Can you believe it is already August? Time for one more big push to drive summer travelers to take that Ohio getaway! As mentioned before, we have spent the past month developing ideas, evaluating current programs and incorporating your feedback and our latest research into ongoing and new program elements. Now that we have officially begun FY 2010 with our new budget of $5.1 million for marketing and operations, work is under way to put these priorities in order and get the plans set to present to the Industry this fall.
As announced in the Special BuckeyeLine a couple weeks ago, this funding level will allow us to continue to operate core programs and priorities within our marketing operations. While the reduced level of funding means that we will have to re-prioritize some projects and their allocation of resources, please know that we currently project being able to sustain a level of advertising, public relations, online marketing, tourism information services and other key aspects of our marketing program at a level that will continue to generate a critical return on investment to Ohio and our Industry stakeholders.
In the coming weeks, we will be announcing some dates in late September and early October for our next series of Town Hall Meetings focusing on our FY 2010 menu of Partnership Opportunities. This will be your opportunity to meet with Division team members and agency partners regarding ongoing and new initiatives for the coming year as you begin to plan for 2010. In the meantime, please watch for Special BuckeyeLine newsletters announcing dates and locations, as well as other important program updates.
In other news, kudos to our team for successfully launching our new Ohio Film Office Web site, www.DiscoverOhioFilm.com, which includes the new Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit Application. Under the leadership of Interim Film Office Director and Assistant State Tourism Director Alicia Reece and the Tourism Information team led by Eric Herzog, we are now able to sell Ohio online as a production destination, and allow the Film Office to act as an even greater resource to those in the film and production industry.
Throughout the past month, our team members have continued to meet with many of you and also travel around Ohio making presentations, holding meetings, attending site inspections, escorting press trips, etc. All of these interactions have yielded results at some level or another, whether it is a new program being developed, a new partner signed up for an initiative or a travel story written in a major publication.
As mentioned many times before, now is the time for even greater innovation and collaborations among Industry members. I am so proud of the new partnerships and initiatives that have been developed between the Division and the Industry over the past two years, and I am confident that “The Best is Yet to Come!”
Safe travels,
Amir
P.S. I want to thank the hundreds of Tourism Industry members who have reached out to us over the past months. Your expressions of support and readiness to partner will ensure our future success and growth as an industry. THANK YOU!
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