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President's Message: Impact of International Travel
| | From SCTB's President/CEO Ken Fischang: Sonoma County is rolling out the welcome mat for 1,500 international and domestic buyers from more than 70 countries as U.S. Travel Association's International Pow Wow gets under way on Sunday in San Francisco. (See our video about San Francisco and Sonoma County, http://bit.ly/iOLDNP.)
Pow Wow illustrates some important facts: International travel is crucial to the economy of the United States, California, and Sonoma County. In 2009, total international tourist spending in the U.S. reached $887 billion.
California is the top travel destination in the U.S. When the final totals are in, overseas travelers to California are expected to account for 21.4 percent of all U.S. travel in 2010. Those visitors will spend $6.8 billion.
International travelers are important to our local economy, because they will travel here throughout the year. This means we have travelers booking trips November through May, when our destination needs the business the most. Our top overseas markets are the U.K., Japan, Germany, and France.
Each year Sonoma County hosts more than 7 million domestic and international visitors. These visitors contribute more than $1.2 billion in 2009 to the area's economy. The tourism industry supports more than 16,000 jobs, and brings in more than $80 million in taxes. In fact, each Sonoma County family would have to pay $447 more in taxes without tourism. These taxes pay for police, fire departments, parks, and vital programs for the people who live here.
And then there is the multiplier effect of how tourism dollars travel through a community: Goods and services are bought by visitors, and that money is used to pay employees, who then buy groceries, pay rent, and shop at other area stores. (See how money from tourism flows throughout Sonoma County by viewing a new video, http://bit.ly/kZHgcn.)
As we - Sonoma County Tourism Bureau and our destination partners - get ready for Pow Wow, we are mindful that we are introducing potential visitors to this amazing place we all call home.
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Last Week's Trends in Tourism Forum a Success
| | Hospitality industry representatives from throughout Sonoma County met last week at the Mary Agatha Furth Center in Windsor to hear what travel trends are affecting the local economy.
Sonoma County Tourism Bureau's Trends in Tourism Forum hosted travel technology consultant Troy Thompson (Travel2.0), tourism economist David Bratton (Destination Analysts), and agritourism advisor Ellie Rilla (UCCE), who discussed key tourism trends and issues with an emphasis on the industry in Sonoma County.
Many thanks to Sonoma County Tourism Bureau partners for helping us to pull off a successful event: the Mary Agatha Furth Center, Marshall Bauer and Wine Country Party and Events, Doug Lumgair and Bryan Khoury with Windsor Oaks Winery, and Maria Vieages of Maria's Multi Regional Cuisine.
Find out more about the event at http://bit.ly/ioAAOA.
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'Tourism Pays' Video Shows Economic Impact
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As SCTB President Ken Fischang mentioned above, the dollars visitors spend here have a direct impact on our economy.
In Sonoma County, tourism supports more than just 16,000 jobs and represents more than just $1.2 billion in spending from visitors. Tourism supports everything from restaurants, to farmers to grocery stores and local banks. That money also contributes to more than $80 million annually in taxes.
The video that shows the impact on tourism to the local economy debuted at last week's Trends in Tourism Forum, hosted by SCTB. See for yourself at http://bit.ly/kZHgcn.
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Update Your Web Listing
| | | In June, SCTB will begin sending you information to update your data. This information feeds our website and visitors guide. This will continue throughout the summer. First on our list will be wineries. Contact Beth Snow, bsnow@sonomacounty.com, for more information.
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How Our Message Affects the Bottom Line
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For the second year, SCTB has partnered with LocalGetaways.com to produce information for this travel section that runs in more than 15 Bay Area and Sacramento newspapers.
By all accounts, the partnership is paying off for partners. In fact, one local lodging property sold more than 140 room nights with their LocalGetaways.com offer, generating almost $23,000 in room revenue for April alone.
- Total Newspaper Impressions: 6,400,000 (3.2million per week)
- Total Newsletter Sends: 21,068 (10,534 per week)
- Total Website Page Views: 9,164
We have a few more insertions with LocalGetaways.com, including an upcoming edition in August. If you want to participate, email info@localgetaways.com.
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Deadlines and Opportunities
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Information Needed from You
| | To get you the timeliest information about advertising, marketing, and media opportunities, please send Tina Luster, tluster@sonomacounty.com, names of your media contact, advertising and/or media buyer, and marketing contact for your business.
These people will be receiving an "as needed" Publicity Alert from SCTB. This will ensure you have ample time to respond to these deadlines. "Deadlines and Opportunities" will stop being included in the Tourism Update in the August issue.
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May 20: CalTravel Members Offered Summit Discount
| | Partners, if you become a member of the California Travel Association (CalTravel) for an annual membership fee of $200, you will be able to attend the 2011 California Travel Summit (CTS) at a reduced rate.
The California Travel Association is California's only statewide organization representing the "collective" voice of advocacy for travel, tourism and hospitality. CTS is the state's premier educational and networking event for travel, tourism and hospitality professionals.
Early bird pricing ends May 20. To become a member and register for the 2011 California Travel Summit, visit http://bit.ly/jly9Mj. For questions on how to register, please contact Georgia Shoemaker at 916-932-2580, or email gshoemaker@caltravel.org.
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May 20: Horizon Airlines Co-op Ad Reservations
| | Horizon Airlines Magazine publishes a monthly advertising co-op page titled "Touring the Wine Country," and is offering SCTB partners the opportunity to advertise on this page.
Please contact Yael Kallin, 206-441-5871 ext. 27, for information and to book space. The deadline is Friday, May 20.
1/6 page, June - September: $600 net per month
1/3 page, June - September: $1,200 net per month
Horizon Air is the only airline flying into Santa Rosa Airport, so you'll be reaching all the potential new customers flying into the area. Each month we reach more than 574,000 passengers.
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June 8: SF Examiner's Sonoma Getaway Guide
| | On Sunday, June 12, the San Francisco Examiner will publish its Sonoma Getaway Guide, a special section highlighting summer vacation escape ideas and activities for Bay Area residents.
Each advertisement (eighth page size and up) comes with a free advertorial opportunity, offering you the chance to deliver your message in an expanded format. Ad space deadline is 3 p.m. on Wednesday, June 8.
Advertising rates:
Full page (9.75" x 11.5") $2,109
Half page (9.75" x 5.72" or 4.75" x 11.5") $1,139
Quarter page (4.75" x 5.72") $615
Eighth page (4.75" x 2.85") $332
Sixteenth page (2.25" x 2.85") $179
With an average household income over $137,000, The Examiner's targeted home readers are powerful consumers. The special section will be distributed to more than 275,000 readers in San Francisco.
For more information, contact Melissa Berger at mberger@sfexaminer.com, or 415-359-2721.
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June 10: Specials Needed for Text Campaign
| | As part of an advertising buy, we have the opportunity to provide hotel deals as part of San Francisco Weekly's text message campaign.
To participate, we will send SF Weekly one deal each month for the summer campaign. The deal needs to be 135 characters or less. Deals have to be valid for the full month.
July text - due June 10
August text - due July 10
September text - due Aug. 10
Please submit your deals to http://www.sonomacounty.com/partners/hot-deals by the deadlines above. Only deals that are submitted by the deadline will be considered. One deal per month will be submitted. |
2010 California Travel Report, by County, Available
| | The 2010 California Travel Impacts by County report is now available on the Find Research landing page (http://bit.ly/lVVilE) at tourism.visitcalifornia.com. The report includes 2010 figures for travel related spending, employment, and tax generation for California as a whole, and 2009 data for each of California's 58 counties.
2010 was a good overall year for travel in California, with $95.1 billion in travel-related spending and $6.1 billion in local and state tax revenues- up 7.4 percent and 7.0 percent, respectively, from 2009.
New travel-related employment generally lags behind increases in spending and such was the case in 2010, with 873,000 travel related jobs in the state, down 0.9 percent from 2009.
Not shown in the report is that early data from 2011 suggests that growth in travel employment has begun, with January and February jobs in the Leisure & Hospitality sector up 2.2 percent over 2010. |
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