Thinking about 2009 and Continued Changes in Ohio’s Travel Industry

Back-to-school sale signs signal August and one final big push for leisure travel before changing gears to fall. Here at the Ohio Tourism Division, it means 2009 planning is in full swing. I often use this column to either discuss changes in our Industry, or to promote upcoming Division efforts. This month, I will do both.

First, our next series of Town Hall Meetings will begin right after Labor Day Weekend. Please mark your calendars and join team members of the Ohio Tourism Division as we roll out our 2009 Marketing Partnership Opportunities! Please join us to hear the latest information about our marketing opportunities for Ohio’s Travel Industry in advertising, public relations, new media, telemarketing and fulfillment, Ohio Film Office and more. This is a terrific opportunity to leverage your marketing resources with the Division as we tell the world about Ohio and your destination, attraction, restaurant, hotel, festival, etc. This interactive session will be your chance to both learn and ask questions of our team. Meeting information follows in an article below, as well as in a future Special BuckeyeLine alert.

Next, as our Industry partners who belong to the Ohio Travel Association (OTA) have recently learned, the Ohio Tourism Division has entered into a new partnership as a title sponsor of the Ohio Conference on Tourism, Oct. 22 – 24, 2008 in Canton. This new partnership will allow the Division to help fulfill its goal of education and technical assistance for Ohio’s Travel Industry by helping to ensure a high caliber line-up of speakers for the Conference on Tourism. Ohio’s Travel Industry will no longer need to divide up precious educational conference and training budgets between the Division’s and OTA’s annual events, and will benefit from the combined resources in terms of programming and networking opportunities. Let’s all plan on making this the best-attended Ohio Conference on Tourism in history!

Finally, the topic of change comes up when it comes to keeping up with the latest Industry and consumer trends. We could all spend more hours than we realistically have poring over the latest periodicals, white papers, studies, reports, etc. that discuss what is happening with the Travel Industry and consumer habits. While time is a constraint, we all need to manage to make some time for catching up with the latest information. Although conferences and Industry gatherings are great resources to catch up on trends and best practices, there is still a need in between for constantly monitoring the marketplace for your organization or business.

Thankfully, there are a host of e-newsletters, Web sites and blogs that summarize many of the top details (not to mention the help provided by Google alerts!) that can really make sure you are seeing the most relevant information in a short amount of time. Personally, I try to spend about 30 minutes a day reading the latest Industry news and reports. As fall begins, the budgeting season for most of the Industry and 2009 marketing plans are being developed. My recommendation is to stay on top of change this month and to keep an eye on at least the top-line information coming out every week from our Industry experts. Just a few minutes a week will help keep you well ahead of the game. 

Have an exciting and successful August, and I hope to see you on the road in September!

Warmest Regards,

Amir