and Lighted Boat Parade Over 400 racers, plus spectators, hit The District for the popular weekend. Sept. 3-9 Rotary Zone Institute Convention Over 350 Rotarians are having their convention in downtown Davenport. Sept. 13-16 Midwest Birding Symposium The birders are back with their convention in downtown Moline. Sept. 14-15 FLW Wal-Mart Walleye Fishing Tournament These 400 anglers will be up early for coffee and eating out at night. Sept. 23 Quad Cities Marathon It s the 10th anniversary for this special event with 2,000 runners. Sept. 26-29 American Bass Anglers Regional Championship Tournament This national qualifying event will bring 500 anglers, plus their families. Occupancy Rate Average Daily Rate Hotel Tax Revenues Hotel/Motel Information 4th Qtr.07 FY07 FY06 FY05 58.67% 53.8% 55.9% 57.7% $66.66 $65.49 $61.70 $59.29 Not available at time Not available at time Visitor Inquiries $3,360,000 $2,900,000 Website Lodging Reservations Reservations Room Nights April 21 32 May 16 27 June 18 29 4th Quarter FY07 Total 4th Quarter FY06 Total 55 88 73 106 FY07 Total 252 409 FY06 Total 237 378 4th Qtr.07. 4th Qtr. 06 FY07 FY06 FY05 Email, Fax, Mail 766 703 2,730 2,096 2,284 Advertising 5,829 6,092 14,316 10,069 11,430 Phone 1,450 1,724 6,736 6,675 7,927 TOTAL 8,045 8,519 23,782 18,840 21,641 Bird lovers from across the nation are welcome to the Quad Cities for the Midwest Birding Symposium on September 13-16, 2007. The headquarters for the 2007 Midwest Birding Symposium is the Stoney Creek Inn & Conference Center in downtown Moline, Illinois, located on the Mississippi River. People can now register for the Symposium online at www.visitquadcities.com/ midwestbirding. The 2007 Midwest Birding Symposium featuring the theme, Habitat Conservation it s for the birds, will highlight fall migrants of the Upper Mississippi River Valley. Attendees will enjoy morning and all day field trips accompanied by some of the country s leading experts on birds. Afternoons will feature presentations on topics ranging from fall warblers to effects of global warming on birds. Fieldtrips will take attendees from exploring bottomland forests to a cattail marsh. Take an educational pontoon ride and then take a walk through grasslands, a sand prairie, or the Maquoketa Caves. Nationally-known birding experts will be keynote speakers, including Kenn Kaufman. Kaufman writes for Birder s World and Audubon magazines and is the author of several books. The symposium is also a great place for beginning birders and people who are interested in birding to get started. The Midwest Birding Symposium also includes an evening reception on Thursday at the Putnam Museum, a dinner river cruise on the Celebration Belle on Friday, and the closing banquet on Saturday. The charity chosen for the symposium is the Milan Bottoms to help preserve this important wildlife habitat. All kinds of birding merchandise will be available for purchase including premier optics, books, field guides, and feeders. For more information on the Midwest Birding Symposium, a complete schedule, and to register for the conference, visit their website at www.visitquadcities.com/midwestbirding. 2
QCCVB On The Road The QCCVB partnered with River Action to attend the Chicago Bike & Family Fitness Show on April 14-15, at the Navy Pier in Chicago. Quad Cities information on the area s trails, cycling events, and special hotel packages for cyclists was handed out to over 1,000 attendees. 120 people signed up to receive more information on the Quad Cities. After the show, the QCCVB emailed over 1,000 cycling enthusiasts. From that email blast both QCCVB & River Action websites saw many hits to the trails, attractions, and hotel packages sections. Margo McInnis, QCCVB Group, Student & Int l. Sales Manager, attended the POW WOW International Tradeshow held in Anaheim, CA, on April 21-25. This international show hosted over 4,500 national and international delegates. The QCCVB partnered with Champaign County CVB and Heritage Corridor CVB with a booth in the Illinois Aisle. They sold the AG TOURS ILLINIOS Itinerary, which is a circle itinerary of Chicago, Champaign County, Quad Cities, and Heritage Corridor agricultural areas. They met with planners from China, Brazil, Japan, Spain, Germany, Malaysia, Denmark, and Chile. The three partnering CVBs will be working with the QCCVB s Chicago Receptive to assist the international planners who have groups interested in this AG itinerary. The QCCVB was able to attend this show because of the Illinois International Grant Program. Travel Trends Culinary travelers make up roughly one-fifth of the U.S. leisure traveling population. Compared to the average leisure traveler, wine and culinary travelers are more affluent, better educated, and take part in more activities while traveling, making this a large, active, and lucrative market for destinations and other travel marketers. Not surprisingly, going to a restaurant just to eat is the most common food-related activity. Deliberate Food Travelers are more likely than others to participate in a variety of other foodrelated activities, including: visiting farmers markets, sampling traditional artisan products (e.g., cheeses); attending a culinary festival (i.e., chili, cheese, chocolate, etc.), touring wineries / tasting locally made wines, touring local breweries / tasting locally brewed beers, driving a wine trail, or attending a wine festival. (Source: TIA) QCCVB Sales Numbers 4th Qtr. Total FY07 4th Qtr. Total FY06 FY07 FY06 Meetings, Conventions, Sports, Reunions Booked Meetings, Conventions, Sports, Reunions Leads Inbound Motorcoach & Other Groups Booked Inbound Motorcoach & Other Group Leads 9 14 47 48 10 20 65 86 14 14 101 59 21 16 119 76 Site Inspections/FAMs 6 7 44 60 Sales Contacts 619 670 3,126 2,799 Important Note: These sales numbers reflect business generated by the Quad Cities CVB and are not representative of the entire Quad Cities community. Number of Members Who Accessed Leads Online 102 106 369 277 (missing 4 mo. of data) Event Servicing Actions 28 26 165 235 3
Bringing It Here Host It Here! is the new name for the QCCVB s program that encourages local residents to bring meetings/conventions/ reunions/events that they attend outside the area back to the Quad Cities. This new name replaces the former Neighborhood Network. The QCCVB is working on new materials and the website. Last year, local residents created a $13.4 million economic impact on this area with the events and groups they hosted here. What meetings do you go to that could be held in the Quad Cities? The State of Illinois sent two representatives to China to promote tourism between China and Illinois. In return, China then sent two travel representatives to Illinois to learn all about the state. The Illinois Bureau of Tourism (IBOT) contacted each region within the state and asked specific cities and towns to show the Chinese delegates around. The QCCVB hosted the two representatives in the IL Quad Cities over three days in April. Each works at a different travel agency in Shenyang, China. The Chinese representatives went back with a wealth of information and fond memories of our river, attractions, and history. Trade Shows Trade Shows Attended Trade Show Impressions FY07 27 1,281 FY06 26 882 Sports Report The RiverCenter was transformed into a billiards mecca again with over 100 tables for the 12 th annual Iowa State Poolplayers Association (ISPA) State Championships on April 11-15. 156 Valley Pool Tables were set up for the five-day event and over 39,000 games were played. There were over 1,500 singles entries and 300 team entries, for a grand total of 1,800 players participating. The players represented 26 cities to make this the largest State association-ran event in the U.S. One of the reasons for this event s growth is because of the strong support the Quad Cities has shown for this event. That support turned into more than a $1 million economic impact for the area. Duel at the Diamonds, now in its seventh year, is a youth boy's baseball tournament for ages 9-13. 50 competitive teams from throughout the Midwest participated and played at the Alleman High School Complex over three consecutive weekends in June. This event is hosted by Quad City A's Baseball. Tournament housing coordinator, Valerie Schissel, worked with the QCCVB and local hotels to generate over 1,000 room nights that brought about a $900,000 economic impact on the area. FY05 17 1,367 FY04 10 871 Quad Cities Kid s Club 72 Joined 4th Quarter 270 Total Members Leisure Email Campaigns Emails Sent Emails Opened Click Thrus April 4,326 21% 24.4% May 4,356 21.8% 23.4% June 4,417 22.1% 22.1% From left are local stock car drivers Ray Guss, Jr. and Gary Webb, along with Joe Taylor at the Race Season Opening that was celebrated at the Swing s home opener. 4
Bringing in Visitors Each year, the Quad Cities is a stop for large steamboats cruising the Mississippi. These steamboats operated under what was known as the Delta Queen Steamboat Company. It has now combined with American West Steamboat Company into one brand, called the Majestic America Line. The Majestic America Line fleet now consists of six riverboats. Once the boat docks in Davenport, passengers can disembark and take shuttles for different tours in the area. The tentative schedule for American Queen visits to the Quad Cities for the remainder of the year is: August 1, October 11, October 25, and November 8. And the Survey Says... The QCCVB has a survey on its website that visitors fill out to be entered into a drawing for a weekend getaway. In FY2007, almost 1,500 people completed the survey. The majority of the people had visited the Quad Cities, and were planning to visit again. 44% responded they were coming for a weekend getaway, and over 50% were traveling with family. Most people found www.visitquadcities.com through a search engine. The top age group was 35-49 year olds, with an income over $55,000. The top five reasons people are coming to the Quad Cities are: the Mississippi River, Special Events & Festivals, Shopping, Historical Attractions, and Riverboat Casinos. Industry Information Media Contacts Releases Sent Individual Requests Journalist Visits 4th Qtr.FY07 4,889 139 5 4th Qtr.FY06 4,216 128 9 FY07 21,926 499 15 FY06 13,898 373 17 FY05 16,374 305 15 26 Stories Produced this Quarter. Reader Response from Advertising 4th Qtr.FY07 5,829 4th Qtr.FY06 6,092 FY07 14,316 FY06 10,069 FY05 11,430 Website Visits 4th Qtr.FY07 101,137 International Arrivals Spring toward Possible Record Year Despite a persistent decline in international inbound arrivals from the two most important inbound markets (Japan and the UK) for the U.S., if the first two months of 2007 are any reliable indication, international visitor arrivals to the U.S. could set a new record this year, eclipsing both last year s 51.063 million visitors and the record 51.237 million visitors who came in 2000. The U.S. Dept. of Commerce s Office of Travel and Tourism Industries (OTTI) has just announced that 2.9 million international visitors traveled to the United States in February 2007, an increase of 9 percent over February 2006. Total visitation year-todate 2007 was up 7 percent from the first two months of 2006. Summer Travel Remains Strong Renewed enthusiasm for travel among consumers and no major obstacles on the horizon mean the U.S. travel industry will enjoy a good summer travel season in 2007, with leisure travel increasing 1.4% over last summer, according to the latest forecast from the Travel Industry Association (TIA). Americans will take nearly 330 million person-trips in June, July and August 2007, a record high number. Business and convention travel will remain strong as well, increasing about 3 percent this summer. 4th Qtr.FY06 121,634 FY07 438,177 FY06 460,032 FY05 407,074 Co-op Advertising Participation 4th Qtr.FY07 $6,150 4th Qtr.FY06 $23,065 FY07 $48,705 FY06 $53,215 FY05 $116,990 5
QCCVB Odds and Ends Quad Cities CVB Staff Directory 563-322-3911 800-747-7800 Administrative Ext. # Joe Taylor, President/CEO...116 Roxie Lucas, V.P. Finance/Admin...114 Cheryl Piersall, Moline Depot Office Mgr...113 Linda Creighton, Accounting Assistant...112 Sales and Marketing Lynn Hunt, V.P. Sales...104 Charlotte Morrison, V.P. Mktg./Comm...105 Jesse Inskeep, Website & Comm. Mgr...107 Deanna Jensen, Convention Sales Mgr...102 Margo McInnis, Group,Student & Int l Sales Mgr.106 Arlyce Musal, Senior Sales Mgr...108 Jessica Waytenick, Mktg./P.R. Mgr...103 Beth Payne, Union Station Office Mgr...100 Liz Coffman, Union Station Visitor Counselor...110 Linda Cutler, Union Station Visitor Counselor...110 Mississippi Valley Welcome Center Pam Ellis, V.P. Visitor Services...118 Elaine Robertson, Visitor Services Mgr...117 Visitor Counselors/Gift Shop...120 Office Locations Moline Depot Antique & Gift Shop 2021 River Drive Moline, IL 61265 Wayfinding is finding its way to the Quad Cities. Watch for it! This easy, color-coded system includes 217 signs directing visitors/new residents to 85 destinations in the Quad Cities area. For example, the attractions that are located in Rock Island will be marked in red. The estimated cost for the wayfinding system is $400,000 to $600,000 and how to fund and implement the system is being considered now by the state departments of transportation, cities, and other community agencies. Wayfinding should help simplify our large, complex, and difficult-to-get-around destination for those who are unfamiliar with the community. Save the date! The QCCVB s Annual Meeting will be Thursday, September 20th from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Isle of Capri in Bettendorf. If you would like to nominate an individual, business, or event for a Hospitality Award, please send your nomination and brief explanation by August 20th to Jessica Waytenick at jwaytenick@visitquadcities.com. Linda Cutler started this April as a part-time Visitor Counselor for the Union Station Visitors Center in Davenport. Dan Gleason, a graduated senior from the University of Northern Iowa, is the intern at the QCCVB this summer. He has a B.A. degree in Leisure, Youth, and Human Services with an emphasis in Programming Service Administration and Youth Services. Union Station 102 S. Harrison, Suite 203 Davenport, IA 52801 Mississippi Valley Welcome Center 900 Eagle Ridge Road, off I-80 LeClaire, IA 52753 www.visitquadcities.com Mission of the Quad Cities CVB The QCCVB is the official tourism destination marketing and management organization for the Quad Cities region. The organization serves the tourism interests of Scott County, IA, and Rock Island, Mercer, Warren, and Henderson Counties in IL, joined by the Mississippi River. The QCCVB increases visitor expenditures and overnight stays through strategic sales, marketing and services to our customers, members, and communities. We promote and package our destination to attract and meet the needs of meetings and conventions, group tours, sporting events and competitions, special interest groups and the leisure traveler. 6