February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 1 of 29
DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Recent Activity- February 2013
Sports Council of Collier County Board Meetings
DMAI Accreditation Standards Committee Conference Call
Naples Depot Exhibit Opening
Greater Naples Leadership Government Day Presentation
Ace Group Classic Media Day Event
Taped Welcome Message for Golf Channel
Everglades Seafood Festival Welcome Address
Routes America’s Airline Conference
Met with 15 airline representatives to discuss future service to RSW
Jet Blue, Southwest Airlines, etc.
Waterside Shops Marketing team meeting
Ritz Carlton Management team meeting
SW Florida Attractions Assoc. Presentation on 2012 results
February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 2 of 29
SALES DEPARTMENT - Debi DeBenedetto and Jennifer Leslie
Industry Relations – Sales
Medical Tourism meeting follow up Medical Global Conference attending Feb 28 2013 Tourism Awards Rally, lunch and nominations planning
New Product Development
Philadelphia Sales mission planned and in motion for Feb 27 – we will host a lunch and dinner at trendy Starr Restaurants in Philadelphia Atlanta Sales Mission planned and in motion for March 7 – We will host a lunch and dinner at two Atlanta based cooking schools for an interactive event
Familiarization Trips
HelmsBriscoe Familiarization trip planned and marketed – ties to annual HelmsBriscoe Annual ABC in Orlando April 2013 we have 18 planner RSVP Sites: 1 – Incentive group site from M&E show lead Meeting & Incentives show IAGTO – International Golf tour Operators planned for June and hosted at Marco Island Marriott Resort
RFP’s and Booked Business Current report dates - sent out 13 RFP leads to partners Booked 7 groups for a total of 1,599 room nights and $312,777.00 in estimated economic impact. I am making a public request to ask destination hotels to report booked business from CVB RFP’s and enhancement funding.
Sponsorships RFP Enhancements
Three new requests for RFP enhancement funding for this period.
One past RFP enhancement group bookings were reported.
Year End Report
Jan. 2012 – Dec. 2012 – A record 191 RFP leads went out to hotels of which 58 groups were booked for a total of 15,765 room nights with an estimated Room & F&B revenue of $15,807,161.00, and an estimated economic impact of $36,052,587.00.
February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 3 of 29
PUBLIC RELATIONS & COMMUNICATIONS - JoNell Modys & Angela Aline
Media Value – Destination Publicity-Calendar Year 2012
MEDIA VALUE
TV $4.3 million
News Web Sites $1.15 million
Online Version $1.1 million
Daily Newspapers $1.1 million
Blogs $696 thousand
Magazines $586 thousand
News Services $40 thousand
Comm. Newspapers $15 thousand
Other $5 thousand February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 4 of 29
TOTAL $9 million
Recent Activities
VISIT FLORIDA media reception events in New York PR writing workshop – Georgetown University graduate instructor HSMAI awards event Desk side meeting with editor at TheDailyMeal.com in New York Local media relations on stories including Winter Ad Campaign, National Geographic book/Marco Island, international driver permit issue, Latest Research, background and input on future developing stories and more ACE Group Classic pre-tournament event; provide destination press kit and video for use by Golf Channel team Meeting with Dreamscapes and Florida Guide editor during Naples visit Leadership Collier Alumni Association Lecture – Collier Agriculture Partner review meetings with teams from The Ritz-Carlton, Waterside Shops Tourism Week planning session. LHA bi-weekly phone conference updates Continue reviewing competitive quotes for media monitoring and database system. Medical Tourism planning meeting Attend 5th Avenue BID District Meeting Work with all divisions on arranging assignments for college intern Rachel Mosby
News Releases Marco Island Named One of 100 Places That Can Change Your Child’s Life Paradise Coast Tempts New York, Chicago and Toronto Commuters With New Advertising Campaign – Local version Paradise Coast Tempts New York, Chicago and Toronto Commuters With New Advertising Campaign – New York Version Paradise Coast Tempts Chicago, New York and Toronto Commuters With New Advertising Campaign – Chicago Version
Top Local Tourism-Related Publicity
Fort Myers News-Press – February 16, 2013 Florida driving rule spurned – Canadians rejoice Response to reporter inquiry – Jack Wert quote February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 5 of 29
Naples Daily News – February 15, 2013 It’s Your Business: Collier ad campaign targets Chicago, New York Pick up from CVB press release on winter campaign.
WINK-TV – February 13-14, 2011 Winter ad campaign tempts northerners with warm weather Feature story package 11pm news – Anchor-read versions three times the following morning during early morning news. Pick up from CVB press release on winter campaign.
Fort Myers News-Press – February 13, 2013 Report: Naples, Marco Island area high in most concentrated wealthy households in U.S. Response to reporter inquiry – Jack Wert quote
NaplesNews.com and MarcoNews.com – February 4, 2013 Marco Island named one of 100 Places that can change your child’s life
Business Currents magazine – February 1, 2013 Sunny forecast for Collier County’s 2013 peak season chases away clouds of economic doubt Article by JoNell Modys (PDF document attached)
National Publicity Highlights
Everglades Python Challenge Thousands of news articles and broadcasts with overall positive tonality.
Naples Contestant advances on American Idol Hundreds of stories featuring fan-favorite Naples resident Lazaro Arbos advancing in the current American Idol contest.
TheDailyMeal.com – February 7, 2013 Naples (Florida) Food Tour Article is the result of information shared during a desk-side meeting with CVB’s J. Modys along with LHA in late January.
Buckettripper.com – January 30, 2013 Doing the Mullet Festival in Goodland, Fla.
International Publicity Highlights
Canoe.ca and distributed to up to 40 Canadian newspapers – February 15, 2013 Naples ‘Crown Jewel’ of Southwest Florida February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 6 of 29
Staff met with writer George Bailey during his January JAM visit, provided information and assistance.
Vancouver Sun – February 8, 2013 Dreaming of an Island Beach Getaway? Writer Debbie Olsen includes Marco Island in a round up of island beach destinations for families. Result of a recent press trip facilitated by LHA and CVB. International Media Assistance
Gemma Doherty – Travel Editor for Irish Independent. Work on request from UK office to assist in securing accommodations for February visit. Angle is Everglades experience during visit to Florida. Alex Merschel – top travel blogger in Germany. Work with our German reps on securing an Everglades tour experience and romantic opportunities in our destination. Website Updates
Medical Tourism Had Medical Services search category added to Visitor Services. Tagged many listings to appear and added new business listings, new category descriptions, including:
Media Center Added news releases to online media center.
Marco Island Named 100 Places That Will Change Your Child’s Life Collier tourism advertising tempts northerners with warm weather
Landing & Info Pages Updated the Getting Here page with the latest number of nonstop flight destinations at RSW and added Taxi Time to the list of airport transportation providers.
Beach Conditions Enacted weekly updates to Beach Conditions page with information about warm sunny weather, etc. Added news about Marco Island being featured in the new National Geographic book ‘100 Places That Will Change Your Child’s Life’ to the Top Ranked Beaches section.
New Listings, Deals & Events Continued to add multiple new business listings and deals and events
February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 7 of 29
FILM OFFICE – Maggie McCarty
PRODUCTION NOTES . Kanaka/Peking Express – tv series (Europe) French/Belgian reality series shot in Everglades City, Ten Thousand Islands, and Naples (see images pg. 5) This 19-member crew spent 3 days in Collier County shooting the popular European tv series and another week in pre-production. It was a huge task of organizing all logistics and administrative supports but this was a unique medium to promote tourism in the region.
. Discovery/TLC- tv series (U.K) Darlow Smithson Productions of London shotfor 4 days on Marco Island for the UK tv series “My 40 Year Old Kid”
WORKING LEADS . October Films – documentary . Appleseed’s – retail catalog print . ITZ – car commercial . University of Miami – student thesis film Moved to Summer 2013
. “The Shallows” – indie film The OFE has had no re-application for tax incentive
. KCS Prods. – indie film . Pacific Productions – still photo Los Angeles based agency is planning to shoot on various area beaches
. Picture Frame Entertainment – tv series . First Shot Productions – print ad Commercial production agency considering local locations. Permits pending
. Peter Anthony Group – indie film . PBS – tv series . AIU – student film . ALL CURRENT PRODUCTION February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 8 of 29
OPERATIONS
. Issued film permits . Location library upload . Lead/inquiry response . Monthly Revenue Tracking Followed-up with activity worksheets to clients Recorded data . Client Management . -Opened a production file for each inquiry . Create content for social media (Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn) . Continued work on Florida Film Commissioners Handbook for Film Florida To be presented at the Annual Board meeting – June 2013
. Conference Call/Film FL Legislative Committee . Coordinating Manchester Sales Mission to coincide with BVE London Production Show
Film Florida is launching its first trade mission to Manchester, UK. Manchester has become a major media center and has created an industry cluster designated as “Media City” for such businesses including the international headquarters for the BBC. A Media City Reception is planned as well as individual meetings.
. Met with reps from Reed MIDEM re: MIPCOM tradeshow
SCOUTS . The Travel Channel – tv series Producer is looking to refurbish a local attraction for a reality DIY series
EVENTS . Tenth Annual Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Awards Sponsored by NBC/Universal – Miami February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 9 of 29
2012 ANNUAL REPORT
TOTAL NUMBER OF PROJECTS WRAPPED 32
PROJECTS BY TYPE Spend
Print 15 $887,000
TV comm. 5 $233,000
TV episode 8 $556,000
Film 2 $ 4,200
Other: 2 $ 8,000
Student film
Music video
Example of client list:
Good Housekeeping
Estée Lauder
Ford Motor Co.
U. S. State Dept.
Investigation Discovery ID
Cosmopolitan (France)
VH-1
Travel Channel
Blair (retail catalog/online)
January $120K Spend, 135 room nights
March $130K Spend, 216 room nights February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 10 of 29
Estée Lauder (cosmetics ad/commercial)
May $110K Spend, 70 room nights
Total Spend $1,678,000
Economic Impact [2.5 FL Office of Film & Entertainment] $4,195,500.
ROI For every dollar spent Return = $25.81
2012 PRODUCTION BY TYPE
6% 6% $4K $8K $556K $887K 25 47 % $233K % 15 %
February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 11 of 29
$1.6 M
$1.4 2012 M2011
PRODUCTION $ COMPARISON
“Peking Express” final 6 contestants (3 2-person teams) after navigating the Ten Thousand Islands had to capture their flag on the Naples Pier.
The elimination to the Final Two Teams was made at a private home on Gulfshore Boulevard in Naples. Faces blocked so as not to reveal contestant identity at the producer’s request
February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 12 of 29
SPORTS MARKETING – Chris O’Brien
Events Booked *USSSA Baseball April 19-21, 2013 – 50 teams, 1000 visitors, 500 room nights EVP Volleyball Pro Am Beach Tour, May 2013, 100 visitors, 50 room nights *EVP Volleyball – Junior Qualifier Event , April 2013, 40 visitors, 20 room nights *USSSA Basketball , April 2013, 50 teams, 900 visitors, 400 room nights FYSA Soccer State Cup, March 22-23, 2013, 30 teams, 600 visitors, 200 room nights Fla.State Soccer Association 7 v 7 adult, Aug. 2-3, 2013, 48 teams, 600 visitors, 400 room nights IBC Nations Baseball Youth SWFL March 15-17, 2013, 40 teams, 800 visitors, 400 room nights *Scott Spencer Intl. Soccer Tourn. Aug, 23-25, 2013, 50 teams, 1000 visitors, 650 room nts *Kicks Karate Florida State Championship, 400 competitors, 600 visitors, 150 room nights Florida Fire Junior Spring Classic, 50 teams, 400 visitors, 150 room nights Anticipated Totals 6,040 visitors, 2,920 room nights
Events Hosted FYSA Soccer Regional C U11-U13– Feb. 9-10, 2013, 92 teams, 2000 visitors, 500 room nights FYSA Soccer Regional C U14-U19– Feb. 22-23, 2013, 30 teams, 600 visitors, 250 room nights *USA Water Polo – Alumni Collegiate Event – Fe. 15-16, 2013, 120 visitors, 120 room nights *USPA Pickleball Southern Regionals – Jan 30- Feb 3, 2013, 500 visitors, 450 room nights Freedom Sports / USSSA Softball – February 9-10, 2013, 32 teams, 300 visitors, 50 room nights Anticipated Totals 3,520 visitors, 1,370 room nights
Pending (* New events)
*EVP – July 2013 Sunshine State Games Sand Volleyball *Stand-up Paddling Event USSSA Baseball July 16-21, 2013
Development Highlights Summary
Visited sports facilities in Collier County and Marco Island. Conducted meeting and site visit with Amateur Softball Association (ASA) State Commissioner for Softball and adult director. Met with Lee and Charlotte Sports Commissioners to discuss regional partnership. Continuing to meet with hotel properties throughout the county and region. Planning redesign Website and making minor changes– AthletesinParadise.com. Activity and planning for FaceBook and Twitter pages for Collier Sports Council February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 13 of 29
OMMAC- UK REPRESENTATIVES
HIGHLIGHT OF THE MONTH:
Visit USA Association Meet The Media 2013, 21 January 2013 - London The annual Visit USA Association’s Meet the Media event was held at the Groucho Club, London and hosted by Visit USA members. We participated with this successful event
The workshop/networking event was well attended by key members of Visit USA industry. Over 50 of the top USA focused travel and lifestyle media were present.
We were able to network with The Times, ABTA & National Geographic, Travel Weekly and Food &Travel and British Airways PR department – see attached guest list. Follow up is planned.
MARKET ACTIVITIES: Market Update
January has experienced an excellent start to the year with bookings up for the majority of travel agents for worldwide sales.
Cosmos has reported a stronger than forecast start to the peaks sales campaign, with sales across brands significantly ahead of forecast and prior year.
Travel Counsellors reported overall sales up 11% in January from the previous year and record sales of £42 million in the month.
Midcounties Co Op reported sales up 8% in January but admitted the severe weather affected trade in some of its agencies.
Retail consortium Advantage Travel Centres reported an encouraging start to their campaign with inflows exceeding expectations.
Strong sales for Virgin Holidays £400K UK TV advertising campaign
The campaign for all USA including Florida commenced on 26 Dec 2012 running through early Feb 2013. Initial feedback from the campaign has been extremely positive with the operator reporting record inflows during key booking periods; official audited results will shared and posted shortly February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 14 of 29
January Seat Sale from British Airways
British Airways has launched its annual seat sale, offering reductions of almost 30% on seats to many long-haul destinations across the globe - they are reporting a 75% increase in the number of people booking holidays on Christmas Day compared with last year and a 58% rise on Boxing Day.
Ongoing wet weather & cold conditions domestically have pushed people to be more positive about taking holidays this year.
TUI, which began its traditional January sales a week early on 22 December, reported its most successful Christmas Day sales ever, with bookings on its website up 90% compared with the same day last year. Boxing Day proved even more popular, with bookings up by more than 60% versus 2011, and searches on the Thomson website were up by nearly 30%.
Airlines have been ordered to stop flying Boeing 787 Dreamliners after a battery fault caused an emergency landing in Japan. Dreamliners have suffered a number of incidents including fuel leaks, a cracked cockpit window, brake problems and an electrical fire. United Airlines is the only US carrier to currently operate the 787 with six in its fleet, however there is widespread concern in the UK over the potential consequences and future market impact of this decision; both BA and TUI have 787 orders scheduled for spring delivery.
Kuoni’s ten top selling destinations for 2013 are the Maldives, Thailand, Sri Lanka, USA, the UAE, Mauritius, Malaysia, Barbados, Singapore and St Lucia, while confidently predicting that Vietnam is set to rise in popularity thanks to greater flight choice and new beach options. The report identifies emerging trends, including social media, the re-definition of luxury, downtrading, the rise in popularity of all inclusives, a consumer thirst for ‘experiences’, ‘girlfriend power’ (groups of women travelling together), responsible travel and greater demand for higher levels of service. The present austere economic outlook will drive a greater need for opportunities to escape the doom and gloom.
TUI Travel confirmed it is discussing the possibility of a cost-cutting merger with 56% German shareholder TUI AG and were looking at ways to combine the German company with its UK business to save over €500 million. Germany-based TUI AG owns hotels and luxury cruise operations as well as tour operations and a stake in container shipper Hapag-Lloyd. For a number of years it has been looking at how to merge TUI AG and TUI Travel to cut costs and increase combined use of resources, such as hotels.
February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 15 of 29
Currency exchange rates are heavily influencing holiday booking decisions according to the Post Office Holiday Money Report. Based on sales of currencies, the strength of the Sterling combined with low resort costs and new flights routes were cited major factors influencing holiday booking choice.
WTM 2012 Leads to £1,860m in Deals
World Travel Market 2012 will generate a record £1,860 million in travel and tourism industry deals – an impressive 13% increase on WTM 2011. This year’s World Travel Market will take place from 4th – 7th November 2013.
Trailfinders Ireland to Open Third Branch in April Trailfinders, which currently has retail shops in Dublin and Cork, is planning to expand in the Republic of Ireland.
ABTA publishes 2013 travel trends report
ABTA – The Travel Association, released its Travel Trends Report 2013, developed in association with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, predicting that consumers will continue to look for good value in breaks in 2013 rather than cut back on their holidays. While the mid-market is expected to continue to feel the squeeze, tailor-made packages, luxury holidays and all-inclusive breaks, are expected to be popular.
Some key trends ABTA has identified: Demand expected to be up for tailor-made packages. Holidaymakers are increasingly looking for tour operators to offer tailor-made itineraries so that they can enjoy greater flexibility and multi-centre holidays with all the protection of a package
Luxury and all-inclusive holidays expected to perform well. With the mid-market coming under the greatest pressure from reductions in household spending, strongest demand is expected to come from the all-inclusive and luxury markets in 2013
Tried and tested destinations likely to be popular. In times of economic uncertainty many people put their faith in where they know best. Early booking figures for summer 2013 suggest that destinations such as France, Greece, Italy, Spain and the USA will continue to prove popular next year.
February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 16 of 29
Upcoming Events
DATE EVENT LOCATION
March 10-15 Visit Florida Media Mission UK
March 22 - 24 Scottish Golf Show Glasgow
Ongoing - planning IAGTO North American Convention June 26-29 Paradise Coast
MARKETING/SALES/PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES
Activity including Trade Marketing Campaigns & Advertising /Consumer Promotions /Ongoing Activity (all activity on co-op basis with partners)
PARTNER/PROJECT ACTIVITY RESULT
IAGTO – North Planning for the June Convention Confirming itinerary American Convention Meetings with IAGTO Agenda for meeting June 2013 Conf call with CVB & Industry Registration forms partners Per & Post Fams Working on sponsorship
Holiday World Dublin Participated with Visit Florida on co- Distributed over 450 Paradise share brochure distribution. The Coast literature. & Overview of show recorded the highest Ireland market attendance in 5 years. The US has 17% more capacity out of Ireland this Tour ops reported a very good start year, Florida’s major to the year, although still price competition is from Europe sensitive, the sentiment was: ‘That and the mid east especially the economy is not getting any from Emirates and Ethiad who better we haven’t had a holiday for have an extra 38% capacity to a few years we are going away’. Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
ITAA (Irish Travel Agents Association) reported a 25% increase in business with travel agents across the country. February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 17 of 29
Brand USA Ongoing communication to seek OMMAC following up. opportunities for Paradise Coast The Corporation for participation. Travel Promotion Aiming to have Brand USA with in- kind partnership on all our co-op activity
Waitrose Consumer Successful promotion now OMMAC following up with Promotion with: complete. winner of promotion.
NATS & Naples Bay Full recap report to follow Following up on offer date – Resort. requested after the Jan rush period In-kind with Brand USA
Travel Mole After successful event in Dec - Working with guests for follow up meeting The “Race to Group trip with VIPs, event in UK in May Paradise Coast” accommodation at Marco Island Progressing video edits Marriott & Waldorf Astoria – for distribution to UK Trade golf promotion trade in first quarter & VIP Fam trip in Dec’12
Scottish Golf Show Working & seeking opportunity TBC & Golf Kings Tour to co-op at this consumer show operator
Virgin Holidays Discussion with Visit Fl re the Proposal expected early Feb proposed co-op Virgin Holidays for March/April launch time Co-op campaign campaign frame
Additional activity On going discussions with our key On going follow up with our Key tour partners for forthcoming activity in operator partners 2013
February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 18 of 29
Meetings/Sales Calls
1 Attended Visit USA Meet the Media -
2 Meeting with Dollar Car Rental – in follow up to Race to Paradise Coast event & assisting with invoice payment for the transportation sponsorship
3 Attended meeting with IAGTO – re: North American Convention in June
4 Discussion with Travel Republic re: co-op opportunity for 2013
5 Meeting with Travel mole re follow up date of distribution regarding promotion of our area & follow up from Race to Paradise Coast event
6 Following up with several tour operators in France – assisting with literature & images
7 Following up with Ken Gill, Golf World to establish if we can fin a co-op partner regarding a promotion or marketing activity.
8 Discussion with Virgin Atlantic regarding forthcoming events for 2013
9 Following up with NATS re Waitrose promotion & additional opportunity with Visit USA travel News letter to consumers – end of Feb issue
10 Discussions with Golf Kings re participation during the Scottish Golf Show
11 Following up with Visit Florida regarding possible media mission planned for March time frame, assisting on recommendations for UK cities to include for the meetings
12 Conf Call with CVB & industry partners re: IAGTO NAC June 2013 – cover Pre & Post fam / registration /budget topics– ongoing project
Public Relations & Media Correspondence
General media liaison to promote Paradise Coast Ongoing Social Media – Facebook and Twitter CONTACT ACTIVITY RESULT
Bev Fearis Bev travelled to Florida and OMMAC arranged the tour with enjoyed a hosted boat tour with the CVB and Bev and her family Travel Mole See Manatees Guaranteed had a great time February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 19 of 29
Bev Fearis Further to her stay, Bev is Sent various options over for including Paradise the mid range price category in Guardian accommodation in a round up on the Everglades as requested Florida ’where to stay’
Gemma O’Doherty Gemma is to do a Florida tour Arranged a hosted night at and stay in the Everglades for Glades Haven Cozy Cabins, Irish Independent one night however the whole trip was cancelled at the last minute
Angelina Villa-Clark Met with key travel writer to Following up with further discuss Paradise Coast and information for round up Harper’s, Stylist, BA Highlife, feature angles features The Mayfair, Kensington & Chelsea, Independent
Ianthe Butt Met with features editor to Following up with further discuss Paradise Coast and information for profiling BA Highlife / Business Life feature angles opportunities
Lauren Ho, Ella Marshall Met with features editor to Following up with information discuss Paradise Coast and on new hotels and golf course Wallpaper* feature angles designs. Also spas for health round ups
Toby White Met with editor of the luxury Following up with food and golf lifestyle website to discuss opportunities – also opportunity The Arbuturian Paradise Coast and feature for video features for social angles media
Peter Myers Met with business travel editor of Peter is soon to launch a the news website to discuss channel for business traveller Reuters Paradise Coast and feature videos and we will progress angles with profiling opportunities
Social Media: Ongoing - continue to develop Currently reviewing for new the Paradise Coast UK Facebook highlights in new budget year to Facebook and Twitter page and Twitter account. engage more followers
Progressing 2013 campaign plans February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 20 of 29
DIAMONDE – EUROPEAN REPRESENTATIVES
GENERAL SUMMARY OF MONTHLY ACTIVITIES
Tour Operator o Travel Trend: Sent out the second B2C newsletter featuring NAP as part of our joint marketing promotion. The newsletter was sent on December 28, 2012. to a total of 4,000 clients. o Meso Reisen: Requested feedback on their NAP products. In general they consistently have positive feedback, yet no hard numbers are available. Many times, customers decide between Naples and Ft. Myers and the younger more active customers tend to prefer Ft. Myers. Still, we have sent them 25 visitor guides which will be handed out with travel documents. Assisted their agent Sebastian Keller with a comp Everglades Airboat Tour during his stay in the area in March. o FTI: Received the final plan for the joined marketing activity “South- Florida”. There was a change in radio station from HR3 to RPR1 which means another regional focus within Germany. But FTI has very good experiences with this radio station and their online presence is very good. FTI will start in February with the creation of a landing page linked to their homepage www.fti.de. The radio campaign and the ab-in-den-urlaub newsletter is planned for March. Provided already input for the landing page (text and images). Received 2012 booking numbers. The summer 2012 bookings have been extremely positive with 3.800 room nights which is an increase of 70% compared to last year. On the other side, the numbers for winter 2012/13 are down by 40% so far. Bettina mentioned that “Sandy” lead to a tremendous drop in bookings and since then they never came back up. But they hope to get some more bookings within the last months of the winter period.
Neckermann Reisen: Provided ad for the truck promotion in February/March. Also learned that Yvonne will NOT be at ITB this year. We will set an appointment after ITB to visit her at her office.
o Golf Travel Network (GTN): German golf T. Contacted Horst Jacobi in regards to their request for assistance with a golf pro fam tour in December 2013. They are in business for 3 years, mainly with European destinations. For long haul they sell South Africa and February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 21 of 29
Mauritius. They started with tours for “Pros” which here in Germany is a nice multiplier. For Mauritius they sell ca. 5 groups per year with approx. 7 people each. In 2013 they want to focus on Florida as their premier long haul destination which means they want to set up a fam tour and promote Florida on their homepage and brochure. So far, they have agreements from 3 Florida hotels so far (Doral, Salamanda and one in Fort Lauderdale) and would love to add Marco Island to the itinerary. They would need rooms for approx. 15 people for 2 nights, double rooms would also work, and some golf program. Mr. Jacobi agreed to 1 page feature for the Marriott in their brochure which will be out soon (which is send out to 800 direct contacts (pros!) as well as feature on their homepage. Mr. Jacobi signed in for the IAGTO conference so he will be in our area again. He will though not be at ITB in March.
Travel Agent o Total number of sales calls: 14 travel agencies in Germany, Switzerland & Austria (Netherlands) o Assisted Anette Schwerm, General Manager of Traveller (one of Germany’s leading travel agencies) in planning and organizing her trip to NAP in March. Provided detailed suggestions in tours, restaurants and activities in the area. Established contact to NBH, Inn on Fifth, Bellasera and Naples Bay Resort, which are the hotels we recommended to her. Informed Brian Dunne about the booking.
EVENTS o Roadshows . Visit Florida Roadshow: Received first details for the planned Florida roadshow. It will take place April 15 to 18, 2013 and include evening functions in Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich and Zurich, with an audience of approx. 80 TAs each. Set Up will be table top presentations from approx. 7 minutes; cost about 4,500€ total, excluding travel expenses. Visit Florida expects 8-10 CVB partners to participate. We indicated our interest in participation, registration will be in February. o Exhibitions . Vakantiebeurs: Attended the show from January 8-13, 2013, including the trade day and the consumer days. Scheduled and held appointments with our key TO partners in the Netherlands and handled follow up. This year the show counted a total of 102,393 visitors which meand a decline of February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 22 of 29
19,1% compared to previous year when the show welcomed126,551 visitors. Please find detailed trip report . CMT Stuttgart: Attended the consumer show from January 12 - 20, 2013. Total amount of visitors is 211,000, which is a slight decrease of 6 % compared to 2012. One reason might be the severe weather conditions in Germany during the show, including snow and glaze. . TravelExpo: Participated with brochure distribution at the consumer show in Lucerne, Switzerland, from January 25 - 27, 2013. The show counted a total amount of visitors of 22,000, which is a slight decrease compared to last year. However, the USA booth distributed the same amount of brochures and although the beginning of the show as such was slow, the USA team was quite busy. The concept of splitting the booth into US regions received great feedback and was positively mentioned by the press before the show. The brochure distribution was at no additional costs for NAP. . Ferienmesse Vienna: Participated in the consumer show taking place in Vienna on January 10 - 13, 2013 with brochure distribution through Visit USA Austria. The fair reported 147.759 visitors this year. . Ferienmesse Velden: Participated in the consumer show taking place in Velden, Austria on January 19, 2013 with brochure distribution through Visit USA Austria. The fair counted approximately 1600 visitors this year, exact number yet tbd. . Ferienmesse Linz: Participated in the consumer show taking place in Linz on January 25 - 27, 2013 with brochure distribution through Visit USA Austria. Total amount of visitors was 16.572 this year. o Travel Agent Functions . Visit USA Seminar Zürich: Attended the Visit USA seminar taking place in Zurich on January 30, 2013. In total 403 travel agents from all over Switzerland attended the day event which was set up in a travel mart style. . Visit USA Seminar Vienna: Participated in the Visit USA Austria seminar that took place in Vienna this year again, on January 31, 2013. In the afternoon we held a 20 minutes training workshop for a total of 80 agents. The evening event was a travel mart followed by a dinner with interviews of participating partners. In total, 153 agents attended the evening event. February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 23 of 29
MARKETING o German Website: . We started to collect the links from the German tour operators’ sites for our own homepage. The operators have a very different use of this tool: some of them are able to give a link that only shows hotels from the Naples’ area, others are only able to provide a link to the entire Florida program. With all of them we have the challenge that the user will be able to move on to other product from the starting page. We will start to install the ones that work out fine for us and discuss further with the others at ITB. o Facebook: continuous maintenance of the facebook fanpage o Other . ASNM: Coordinated and approved the layout of the second Florida newsletter as part of our marketing campaign. The newsletter will be sent out on February 7 and 14 to about 750,000 consumers and users of online travel portals. . Fit for USA: Provided information about movies shot in the NAP area to the industry magazine fvw, which is doing a series of online training sessions for travel agents about the US. . Visit Florida: Assisted Christiane Gerber, travel trade manager, in organizing her stay in NAP prior to Huddle. Secured hosted stay at NBH and sites at Hilton Naples, RC Beach & RC Golf, Waldorf Astoria, Edgewater Beach and Inn on Fifth . Visit USA Austria: Extended NAP appearance on Visit USA Austria website by an extra site about the Everglades FOC. Provided text and images . Sunshine State Network: Met with the owner of the non-profit organization SunshineState Network. They operate a bilingual website with information and news about Florida. Their bi- monthly newsletter addresses 4,100 people and their facebook page has currently 3,080 followers. Agreed to cooperation and secured 2 articles (about Everglades City Seafood festival & PGA Champion Tour ACE Group Classic) in the newsletter that was sent out January 27. Extended NAP appearance on their website to include Everglades City.
ADMINISTRATIVE/OTHER o Brochure fulfillment: a) Inquiries generated through website: 13 February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 24 of 29
b) Direct inquiries: 08 o Contact to Naples’ partners: . Informed Robert Pfeffer from the Marriott Marco Island about “Golf Travel Networks”, a German tour operator specialized in “golf-pro-trips” that is planning to set up a pro-fam-tour to Florida in November. . Requested one free night stay plus sight inspections for German Visit Florida rep prior to her visit at Huddle. Contacted Cathy Christopher, Inn on Fifth, Caroline Kissel, Hilton NAP, Jen Miller, Ritz Carlton, Charles Mullins, NBH, Maureen Bennett, Waldorf and Edgewater o Other: . Coordinated with Paradise Advertising the ad including QR tag for the Neckermann Reisen truck promotion and discussed possible images that will be used for the ad. . ITB: Started with preparation including scheduling of meetings.
February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 25 of 29
VISITOR CENTER VISITATION- Nancy Kerns Visitor Information Center Specialist
This position is to promote tourism in Collier County by communicating information to all visitor centers in Collier County with the goal of keeping visitors in Collier County for an extended stay.
Summary
The following activities and initiatives have contributed to increased knowledge and awareness that volunteers, Chamber staff and community members have about activities that are available through Collier County visitor centers, resulting in our visitors having more and coordinated information.
Compile monthly visitor count numbers for all six county visitor centers.
Please see attached document YTD Visitor Center Statistics. 2012 total visitors to visitor centers are up about 20% over 2011.
International Visitors
Hosted Asian group of ten that was sponsored by the State Department. This two day event included a reception for them with the Naples Asian Professional Association at the Inn on Fifth, a visit to Big Cypress Preserve and the Everglades. Presentations from the Directors of Big Cypress and the Seminole Tribe included restoration and preservation of the Everglades eco system and land use rights. Hosted General Consuls of Spain, France and Britain for a day long event promoting Viva Florida 500. Collier County Museums and the Florida Department of State commemorate the 500th anniversary of Ponce de Leon’s discovery of Florida with exhibits and presentations throughout the year at the Collier County Museums. The Collier County visitor centers will promote the museum events throughout the year.
February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 26 of 29
Promote Visitor Information Center
Established a relationship with the Director of Florida City Visitor Center. They are distributing Paradise Coast and Naples on the Gulf magazines. This visitor center handles 100,000 visitors annually, many who are interested in visiting Collier County. Exchange materials with Miccusukee Visitor Center to promote Collier County visitor centers. Visit all Collier County visitor centers monthly to distribute materials. These include: Welcome Center and The Oasis Visitor Center – Big Cypress National Preserve Marco island Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center Immokalee Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center Everglades Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center Ave Maria Visitor Center Marco, Immokalee and Everglades Regional Airports Third Street Concierge Gazebo
All visitor centers have the Paradise Coast Magazine, Naples on the Gulf Magazine, Marco, Immokalee and Everglades Magazines.
Distribute information on location of VIC to area hotels and merchants on Fifth Avenue, Bayfront, 3rd Street and Tin City.
Coordinated 18 FAM Trips for the Collier County Volunteers.
The Cove Inn – 40 volunteers
Norris Center – 30 volunteers
Purely You Spa – 25 volunteers
Odin – Cruise Naples – 30 volunteers
Naples Food Tours – 15 volunteers February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 27 of 29
Naples Princess – 45 volunteers
Daniela’s Restaurant – 2 visits – 50 volunteers
Hawthorn Suites – 35 volunteers
Naples Zoo – 20 volunteers
Residence Inn – 35 volunteers
Palm Cottage – 20 volunteers
Inn on Fifth – 25 volunteers
Naples Olde Surf Shop – 25 volunteers
Red Roof Inn – 35 volunteers
Toucan’s World – 20 volunteers
Botanical Gardens – 50 volunteers
Collier County Museum – 25 volunteers
Conservancy – 35 volunteers
Planned the Chamber Volunteer Christmas luncheon. 82 volunteers attended this event which was hosted by the Hilton. Mike Reagen, Mayor Sorey, Jack Wert and Clark Hill and Santa Claus all thanked the volunteers.
Assisted Debi DeBenedeto with FAM Trip for meeting planners on 10/17 & 18.
Staff 12 shifts per week of 100 volunteers for the Naples Visitor Information Center, Chamber receptionists and administrative volunteers.
Staffed 3 major area golf tournaments.
CME Group Titleholders, 16 Chamber volunteers, November 15-18, 2012 Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout, 18 Chamber volunteers, December 5- 9, 2012 ACE Group Classic, 12 Chamber volunteers, February 15 – 17, 2013 February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 28 of 29
Staffed 4 major area conferences. Forty Chamber volunteers assisted at national conferences held at the Waldorf and Marco Island Marriott.
Staffed 3 major art shows. Twenty five Chamber volunteers with these three, 2 day events on Fifth Avenue and at the Mercato.
Conducted volunteer training for staff of 100 volunteers which includes formal training for all new volunteers and bi annual training for existing volunteers. Fifteen new volunteers have been referred to me during 2012.
Manage Naples Visitor Information Center.
Refer an average of 6 prospective new members from VIC to Don Neer monthly. Meet with an average of 10 current members monthly who stop by the visitor center and reinforce benefits of Chamber membership. Implemented a brochure replenishment program. Members are called when the VIC is low on their brochures. This program has been extremely well received by Chamber members and two volunteers monitor the calls and replenishment.
Additional Activities
Coordinate Business of the Month. This includes coordinating application forms, contacting the business, and meeting business group at the presentation at the Board of County Commissioners meeting.
Attend monthly Chamber and CVB staff meetings, monthly Wake Up Naples, Tourist Development Council meetings, BCC Business of the Month, Chamber Executive Club meetings, Chamber Board of Directors’ meetings, quarterly RSVP Board, CVB Roundtable, Sports Council and Collier County Lodging and Tourism Association meetings, and Chamber’s Annual Trade Show.
Also attended: Tourism Awards Lunch, Excellence in Industry Awards, Fifth Avenue Chalk Art, Distinguished Public Service Awards, Blue Chip Awards
Coordinated two meetings with directors from six visitor centers. One held in Marco and one in Naples. February 25, 2013 Tourism Staff Reports 10 a-g 29 of 29
Coordinated Chamber Board Advance for the Partnership group. This included contacting 17 community leaders to confirm attendance and handle questions. Attended Board Advance and wrote up summary report on Partnership group’s day long meeting.
Schedule the Chamber’s Leadership Collier Foundation room for meetings. Community groups who utilize the room include:
SCORE bi-weekly meetings. Council on World Affairs, 3 meetings per week during season. Foreclosure Task Force weekly meetings. Chamber Unemployment Support Group weekly meetings. Collier County Presidents Council. Miscellaneous groups.
Elected Chairman of RSVP (Retired & Senior Volunteer Program of Collier County)
Business Improvement District Marketing Committee member.
Visit 5th Avenue, 3rd Street, Bayfront , Tin City and Highway 41 hotels and restaurants to promote Naples Visitor Information Center. Attend most major events on Fifth Avenue.