KCVB Board of Directors - Kingsland, GA

Overview
The Kingsland Area Convention & Visitors
Bureau (KCVB) Authority annual report
provides a summary of the department’s
FY07-08 activities; including marketing
initiatives, sales programs, welcome center
operations, performance measurements,
and budget information.
The KCVB has two main functions within the
department - the Visitors Bureau and the
Welcome Center.
FY07/08 has been an extremely busy year. In
addition to the increasing hotel supply
marketed by the Visitors Bureau, the
Welcome Center opened as an independent
7-day a week operation requiring additional
staff and resources. In July 2008, the State
Legislation changed the Georgia Occupancy
Tax Statute requiring the City to adopt a new
occupancy tax ordinance and changes in
reporting & collection procedures.
Our hope is that this report will effectively
communicate the purpose and goal of the
KCVB organization. We welcome your
comments and feedback.
KCVB Board of Directors
Table of Contents
Overview
1
Mission
1
CVB Authority
2
Board of Directors
2
Internet Marketing
3
Print Advertising
3
Media Marketing
4
Publications
4
Welcome Center
5
Visitor Services
5
Group Marketing
6
Sales Programs
6
Grant Funding
6
Special Projects
7
Research
7
Lodging Performance
7
KCVB Budget
8
Economic Impact
8
Mission
The Kingsland Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (KCVB) Authority is the official destination marketing organization (DMO) of the City of Kingsland. The primary mission of the KCVB is to position
the area as a premier, year-round visitor destination and increase travel spending through external
marketing; thereby diversifying the local economy, stimulating economic growth, and improving the
life of area residents and visitors. The KCVB achieves this mission by focusing on increasing and
sustaining lodging occupancies with the City of Kingsland. In addition to the comprehensive marketing initiatives, the KCVB oversees the operation of the Kingsland I-95 Welcome Center with the
focus of providing superior customer service to visitors and industry partners; thereby encouraging
repeat and extended stays.
WHAT IS THE KCVB
The Kingsland Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (KCVB) Authority is a non-profit Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) and
was created by state legislation and local ordinance in 1991. The KCVB Board of Directors consists of five members who shall be at
least 18 years of age and residents of the City of Kingsland or either an owner/employee of a business within the city. The mayor and
each councilperson appoints one member of the authority who shall serve for the time served by the councilperson or mayor who
appointed them. New appointments are made when there is a new mayor or city councilperson elected or at the beginning of a new
term of a mayor or city councilperson.
The KCVB is funded by a portion of the Kingsland’s lodging tax which is levied on visitors who occupy rooms. This tax is currently at
6% of which the KCVB receives 2.6%. Other benefactors of the lodging tax are the Kingsland Welcome Center Building Construction
(1%) and the City of Kingsland General Fund (2.4%). In FY07/08, the KCVB operating budget was $396,316.00. In addition to lodging
tax revenues, funding sources for the KCVB include welcome center retail sales, tour programs, and various grants.
The KCVB’s main purpose is to increase and sustain hotel room nights and visitor expenditures in the City of Kingsland. In addition,
the Authority oversees the operation and staffing of the Kingsland Welcome Center; thereby strengthening the community’s economic
climate.
As the City’s tourism sales and marketing arm, it is the KCVB’s responsibility to create and sustain a positive image for the Kingsland
area as a destination in the domestic travel markets. The main goals of the department include:
• Attract more visitors
• Encourage visitors to stay longer and/or return more frequently
• Encourage increased visitor expenditures
The KCVB’s annual marketing plan focuses on the area’s competitive strengths through promotion of the community’s:
• Natural Scenic Beauty
• Sightseeing/Outdoor Recreation
• Inviting Hospitality
• Year-round Climate
• Relaxation
• Good for couples and/or families
• Affordable travel
• Safe, worry free
The KCVB focuses on the strengths and competitive advantages of Kingsland and the Camden County community in order to promote a positive community brand. The KCVB develops the community brand recognition through the use of effective external advertising, marketing communications and tourism promotion.
Kingsland Area Convention & Visitors Bureau Authority Board of Directors
Mr. Randy Horn, Chairperson
Ms. Tonya Wiggins
Appointed by Mayor Smith, Term 2008 -2011
Appointed by Councilman Knight (Post #3), Term 2008 -2011
Mr. William Brunson, Vice-Chair
Mrs. Robyn Crooks
Appointed by Councilman Alex Blount (Post #2), Term 2006 – 2009
Appointed by Councilperson Stasinis (Post #4), Term 2008 -2011
Mrs. Kathy Dixon, Secretary/Treasurer
Appointed by Councilman Mounsey (Post #1), Term 2006 – 2009
MARKETING INTIATIVES
Internet Marketing
Website Redesign/Search Engine Optimization - The new
KCVB website will be unveiled in 2009 and will include a
complete design overhaul. The new site will feature comprehensive information on all attractions, visitor services, lodging, and events. Included in the new site will be access to
shopping and dining guides, lodging coupons, special packages, itineraries, custom maps, news updates, relocation
information, and e-postcards. In addition, the KCVB visitor
guide will be available for downloading and newsletters and
press releases will be posted.
Print Advertisement
KCVB’s direct response print advertising program was redesigned
for the fiscal year. The print advertising campaign included a
new creative design that highlighted strong photos and a tag
line of “A Million Miles Away...Is
Just Down The Road.”
Website Traffic - The website logged over 107,000 unique visitors over the FY07/08 fiscal
year. This resulted in a significant increase of website visitor inquiries.
Email Marketing Campaign - With the rising operation costs and advertising rates continuing to increase, one of the KCVB goals for the fiscal year was to initiate a comprehensive emarketing campaign. It is estimated the ninety percent of internet users and fifty-six percent
of all Americans use email on a regular basis. Email marketing is overall the most cost effective, affordable way to build long term relationship marketing. Best of all, email marketing
campaign results are measureable as open-up and click-through rates can be easily measured and marketing strategies can be adjusted to improve results. . In addition, this program includes the availability to reach new qualified audiences as signup options are available on the website homepage and included in every e-marketing campaign.
This comprehensive campaign included building and organizing our e-contact database as
well as establishing an ‘opt-out’ policy (as required by law). The KCVB developed and distributed quarterly newsletters targeting various market segments (the ‘Kingsland Konnection” newsletter focusing on the reaching of the general traveling public, the “Travel and
Trends E-Update” media newsletter focusing on building media relationships and generating
editorial content, and a Group Tour & Travel newsletter targeting the group tour & travel
market.).
This year the KCVB developed and distributed nine e-newsletters to a database of more
than 1300 members. E-marketing results showed above average response with a 36.6%
open rate (average = 21.5% ) and a 14.0% click thru rate (average = 5.7%).
Website Activity
Print Advertising
FY 0 6 ‐0 7
2 5 0 ,0 0 0
FY07/08
43
2 0 0 ,0 0 0
1 5 0 ,0 0 0
1 0 0 ,0 0 0
5 0 ,0 0 0
0
FY06/07
8 2 ,0 4 1
This external advertising plan targeted the travel market outside of
a 50-mile radius of Kingsland visitation.
Print media buys included:
•
AAA Going Places
•
Georgia GEMC Magazine
•
Georgia Spring Newspaper
Campaign to 24 Major Newspaper Publications with over
800,000 circulation
•
Georgia Voyager
•
High Tides Guide
•
Southeast Tourism Society’s
Escape to the SE
•
Discovery Maps
•
Georgia State Travel Guide
•
Atlanta Magazine
•
SEEN Magazine
Fy 0 7 ‐0 8
66
1 7 0 ,2 9 8
3 0 0 ,0 0 0
This campaign focused on the
area’s natural scenic beauty that
is ideal for sightseeing & outdoor
recreation and promoted the community’s inviting hospitality and
relaxing, year-round climate.
FY07/08
FY06/07
KCVB Annual Report FY07/08
3
MARKETING INTIATIVES (CONT)
Media Marketing
As part of the KCVB’s media marketing efforts, the Kingsland area has been included
in many editorial features throughout the year and received an incredible amount of
publicity in national and state media outlets. These editorial features included articles
on the City of Kingsland’s Centennial Celebration, the downtown’s area’s mural series,
the Okefenokee Trailhead in downtown Kingsland, the Catfish Festival in downtown
Kingsland, and visitor related activities including kayaking, golfing, etc.
In addition, the downtown area and the Catfish Festival have
aired many times since their debut on the Georgia Traveler in
Travel Media Fam Receives
“Royal”
Welcome in Kingsland
January 2008. The Georgia Traveler is a half-hour weekly program airing on Georgia Public Television. The Kingsland episodes area result of the KCVB hosting the GPTV
program crew as our guests during the 2007 Catfish Festival weekend.
Sampling of media editorials include:
AAA Going Places magazine, Georgia Magazine (GEMC), Atlanta Magazine, Georgia Voyager magazine, High
Tides Guide magazine, Drive I-95 (www.drivei95.com) book, ABC News (Weekend Window video), TripAdvisor,
Mango’s Café
First Coast News, CNN Radio News (national coverage), Georgia Times Union, Tribune & Georgian, and GerDowntown Kingsland
man Radio Show.
Media marketing campaigns included:
GDEcD Travel Media Marketplace Post-FAM Tour: May 3-4, 3008, the Kingsland CVB hosted the GDEcD Travel Media Marketplace
Post-Familiarization Tour and showcased all of Camden County to over 15 qualified travel writers. The theme of the Kingsland visit
was “The Heart & Soul of Georgia’s Coast.”
Deutschland Radio FAM Tour: The Kingsland CVB hosted German travel journalists from Deutschland Radio in May 2008, Rudi and
Rita Schneider, a married couple and seasoned team of producers for Deutschland Radio which is Germany’s only nationwide radio
network.
First Coast News Stay-cations Feature: Stay-cations are a new way for visitors to take mini-vacations in their own backyard. First
Coast News did a ‘stay-cations’ editorial feature on the St Marys area in July 2008. As part of this, the KCVB did an interview and encouraged visitors to stop at the new Kingsland Welcome Center for more information and visit the downtown murals and Okefenokee
Trail during their visit. This opportunity came about as a partnership extension from the St Marys DDA office.
Publications / Information Library
KCVB’s many publications are designed at attract and inform visitors about the Kingsland area tourism
products, events, lodging and provide vacation planning information. Print publications produced and
updates by the KCVB during FY07/08 include:
Kingsland Area Visitors Guide
Fall Family Fun Event & Activities Guide
Hotel Resource Binders Community Annual Events Guide
County-wide Dining Guide
Media Marketing Press Guide In addition, the KCVB created an online photo library with over 1200 images on www.Flickr.com. These images can be provided online
to various media outlets upon request and can be used for editorial and print publications. In addition to online access, individual images can be provided in catalogs to allow limited or specific use.
The KCVB created & distributed and area video to promote travel. There are two components of the video with appropriate accompanying script: a 5-minute ’long’ version and a 1-minute ’condensed’ version to promote online and in the state visitors center.
WELCOME CENTER
The new Kingsland Welcome Center building
opened to the public on October 29, 2007 providing excellent visitor services, unlimited opportunities and new challenges for the KCVB.
An official grand opening event was held on
Friday, December 14, 2007.
With the mission of providing area tourist information and excellent visitor services, the Kingsland Welcome Center reached an important
benchmark within 1 year of opening doors. Exceeding all expectations, two visitors from Old
Lyme, CT were recognized on Friday, October 26, 2008, for being the 10,000 visitor to the welcome center.
By having an annual visitor traffic of greater than 10,000 the Kingsland Welcome Center is able
to increase our Georgia State Visitor Information Center designation to the highest level (Level
5) which will result in additional funding opportunities for the Kingsland Welcome Center programs.
Visitor Services
KCVB acts as a centralized source of visitor information for all the Kingsland community. Visitor
information packets are mailed to visitors by request and hundreds of questions are fielded by
phone and email. Walk–in visitor information is also available at the KCVB Welcome Center,
open 7-days a week year-round. The center displays hundreds of brochures and tourist information from lodging and camping facilities, local attractions and events, and neighboring regions,
along with its own brochures on various activities and attractions. Maps are available and many
items and souvenirs are available for sale. In FY07/08, the KCVB had 21,005 inquiries for
visitor information.
Visitor Information Requests
Welcome Center Visitor Traffic
25000
2 1005
20000
FY07/08
15000
10000
5000
3710
FY06/07
0
Travel Shows Attended,
Familiarization Tours Conducted,
Association Memberships, &
Misc Advertising Campaigns
FY 06‐07: Travel Shows & FAM Tours
FY 07‐08: Travel Shows & FAM Tours
State Designation
The criteria governing the designation of the Georgia Regional Visitor Information
Center Program, as established by the Georgia Department of Economic Development for the disbursement of state participation funds in connection with the Regional Visitor Information Center Program. This program requires specific training,
policies, procedures and guidelines in welcome center operations. The Kingsland
Welcome Center opened with a Level 2 status designation. Within a year, the welcome center staff obtained the appropriate criteria and the walk-in visitation reached
the status of Level 5 designation. This is the highest designation available thru the
state program.
JAX Airport Kiosk
As part of our partnership with the Jacksonville CVB, Kingsland area information
and brochures are available at the JaxCVB Welcome Centers and the Jax Airport
Welcome Center. Visitor information requests are tracked thru this program and
over the year there were 1,078 requests for information from visitors to the JIA.
FY 06‐07: Dues & Memberships
FY 07‐08: Dues & Memberships
FY 06‐07: Misc Advertisement
FY 07‐08: Misc Advertisement
200
150
100
20
17
50
0
15
174
53
23
KCVB Annual Report FY07/08
5
SALES PROGRAMS
Group Marketing Initiative
Tracked group travel increased 92.5% over the previous fiscal year. Group travel amenities were
expanded and services were increased. As part of this expanded effort, a targeted student travel
program was developed and promoted. Specific student education itineraries were created that
match the Georgia educational curriculum for teachers. Lesson plans and activities guides were
developed for area attractions, including Crooked River State Park, Cumberland Island, Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge, and War of 1812 attractions. The KCVB executed targeted advertising to
the student tour market through field trip itinerary promotion and print advertisement.
In this fiscal year, the KCVB continued to assist a variety of groups with housing services, lodging
selections, registration bags, name tags, catering recommendations for banquets, meeting coordination, attraction information, community maps & information among other bureau services. These
services are provided as an incentive to leverage utilization of Kingsland lodging. The purpose is to
provide these services to groups and conferences that are staying in Kingsland properties, thereby
generating additional hotel/motel tax which ultimately pays for the cost of the incentive programs.
KCVB & Hotel Partner Sales Program
The KCVB introduced a new KCVB & Hotel Partner Program to increase exposure & generate
additional overnight stays. The first hotel partner to utilize this program was Robyn Crooks, Sales
Manager of the Sleep Inn & Suites Kingsland. Thru this program Mrs. Crooks attended the 2008
Georgia MotorCoach Association Marketplace in July 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia. She met with over
47 tour operators companies and group leaders to promote the Kingsland area for group travel
visitation.
SPECIAL PROJECTS
USS Georgia Return To Service
The USS Georgia Return To Service Ceremony was held in March 2008. There was an estimated
crowd of 3500 people attending the ceremony, in addition to dignitaries (Governor Perdue, Senator
Chambliss, Senator Isakson, Congressman Kingston, Senator Nunn, Senator Cleland, Senator
Miller, etc.)
The KCVB worked with the Host Committee to coordinate the special lodging rates, crew gifts project, attendee information packets, hotel information packets, business marquee welcome signs,
and community welcome posters. There was an excellent response to the support of the military
community from all of the three cities and the entire State welcoming the USS Georgia home.
Grant Fund Revenues
This fiscal year, the KCVB received nearly $19,630 in cooperative marketing grant funds from the
Georgia Tourism Foundation. The KCVB will match these funds to execute an integrated marketing campaign. Specific components of the plan include Bird-Watching Tourism Product Development & Marketing, Geo-Caching Site Marketing & Promotion, Expansion of Student Tour Market
Promotion, Downtown District Festival Advertising, and Strengthening Destination Print Advertising Campaign.
SPECIAL PROJECTS
(Continued from page 6) Total Lodging Performance
FY 06‐07 $1 4,034,769.14
FY 07‐08 $1 3,919,505.22
FY06/07
$14,050,000
$14,0 00,000
FY07/08
$13,950,000
Visitor Profile Research
The KCVB, in partnership with the Kingsland hotels, completed the 2008 update to the
Georgia Tech Visitor Profile & Demographics Research. The purpose of this study was to
update existing research data to encourage and support commercial development within the
City of Kingsland, thereby strengthening and diversifying the local economy. The effort examined traveler origins and their preferences for lodging, dining, and activities; the idea being that such information would help convince prospective national and local developers to
invest in Kingsland.
NATIONAL TOURISM WEEK
KINGSLAND ROYAL ARREST WINNERS
$732,000.00
$730,000.00
$728,000.00
$726,000.00
$724,000.00
$722,000.00
FY07/08
FY06/07
$61.16
$62.00
$60.00
$58.00
$56.40
$56.00
$54.00
6 4 .0 0 %
FY07/08
FY06/07
6 3 .3 6 %
6 3 .0 0 %
6 2 .0 0 %
FY06/07
6 1 .0 0 %
6 0 .0 0 %
5 8 .7 3 %
5 9 .0 0 %
5 8 .0 0 %
5 7 .0 0 %
FY07/08
Hotel Occupancy As part of our annual grassroots efforts to educate the
local community of the benefits of tourism on the local
economy, the Kingsland CVB hosted a “Salute to the
Power of Travel” radio campaign throughout National
Tourism Week of May 12 - 18, 2008. Kingsland trivia
questions were presented each morning and winning
contestants were presented with KCVB “Royal” goodie
bags. To conclude the week, we supported the State
Visitor Center efforts at the Kingsland VIC by sponsoring a radio remote and facilitating the ANNUAL ROYAL
ARREST.
$13,850,000
Average Daily Rate National Tourism Week
$13,900,000
Total Tax Collection Revenue In partnership with the Camden County Public Service Authority and the St Marys Downtown Development Authority, the KCVB obtained and will facilitate a $2,550 grant to establish and market a countywide geo-trail program. The establishments of a “Camden-Cache”
GeoCaching Trail will promote and capture geo caching visitor expenditures from day trips
off Interstate 95 and create additional exposure for the tourism products/attractions in the
area.
Total Room Revenue In addition, the KCVB received $2,220 in Tourism Technology grant funds from the Georgia
Department of Economic Development to develop a War of 1812 heritage tourism podcast.
The grant funds will be used to develop and promote a visitor interpretation product of the
War of 1812 final battle with historic site and battle narratives thru the technology of podcasts. This will serve as an effective tool for economic development by encouraging local
tourism and general state-wide interest. Thereby, expanding the area’s heritage tourism
product and increasing overnight heritage tourism visitation.
5 6 .0 0 %
KCVB Annual Report FY07/08
7
KCVB BUDGET
FY07/08 Budget Summary
FY07/08 expenditures increased from FY06/07 by 29.59%. The KCVB Authority is required by law to spend 43.3% of the hotel motel tax revenues collected by the City of Kingsland. The KCVB expenditures increase is a direct
result of an overall increase in tax revenue. Increased funding was allocated
to additional staffing & personnel expenses related to the opening of the
Kingsland Welcome Center.
2007 Economic Impact of
Tourism & Visitor
Expenditures
In January 2009, Georgia’s tourism industry
presented Governor Perdue with a check for
$844.9 million, the amount of state tax revenue
generated by tourism-related expenditures for
2007. It was Tourism Day at the Capitol, an
opportunity for the state’s second-largest industry to spotlight the role it plays in Georgia’s
economy. Ranked 8th in the nation among all
the states, some key numbers for Georgia’s
tourism industry include a total economic impact (direct, indirect and induced) of $34.1 billion, $1.5 billion in state and local tax revenues, 241,800 jobs and $6.3 billion in resident wages. Without tourism-related tax revenues, every household in the state would pay
about $505 in additional taxes, on average.
The tourism industry continues to be a key part
of the local economic development strategy. In
2007, visitors to Kingsland and Camden County
spent $75.48 million in our community (Up
over 3.72% from 2006). This $75 million supported $15.56 million in resident wages
earned. In addition to the employment benefits,
tourism also reduces state & local taxes. Georgia’s state government realized over $2.78 million in state tax revenue (Up over 2.21% from
2006) from visitor expenditures in Camden
County and Camden’s local governments collected over $2.28 million in local taxes (Up
over 4.59% from 2006) from visitor expenditures in 2007. Without tourism-related tax revenues, every household in the City of Kingsland would pay $74.51 in additional property
taxes (based on $200k average house value).
KCVB Annual Report FY07/08
8