2014 Annual Report

2014 Annual Report
Tourism Matters to San Juan County!
Tourism is one of San Juan County’s top economic drivers. “Imported” visitor dollars greatly benefit businesses, nonprofits (like museums, community theaters and parks), and residents as these new dollars “trickle down” throughout
our Island communities. In addition, islanders enjoy a better quality of life because of tourism, due to more
restaurants, shops and various attractions and activities which are able to survive thanks to our visitors. Destination
marketing is the key to our Islands’ successful tourism industry – one magazine article or TV advertisement or wedding
show display can result in couples visiting for romantic weekends, families staying for an entire week, or brides and
grooms spending thousands of dollars on local services and inviting hundreds of guests who will spend a night or two.
Below you’ll find our destination marketing strategy highlights for 2014; further details are available.
By the Numbers – At A Glance
+16.6% increase in County lodging tax
+6.7% increase in Friday Harbor lodging tax
871,780 web sessions, up +19% and 3,113,311 pageviews, up 15%
577+ print & online articles = conservative 680,000,000 circulation
Television coverage reached a conservative 10,000,000+ viewership
4,177 Facebook likes + 2,930 Twitter followers + 6,464 E-newsletter subscribers
54 journalists & photographers hosted on 44 press trips; 62+ requests for photos & b-roll
645 phone calls + 1,887 email requests for information
~120,000 travel brochures distributed, ~500 wedding brochures distributed
350 members, many of which donated promotional lodging, meals & activities totaling over $18,600
Board members volunteered approx. 521 hours at Board, Marketing & Tourism Master Plan meetings
Staff contributed more than 468 hours of non-paid “overtime” on projects & travel
Mission – To enhance the economic prosperity of San Juan County by promoting the San Juan Islands as a preferred,
year-round travel destination, while respecting and sustaining the Islands’ unique and diverse ecosystems,
environments, lifestyles and cultures.
Goals – To help strengthen San Juan County’s year-round economy; to foster an appreciation of San Juan County’s
maritime and rural ways of life, as well as its history, arts and culture; to communicate San Juan County’s
environmental stewardship message to all visitors; and to enhance visitors’ travel experiences county wide.
Membership – We gained 34 new members this year, for a total of 350 members on all four islands and the mainland.
Members join for two reasons: to support destination marketing which grows our tourism economy (“A rising tide
floats all boats”) and/or for direct benefits from our website referrals and availability calendars, media connections
and featured press, etc. We held online marketing workshops hosted by the Washington Tourism Alliance and Miles
Media as our spring membership meeting on both Orcas and San Juan Islands May 1, and held our fall membership
luncheon Nov. 6 at the San Juan Island Yacht Club. Staff took “familiarization” tours and held “brown bag lunches” on
Lopez and Orcas Islands during February and October respectively, as well as a San Juan Island fam tour in April.
Board of Directors – Our 14-member Board represents Lopez, Orcas and San Juan Islands, and has contributed
approximately 521 volunteer hours this year for Board meetings, *Marketing Committee meetings and ^Tourism
Master Plan Steering Committee meetings. Our Board includes the following community leaders: President - Carl
Silvernail*, Otters Pond B&B; Treasurer - Anna Maria de Freitas*^, Harrison House/Tucker House/Coho Restaurant;
Secretary & Lopez Chamber Rep - Lia Noreen*; Orcas Chamber & County LTAC Rep - Lance Evans^; San Juan Chamber
Rep - Tom Kirschner; Friday Harbor LTAC Rep - Laura Saccio*^, Earthbox Inn/Bird Rock Hotel; At-Large: Susan Fletcher,
Turtleback Farm Inn, Orcas; Kristin Shea^, The Bay, Lopez; Stephen Robins*^, Pelindaba Lavender; Veronica San
Martin, Orcas Events Rentals & Planning; RuthAnne Comrie, North Beach Inn, Orcas; Appointee - SJC Economic
Development Council, Marilyn Gresseth; Board Appointee, Activities & Attractions - Brian Goodremont*^, San Juan
Outfitters/San Juan Safaris; and Board Appointee Kraig Hansen, San Juan Transit.
Staff – Staff includes the following: Deborah Hopkins Buchanan, Executive/Marketing Director; Barbara Marrett,
Communications/Stewardship Manager; Carole Sue Conran, Visitor/Membership Services Manager; and Shannon
Borg, Marketing/Content Coordinator (32 hours). We also contract with part-time bookkeeper Patty Gaylard (7 hours).
DESTINATION MARKETING HIGHLIGHTS
We implemented the following marketing strategies to create awareness of the San Juan Islands brand to put “heads
in beds” (and “feet on streets” and “bodies on benches”) targeting the greater Seattle-area leisure travel market.
Website – All of our marketing strategies drive consumers to our website, www.visitsanjuans.com, our #1 marketing
tool. We worked with local business Swiftsure Marketing during the first half of the year, who referred us to No. 10
Web Company in Seattle when he moved off island. We continued to enhance search engine optimization via new
content, niche market driving tours, etc. According to Google Analytics, our ‘web sessions’ for 2014 were 871,780
representing a 19% increase over 2013, and ‘pageviews’ were 3,113,311 representing an increase of 15% over 2013.
New Video – We hired Orcas Island’s Rock Island Media to produce a two-minute video to promote the Islands, after
seeing their work for the Orcas Funhouse and Orcas Chamber of Commerce, which can be seen on our home page at
www.visitsanjuans.com.
Social Media – We ended the year with 4,177 “likes” on Facebook, up 45%, from last year,
https://www.facebook.com/VisitSanJuans, and 2,930 followers on Twitter, up 27%, over last year,
https://twitter.com/visitSJIslands. While these numbers are important, it’s also important to note that we’ve
increased engagement with those who have liked or followed us. The more engagement we have the further the
reach and impact of our social media campaigns.
E-Newsletter – We published five E-newsletters, focusing on winter romance and Valentine’s; spring whale
watch/kayaking season, national monument status and national historic preservation month; summer activities and
exploring our gourmet archipelago; fall’s Savor the San Juans, and holiday events. Our distribution list was
approximately 6,464 subscribers, up a modest 4% over last year, due to our decision to cull inactive subscribers.
Brochure – We published 120,000 updated copies of our brochure which included new maps of Friday Harbor,
Eastsound and Lopez Village, as well as a scenic byway/driving tours map for all four Islands, descriptions and photos
for each Island, getting here info, and SJIVB and Chambers contact info. These are distributed as fulfillment for visitor
information requests and in media kits, at travel and wedding shows, and by Certified Folder Display in brochure racks
at approximately 600 locations in Western Washington, on Washington State Ferries, and in Sidney, B.C.
Advertising – We placed ads in key, regional, ‘portal’ travel guides and their corresponding websites including the
Seattle Visitors Guides (350,000 each issue, winter/spring and summer/fall) and the annual Washington State Visitors
Guide (375,000). In addition, we continued to work with The Communications Group, our marketing firm in Seattle,
which managed our spring, summer and fall/Savor ad campaigns, based on our brand “Inspiration for the Senses.” All
three campaigns were funded by a Friday Harbor lodging tax grant, and were targeted to the greater Seattle area via
print, online, radio and television. Our spring, summer and fall/Savor detailed reports were distributed previously.
Press Trips – We continued to court top publications and influential journalists. We hosted or assisted 54 journalists
and photographers (11 more than in 2013) on 44 press trips (eight more than last year) on all three Islands. Among the
publications the journalists represented were Travel + Leisure, Le Monde, Sunset, LA Travel, Houston Tribune, The
Seattle Times, Forbes Travel Guides, Coastal Living, The Oregonian, The Mail on Sunday, and South China Morning
Post. Visit Seattle and our members generously provided complimentary or discounted lodging, meals, activities, etc.
Media Leads – With the support of local organizations and businesses, we responded to and/or shared 45 significant
media leads with our members, generated from our marketing efforts as well as those by the Washington Tourism
Alliance, Port of Seattle and Visit Seattle.
Media Marketplaces & Conferences – Funded by a Friday Harbor lodging tax grant, we attended four annual media
marketplaces and conferences: Travel and Words, Northwest Travel Writers Conference, Spokane, WA; Travel Media
Showcase, Lake Charles, LA; Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conference, Corte Madera, CA, and the
Travel Media Showcase Family Travel Conference, Carlsbad, CA. The purpose of the marketplaces and conferences
was to pitch story ideas to more than 150 writers, editors and television producers. Some notable publications
represented included: National Geographic Traveler – Andrew McCarthy, San Francisco Chronicle Travel Editor – Spud
Hilton, LA Times Travel Editor – Catherine Hamm, and Taking the Kids Syndicated Columnist – Eileen Ogintz.
Print Coverage – We tracked coverage of the San Juan Islands in over 577 print and online articles through Google
Alerts, Twitter, Meltwater media tracking service and our own research. Highlights included cover stories on both
Sunset magazine and Seattle Met (circulation is in parentheses for the top publications, m=millions) and feature
stories in: Bon Appétit (1.5m), Sunset (1.2m), Travel + Leisure (974,972), Coastal Living (713,000), Chicago Tribune
(411,000), The Seattle Times Sunday Edition (346,589), Oregonian (247,833), Houston Tribune (101,250) and Alaska
Airlines, Horizon Edition (362,117). A combined total circulation of 10 million for major publications would be a
conservative estimate for print media coverage. Note: More than one article about the San Juan Islands appeared in
many of these publications.
Online Coverage – The largest online media reach (measured as muv, monthly unique visitors) came from: The
Huffington Post & The Huffington Post Blog (97m) 4 articles, USAToday.com (44m) 4 articles, ABCNews.com (24m),
Examiner.com (19m) 4 articles, LosAngelesTimes.com (15m), CNN.com (13m) and TheNYTimes.com (1.8m), for a
combined total of 680 million muv. Many of these articles also appeared in print editions, however, our media
tracking service only tracks online articles.
Stories included these 2014 “Best” lists:
• #2 “Top Islands in the Continental U.S. and Canada,” Travel + Leisure
• #10 “Top 10 Overall” Islands in the World, Travel + Leisure
• #4 “Top 10 Islands – United States,” San Juan Island, TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice 2014
• “Best Finds of 2014,” Redbook
• “10 Most Romantic Coastal Destinations,” USAToday.com
• “Forget the Passport: 7 Best U.S. Islands to Visit,” WallStreetCheatSheet.com
• “Four Unforgettable Epicurean Adventures To Try,” Forbes Travel
• “The Summer’s Hottest Food Destinations,” Zagat.com
• “6 Best Weekend Getaways in America,” Fodors.com
• “10 Best Whale-Watching Spots in the U.S.A.,” TWC Central
• “10 Great Cities for Weekend Getaways,” Business Insider
• “10 Best Scenic Flights in the U.S.,” 10Best.com on USAToday.com
Follow links to some of these top stories at www.visitsanjuans.com/media/san-juans-in-the-news/ or on the
Meltwater media tracking spread sheet attached to this report. We also enjoyed significant coverage of our food and
farm-to-fork scene, aka “Gourmet Archipelago,” in Serious Eats, Zagat, ZagatSeattle, Gayot’s Blog,
TheCultureTrip.com, Forbes Travel Guide Blog, Eater Seattle, KOMO News, KING5, Seattle Times and NW Travel.
Television & Radio Coverage – One of the highlights of 2014 was the airing of a Weather Channel segment for which
the Visitors Bureau provided ideas and interviews. Working in conjunction with Philippe and Ashlan Cousteau, and
representatives from Travel + Leisure magazine, much of the segment was broadcast live from the Islands over a
several hour period. The spot focused on the Southern Resident orca whales. The Cousteaus also were producing an
independent film while here.
Seattle’s KING5 TV station sent four Evening Magazine crews to the Islands, as part of our paid advertising campaign,
to produce a half-hour special on Lopez, Orcas, San Juan and Friday Harbor. The segment aired twice in August and
once in September. Special emphasis was placed on “Savor the San Juans” in the September airing. In October,
Evening Magazine also aired a piece on the Friday Harbor Film Festival. These four segments garnered an estimated
364,000 impressions. The Visitors Bureau provided story ideas and logistical support.
Producers for the TV series American Ride and Tree House Masters on Animal Planet also filmed in the Islands. We also
helped in the preparations for segments which aired on, or will air on, HGTV, Outside Television’s Facing Waves series,
CBS Saturday Morning and an additional Weather Channel segment with Al Roker.
Film Production & Catalog Shoots – On Orcas and San Juan Island, busy commercial filming activity included CVS
Pharmacy, REI and a Norm Thompson catalog shoot. (Although encouraged to do so, not all companies contact the
Visitors Bureau before filming or shooting in the Islands.) Washington Film Magazine published an article written by
our staff, “San Juan Islands Nurture New Film Festivals,” regarding the Orcas and Friday Harbor Film Festivals - the
second article written by staff for this publication in 2014.
Photos & B-roll – We are often asked to provide photos for upcoming books, articles and promotional materials or broll for films and television, all of which brings new business to the Islands. We fulfilled over 62 requests for photos
and b-roll. Requesting entities included: CBS Saturday Morning, The Weather Channel, NBC Universal, USA Today.com,
Travel + Leisure, Every Day with Rachel Ray, Sip, Northwest Travel, Cruising World, Edible Seattle, Alaska Airlines
Horizon Edition and Delta’s Departures magazine.
International Media – It was another year of hosting influential foreign media due to our strong relationship with Visit
Seattle and the Port of Seattle. In June we partnered with Visit Seattle to host a group of five top journalists from
France. We have seen significant coverage in magazines and newspapers from this trip. Articles in Vocable – a French
journal written in English, Le Monde – the most widely read newspaper in France, and Lonely Planet magazine have
been published this year as a result. From the Korean market, we’ve received coverage from Lonely Planet magazine,
AB - Road – a travel focused magazine and Korea’s Jeju Air magazine. From China, CCTV-5 came to film whales and the
Islands were part of a feature story in China BT Mice, a journal for meeting, incentive and business travel
management. Two segments about the Islands appeared on SWR, German public television in April 2014 as a result of
a hosted media trip in 2013.
Weddings – Destination weddings, honeymoons and anniversaries are big business for the Islands – one bride and
groom can potentially bring hundreds of guests here. We continued to distribute our newly-designed, 6-page, 8.5x11”
fold-out brochure at the annual Seattle and Portland wedding shows in January, and to brides-to-be who called our
office for information. We also placed full-page advertorials in two top wedding directories in the Seattle and Portland
markets: B&E Wedding Resource Guide (7,000) and Bravo Wedding Guide (11,000).
Meetings & Retreats – We assisted with the Washington State County Clerks meeting in May on San Juan Island, with
an Association of Zoos & Aquariums Board of Directors retreat on Orcas Island during summer, with initial plans for a
2015 County Auditors meeting, and with pre and post tour ideas for the September 2015 International City/County
Management Association meeting in Seattle (working with Pete Rose).
Scenic Byway – Our steering committee met quarterly and continued to work on our Branding & Wayshowing $33,190
federal signage grant with SJC Public Works which installed our new signage on Orcas and San Juan Islands. This was
very exciting as it’s been over 9 years since we began the scenic byway process in the Fall of 2005. In June we
attended a public meeting on Lopez Island to educate residents and discuss their joining the byway. During September
we attended the educational Washington Scenic Byways Conference in Leavenworth. Scenic byway information is
housed on our website at www.visitsanjuans.com/scenicbyway.
Tourism Master Plan – We held a key stakeholder’s retreat on February 5 to begin this process, which included reps
from the SJIVB Board, staff, County LTAC, Friday Harbor LTAC and Administrator, and key tourism niches. Six more
meetings were held through December with a dozen steering committee members.
Heritage Tourism – We worked with representatives from the Town of Friday Harbor; the Orcas, Lopez and San Juan
Historical Museums; and the San Juan Island National Historical Park, to coordinate efforts to create and market
National Historic Preservation Month in May as, “History Lives Here: Heritage Month in the San Juan Islands.” This
garnered the cover of the advanced edition of the Sunday Seattle Times in May. And, our previous year’s effort
resulted in a social media award from the North American Travel Journalists Association.
Travel Trade – We attended the Go West Summit in Tacoma in February, meeting face to face with 30 receptive and
international tour operators during 10-minute appointments. We also exhibited at the Victoria Clipper “Two Nation
Vacation” Show in Seattle in March. Our partners at Visit Seattle and Port of Seattle were very generous in sending
travel trade to the Islands for “fam” tours in light of new direct flights to/from France and Germany. We hosted 16
Germans and 2 French tour operators, and four U.S. receptive tour operators, one of which visited after Go West and
we set up meetings with members on Orcas and San Juan Islands. We also assisted a few U.S. tour operators over the
phone with planning their 2015 and 2016 group tours to the Islands.
Community & Government Relations – Tourism impacts many Islands’ organizations’ missions, and as a result, we
were members of several committees including the following: SJC Agricultural Resources Committee’s Economic
Development Committee, SJC Ferry Advisory Committee, SJC Ferry Reservations Committee, Washington State Ferries
rd
Community Marketing Partnership, and Friday Harbor’s Branding Committee. Deborah & Barbara attended the 3
Annual Washington Tourism Alliance Summit and ‘Tourism Matters’ Rally in Olympia and met briefly with Senator
Ranker and Representative Lytton in March. In September we gave a destination presentation to approximately 40
staff at Visit Seattle. We also took part as a panelist in the EDC’s Economic Development Summit in November. In
addition, Barbara is a Port of Friday Harbor Commissioner.
National Travel & Tourism Week – We promoted National Travel and Tourism Week, May 3-11, with a press release
sent to all local newspapers, civic leaders and our members. We also promoted the week through social media. Our
article “The Invisible Visitor – The Travel Effect in the Islands” was printed in select local online newspapers.
Stewardship & Visitor Education – Our economy depends on our environment, and the SJIVB works hard to balance
vibrant economic development with stewardship ethics and sustainable tourism efforts. We continued to promote our
“Leave Only Footprints” message on our website and helped promote and participated in the “Leave No Trace”
trainings in the Islands. We are also members of several stewardship-related committees: EcoNet (the education
outreach branch of the Puget Sound Partnership), Salish Sea Association of Marine Naturalists, Stewardship Network
of San Juan County, and San Juan Islands National Monument Advisory Committee.
San Juan Islands National Monument – We actively participated in the U.S. Department of the Interior’s process to
establish the San Juan Islands National Monument, declared by President Obama in March 2013. Our
Communications/Stewardship Manager was chosen by the Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell, to sit on the
Monument Advisory Committee to represent recreation and tourism interests.
Crisis Communications – We finalized our crisis communications plan and forged stronger relationships with local first
responders and the San Juan County Department of Emergency Management as a result of this process.
VISITOR SERVICES HIGHLIGHTS
SJIVB Visitor Services – During 2014 we answered 645 phone calls on our 888 line for visitor information (which also
refers callers to the three Chambers of Commerce), answered 1,887 e-mail and website requests for information, and
sent our travel brochure as fulfillment. Calls and emails were received from the following top 10 states: #1
Washington, #2 California, #3 Oregon, #4 Colorado, #5 Texas, #6 Canada, #7 Florida, #8 Ohio, #9 tie between Arkansas
and Wisconsin, and #10 tie between New York, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.
Chambers of Commerce Visitor Services – We continued our important partnership with the three Chambers, which
receive 15% of the ‘special’ 2% lodging tax fund to help provide and enhance visitor services. Each Chamber received
$20,976.35 this year, in quarterly increments, for a total of $62,929.05 to all three. Various SJIVB staff attended the
monthly San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce meetings, a staff person attended a Lopez Chamber meeting, and all
staff attended the annual Orcas Island Chamber meeting. We held a SJIVB/Chamber Board Retreat on December 10
and all agreed that we should hold such retreats annually. Attached are all three Chambers’ Annual Reports.
Island Friendly Spirit Program – We continued to partner with the EDC, three Chambers, Town of Friday Harbor and
Northwest Workforce Development to develop this customer service program.
TRACKING & MEASURING HIGHLIGHTS
Lodging Tax – Great news -- County lodging tax collected during 2014 increased by 16.6% compared to 2013. Town of
Friday Harbor lodging tax (collected separately) increased by 6.7%.
Sales Tax – County sales tax collected during 2014 increased by 8.9% over 2013. Town of Friday Harbor sales tax
increased by almost 3%.
Washington State Ferries Ridership – Traffic on the San Juans routes continued to increase faster than the system in
general, with total ridership up 6.1%, vehicles up 3.6%, and passengers (in vehicles plus walk-ons) up 8.4%. Ridership
system-wide was up 2.7%, with vehicles up 1.3%, and passengers up 3.9%.
Budget – Our 2014 operating budget included the following income and investments/expenses; the County Auditor
received detailed monthly invoices. It’s important to note that we compete with destinations around Washington, the
U.S. and the world with our relatively small budget of $578,486. For example, Washington destination marketing
organization’s 2014 budgets were as follows: Leavenworth at $802,000; Walla Walla $870,950; Bellingham
$1,013,069; Snohomish County $1,152,792; Tacoma $1,955,632; Yakima Valley $2,695,500; Spokane $4,613,829; and
Seattle $18,033,629, just to name a few.
Income:
County lodging tax contract (85%)
Friday Harbor lodging tax grant
Membership dues, website ads & second listings
Total*
$ 356,598 (62% of income)
$ 149,729 (26%)
$ 72,159 (12%)
$ 578,486*
Investments/Expenses:
Spring/Summer/Fall Advertising Campaigns
Website (consulting, maintenance, SEO, upgrades, etc.)
Media Relations (press trips, marketplaces, etc.)
Other Marketing (brochures, weddings, travel trade, etc.)
Visitor Sales & Services (phones & postage)
Personnel & Professional Development (Your marketing & sales force! 3.8 FTE)
Administration (rent, DSL, insurance, office supplies, etc.)
Total
$ 143,271
$ 58,146
$ 29,774
$ 73,023
$ 8,859
$ 229,981
$ 35,432
$ 578,486
(25% of investments)
(10%)
(5%)
(13%)
(1.5%)
(39.5%)
(6%)
*In addition, total in-kind donations from members for media press trips was $18,673 which included lodging, meals,
tours, outdoor activities and transportation.
IN CONCLUSION
Destination marketing is the “seed corn” we must continue to plant in order to reap a return on investment for San
Juan County, to keep the San Juan Islands in the hearts and minds of potential visitors who have a world of enticing
destinations to choose from.
We look forward to the continued, positive impact our destination marketing strategies will have in the future. We will
continue to work closely with the Chambers and our members to unify and magnify our combined marketing and
visitor services efforts to stimulate the Islands’ economy and our sustainable, stewardship-minded tourism industry.
For further information or questions please contact Deborah Hopkins Buchanan, Executive/Marketing Director, 3783277x5 or [email protected], or Carl Silvernail, Board President, Innkeeper, Otter’s Pond B&B, Orcas Island,
376-8844 or [email protected]. Previous reports can be found at www.visitsanjuans.com/members.
Examples of media cover stories:
Continued…..
Examples of advertisements and Scenic Byway signage: