BuckeyeLine

A New Season Brings New Opportunities!

As the snow continues to melt, we are getting our first hints of spring! This means it’s time to welcome spring break visitors as a warm-up to our peak leisure travel season. To that end, our team continues to work at 110 percent full speed! As you read this message, we will be concluding our winter/spring Town Hall Meetings with several hundred of our Industry colleagues and friends. If you missed out on attending one of the meetings, please check out the deadline reminders below and visit www.DiscoverOhio.com/industry for some terrific FREE marketing opportunities with upcoming deadlines. Ohio Tourism Month is now less than two months away, and we are excited to kick things off with you throughout Ohio and our surrounding states!

On the national level, we applaud Congress and the Obama administration for passing and signing into law the U.S. Travel Promotion Act. This creates a new dedicated funding mechanism and structure in which the United States will once again have an international tourism marketing effort that will begin to help us catch up to our competition. Click here to find out more about this important effort led by our U.S. Travel Association and key Industry leadership.

As for the ongoing effort to secure a new path for funding Ohio’s tourism marketing and promotion, the Ohio Tourism Roundtable Leadership has made a lot of progress and is expected to begin the next phase in their process shortly. Once again, keep your eyes open for their next updates in the coming weeks regarding their work on a public-private funding model and the ongoing dialogue with the administration and other key legislative and Industry stakeholders. 

Moving ahead into spring, I am excited for the big unified push our Industry is about to undertake to tell the world about Ohio, and educate all of our stakeholders about what this great Industry means to our economy!

Safe Travels,

Amir

Full Speed Ahead!

Happy February from the Ohio Tourism Division! Can you believe it? We are already into the second month of the year, and things just keep getting more exciting here at the Division. Regardless of whether or not the groundhog saw his shadow, the spring/summer travel season is just around the corner for those of us in the Tourism Industry. As promised last month, we are geared up and ready to go!

In addition to the co-operative opportunities that we presented to the Industry last fall, our team has come up with a terrific plan to enhance the kick-off of our big spring/summer marketing push to drive visitors to Ohio! I am delighted to announce a new series of Town Hall meetings starting later this month that will provide you with several important opportunities and updates including:

• A current status update on the Tourism Division and its future;
• A presentation of NEW Ohio Tourism Month marketing and partnership opportunities;
• An overview of the NEW enhancements to DiscoverOhio.com, including the Buckeye Database submission process, and MyOhio;
• The rollout of a NEW partnership that will make it easy and affordable for your business/organization to begin engaging in mobile marketing; and
• Opportunities to ask questions, interact and engage with Ohio Tourism Division leadership and team members.

We are planning for a total of seven Town Hall meetings between Feb. 22 and mid-March. Please read the article in this issue of BuckeyeLine for the dates and locations nearest your place of business. This is a great opportunity to connect with your peers before our busiest leisure travel season begins.

On a sad note, I must share with you the news that our very own Assistant Director, Alicia Reece, will be leaving the Ohio Tourism Division to pursue the next chapter in her career of public service. During the past two and a half years, Alicia has proven herself an invaluable part of the Tourism Division and our Industry. She played important roles in the development and execution of our last two marketing campaigns, as well as the expansion of our multicultural marketing initiatives. Her warm personality, partnership skills and relentless drive to help us meet our goals and objectives will be missed. The good news is that we will always have her as an advocate and friend of this $39 billion Industry, and we thank her for all she has done to help us do an even better job of telling the world about Ohio. Alicia’s last day at the Division will be Friday, Feb. 12, 2010.

Moving forward, the Ohio Tourism Roundtable Leadership continues to make progress on your behalf regarding the future of marketing Ohio. Keep your eyes open for updates in the coming weeks regarding their work on a private/public model and ongoing dialogue with the administration and other key stakeholders. I am looking forward to a terrific month and to seeing all of you on the road in your own backyards!

Safe Travels,

Amir

A New Year of Opportunities!

Happy New Year from the Ohio Tourism Division! It seems that late December and early January weather is working hard to ensure the success of our skiing, sledding and other winter outdoor adventure sectors so far, while chilly temperatures also make indoor water parks and other indoor attractions very tempting. I always look forward to the start of a new calendar year, as it truly is a fresh opportunity for us to reach new heights. Our team has returned from the holidays after reconnecting with friends and loved ones, and is full of energy and positive attitudes as we begin the new year!

Before we get too far ahead into 2010, I do want to briefly touch on the Division’s successes in 2009. Despite the recession’s toll on the economy, state budget and our Industry, your Ohio Tourism Division delivered a year of growth in key measures of its marketing successes. While we are still awaiting and compiling some data from the fourth quarter and year-end, I can safely tell you that our advertising efforts reached new heights in campaign efficiency and effectiveness, our media relations efforts yielded strong results and our online presence and utilization grew significantly.

In terms of partnerships, 2009 saw record levels of Industry engagement and leverage in terms of both cooperative marketing commitments and Division program utilization. While budget realities did dictate cuts to certain program elements, we successfully preserved and invested in those items with the highest proven returns, and even managed to roll out several new programs to benefit Ohio’s Tourism Industry.

This month there is an incredible amount of activity in our offices including:
• Rollout of key user enhancements to DiscoverOhio.com;
• New key Industry user enhancements and options in the Buckeye Database submissions;
• The New York Media Mission to reach key national travel and lifestyle media outlets;
• Continued spring/summer co-op promotion development;
• Development of our new mobile marketing initiative (co-op details to come by spring);
• Increased social media marketing.

In terms of our future public/private funding model development, the Ohio Tourism Roundtable continues its collaborative process with the Strickland Administration and Ohio Department of Development leadership. The Roundtable is close to an official Industry recommendation of a model that seeks to establish a dedicated funding source at a level that can sustain a “best-in-class” state tourism effort in a public/private model that will yield a significant return on investment to all stakeholders. More information will be available from the Roundtable in the coming weeks as the model is refined by the Industry. Hundreds of hours have been invested thus far by your Industry leadership and they are to be commended for their hard work on such a large project under a short timeframe. Please continue to attend their meetings and engage in their communications to stay current with their progress on your behalf.

Bottom Line: There may be snow on the ground, and the year may be very young, but peak travel season is not far off; our deadlines to ensure continued successful statewide tourism marketing efforts are on the horizon, and we have a lot of work to do together as an Industry to make sure that 2010 will be remembered as the beginning of the greatest decade for Ohio’s Tourism Industry!

Safe Travels,

Amir

Holiday Season Thanks and Updates

Holiday season greetings from the Ohio Tourism Division! A most interesting 2009 is coming to a close, and we are about to turn the corner into a whole new year of opportunity. As this is a busy season in so many different ways, my message this month will include two things: a short Division update and a message of thanks.

First, the update: The marketing team is in full swing as 2010 programming starts coming to life and key 2009 programs are wrapping up. Please take a few minutes to read the articles below with some important updates, including a summary of our recent Media Mission to Des Moines, Iowa, home of Meredith Publishing, and their wonderful stable of publications that are near and dear to many of our target audiences.

In other partnerships, please do not forget to download a copy of our Fall 2009-Summer 2010 Partnership Opportunities booklet on www.DiscoverOhio.com/industry. Some key deadlines are coming up quickly to participate in literally dozens of terrific opportunities to drive business to your doorstep (and many of them are free). 

On the tourism funding issue, our ongoing collaboration with the Ohio Tourism Roundtable Leadership continues work to help formulate an optimal solution for both the short-term and long-term success of the statewide marketing effort. On Nov. 10, a meeting was held with Governor Ted Strickland and the Ohio Tourism Roundtable to update the governor on the group’s progress. They received important feedback from the governor, as well as an invitation to return in mid-December with a formal recommendation on behalf of the Tourism Industry. As mentioned before, please check in with your Industry association for current updates on their hard work on your behalf. The Ohio Tourism Roundtable’s membership has also launched a Web site called www.OhioTourismWorks.org, where they have begun posting Industry-only updates and information. Once again, I wish to thank all of you who have been working so hard on behalf of this great Industry’s future success! (Photo caption: Governor Ted Strickland meets with the Ohio Tourism Roundtable on Nov. 10, 2009.)

Now for a message of thanks. Last year, my December message included a little rhyme about what our team was up to around the holidays on behalf of the Industry. Despite some requests for an encore, I think it is most appropriate that this year’s message be about giving thanks. As we reflect on the past year and look forward to the next one, our team would like to share with all of you what we are personally thankful for:

Amir: I am thankful for three things: 1. The ability to be a husband; 2. The ability to be a father; and 3. The ability to be a part of the team serving the Industry I love trying to make a difference in people’s lives each and every day.

Alicia Reece: I am thankful for many things this year because, while it started off with the loss of my wonderful mother, it is coming to a close with the addition of my new twin nieces – Tiara  and Taniyah (born Nov. 11). I am extremely thankful for our division leader Amir, our tourism team, Industry partners, and agencies for pulling together during these challenging economic times to promote Ohio.

Joy Doty: I am very thankful for the love of my family that surrounds me daily and all the support from friends to co-workers that provide encouragement during challenging times.

Tamara Brown: I am thankful for holiday gatherings with family and friends, my grandmother’s homemade noodles, my nephew’s wide-eyed wonder and curbside leaf pick-up.

Eric Herzog: I’m thankful for a healthy family, two great kids, working with an excellent group of individuals, Google and coffee!

Roger Barker: Friends and family are well, Blue Jackets are off to their best start ever.  The year behind us was good and ahead is just getting better!
 
Andy Doty: There are so many things to be thankful for every day. Health, job, family, freedom, a place to live, a meal, a little rain, a little sunshine, etc. But I am especially thankful for family, friends and for all the opportunities presented to offer patience, kindness, encouragement and respect to those with whom I am in contact with daily.

Joe Vargo: This year, I’m thankful for all my great family members, friends and colleagues who have the good sense of humor necessary to put up with me. I’m thankful for my health, happiness and comfort and the ability to help those who aren’t as lucky.

Aimee Zerla: I’m grateful for all of the blessings I’ve been bestowed. I give thanks for having a loving family and friends, a fulfilling career, fun co-workers, a roof over my head, food on my table and the good fortune to live in a free country.

Jessie Wagner: I am grateful for all the experiences that have made me into the person I am today, and for each new day because I get to share it with all the people in my life who are on the journey with me.

From our Ohio Tourism team and families to yours: It has been an honor working on your behalf this past year. Have a terrific Holiday season and may 2010 be a year of success and renewal to us all!

Safe Travels,

Amir

Keep on Truckin’ – 2010 Predictions for “Less Bad”

Do you remember that phrase “Keep on Truckin’ "? I know some of you do! It may bring back memories of music by Eddie Kendricks, the Temptations, the Grateful Dead or the Road Hammers; a one-page comic with four guys leaning back, stepping boldly forward; or bumper stickers and hats from the late 60s and 70s. For our younger industry members, take a look in the Urban Dictionary and you will find “Keep on Truckin’” defined as “a general phrase of encouragement meaning to stay focused in general or on a particular job.”

I think that is a pretty good mantra for the Division and the Ohio Tourism Industry right now. Here at the Division, we are focused on the programs and partner opportunities we presented to you during the Town Hall meetings (click here to download). At the same time, we also are continually seeking opportunities to improve our services to and relationships with you, our Ohio Tourism Industry Members. To that end, I encourage you to take a moment to complete our BuckeyeLine Survey to help us better serve you.

Looking at the future for the tourism industry as a whole, we can’t help but be reminded of past cycles. While “Keep on truckin’” and CB radios were replaced by “Just Do It” and iPhones, fashions cycle back around and so does the economy. For 2010, the predictions are for “Less Bad.

What does “Less Bad” look like? For starters, there have been a few rays of hope in 2009. The Great American Road is great again. Gas prices are down from a high of more than $4 per gallon back in July of ’08 to around $2.58 a gallon in September of 2009. While consumers are wary of price increases, we saw around an 8 percent increase in auto travel nationally from March 2009 to August 2009. Not tremendous growth but good news for road-trip destinations like Ohio.

Though the “Affordability of Travel Index” surged from July 2008 to July 2009, lowered pricing has not been enough to spur demand. As we all know, once prices are lowered, it typically takes a lot more time to raise them again, and consumers don’t currently feel good enough about the economy that our industry can make up the price differential through volume.

For 2010, we are looking at slow improvements including:

• Slow tortoise-like improvement in the economy and the travel and tourism industry;
• Often smaller losses rather than positive gains;
• More reductions in air flights – return to immediate post-9/11 levels
• Increases in international visitation, but return to previous levels not likely to occur until 2013;
• Consumers still wary of spending money on large-ticket items;
• Rising unemployment dampening ability of consumers to support economic growth.

The result is a “New Norm” in which we need to emphasize:

• Value is king!
• Authentic Experiences
• Focus on “Re” (Relaxation, rejuvenation, reconnection…)
• “Togethering” – couples, girlfriends, guys
• Ease of Travel – Time is short so the easier it is to locate and book an experience, the better
• Social Media – Be Strategic
• Package!

According to research from the U.S. Travel Association and YPartnership, 142 million people intend to travel in 2010, 43 million have no plans to travel and that leaves 40 million people who are unsure whether they will travel. Those 40 million represent an opportunity for us as marketers to utilize the strategies above and provide at least a portion of this group with a reason to travel. Research shows that the greatest obstacles to convincing this group to travel are budget concerns, travel costs and gas prices. H1N1 (Swine Flu) also could be a game changer in 2010.

Aside from business travel, predictions are for modest recovery in 2010 – up about 2 percent according to the U.S. Travel Association. So, like the song says, “Hey, man, don't slow down and don't stop for nothin'; When the goin' gets tough, you just keep on truckin'!"

Safe travels,

Amir

Leaves Changing, Partnerships Abounding and a Time for Learning and Sharing!

Fall greetings from the Ohio Tourism Division! As the leaves start to change color for their annual brilliant fall foliage display, Ohio’s Tourism Industry shifts gears. For some of us, it means a big push of fall/holiday visitation, while for others it means catching up on to-do lists set aside during the spring/summer season. Either way, we are getting ready for 2010. In your preparations, here are a few things to put on your “must-do” list this fall:

1. Participate in at least one Ohio Tourism Marketing Partnership.
This past month, the Ohio Tourism team began hitting the road holding our annual fall Town Hall Meetings in each region of the state to roll out the fall 2009/summer 2010 Partnership Opportunities. While we still have one more meeting coming up soon in Toledo on Oct. 15 (see reminder below), we have already met with hundreds of you to share these terrific marketing partnerships, at least 80 percent of which are absolutely free to Industry members! If you cannot make a meeting, don’t worry; a PDF document of our Partnership Opportunities is available for download by clicking here. Contact any of our team with questions or feedback. Remember, these opportunities were created based on our market research and feedback regarding your marketing needs. Despite tight budgets, this plan is extremely robust with several new partnership options added to the menu on top of ongoing favorites!

2. Attend the 2009 Ohio Conference on Tourism, Oct. 21 – 23 in Cincinnati.
As announced last month, this continuing partnership between the Ohio Tourism Division and the Ohio Travel Association is bringing some of the top national experts in tourism marketing, branding, and even this new world of social media to Cincinnati for a couple days to share with you the latest in best practices, tips for doing more with less budget and maximizing your return on investment. Learn from detailed case studies and real success stories (or even from a few not-so-successful efforts), and engage in opportunities to sharpen your skills, improve your marketing performance and form new partnerships by exchanging ideas with these experts and colleagues. Understanding that every investment an organization makes these days is critical, nothing is more important than making sure your team is equipped with the best practices and skills to maximize the return on every penny you invest to drive more business to your door. I view this year’s conference as an essential tool for the Division’s efforts here and now, not just the future, and I hope many of you do the same. I guarantee attending the 2009 Ohio Conference on Tourism will yield a strong return on investment in terms of your team’s performance this coming year. Marketing staff cannot afford to miss this, and executives should plan on attending as the discussions taking place will help shape the future of our Industry’s performance!

3. Engage in discussion regarding the Division’s future public/private partnership.
Engage your Industry associations in the ongoing discussion of developing a sustainable private/public model for promoting Ohio as a tourism destination as well as supporting the needs of Ohio’s Tourism Industry (see the September 2009 BuckeyeLine). Our weekly meetings with the leadership of the Ohio Tourism Roundtable have been extremely productive, and association leaders are actively engaging their boards and members for input. A lot of progress has been made in a short period of time, but we are now entering the phase where your input is more important than ever. We continue to encourage all of you to share your thoughts and insights with your respective sector leaders or my office directly as this feedback is vital. A formal update of our progress to-date will be presented at the 2009 Ohio Conference on Tourism.

It has been a terrific start to my fall season in getting around Ohio and meeting with so many of our colleagues. Thank you again for all of your partnership and support, and especially the great levels and detail of feedback that I receive daily. I look forward to seeing many of you this month as our work continues and we gather to share, partner and succeed!

Safe travels,

Amir

And the Beat Goes On!

Warmest greetings from the Ohio Tourism Division! The children are heading back to school for the start of another year, which means that many of our Industry partners and colleagues are beginning to work on their 2010 budgets and seek out ways to best leverage limited marketing resources into increased visitation and sales.

To that end, I am pleased to announce that our Fiscal Year 2010 Marketing Partnership Opportunities guide will be rolled out around the state later this month in order to help you plan through the winter, spring and into next summer’s marketing efforts. Despite the recent budget challenges, we are presenting you with a robust menu of marketing opportunities that include many program favorites as well as some new offerings to work together to drive more business to your front door!

In addition to these opportunities, we will be sharing with you some of our latest marketing research received over the summer, as well as providing the most current update on Division initiatives, including our transition to a “public/private model” Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) for the State of Ohio. Please see the article below for times and dates and RSVP as these venues are sure to fill up quickly (as they did at last year’s partnership rollouts).

As mentioned last month, we have begun the process of looking at potential options for the future funding and operation of Ohio’s tourism marketing effort. The first phase involves looking at the range of options that other states currently use. This work is a collaboration between the Leadership of the Ohio Department of Development; its Tourism Division; its Office of Policy, Research, and Strategic Planning; and the Executives of the Ohio Tourism Roundtable representing the Tourism Industry. It is important that we first do our diligence and understand these alternative models and evaluate their potential application in Ohio before we can engage both private and public stakeholders in the discussion of creating Ohio’s model. We continue to encourage all of you to share your thoughts and insights with your respective sector leaders or my office directly as your feedback is vital. As always, we will continue to share updates on our process and engage your feedback both directly and via Ohio’s Tourism Industry Leadership as we progress.

Looking ahead to next month, please mark Oct. 21-23 on your calendars for the annual Ohio Conference on Tourism. This is the second year of the Division’s partnership with the Ohio Travel Association that has enabled this conference to put forth an agenda of terrific presenters on the latest trends and best practices in our Industry during a time of change in both our economy and the way consumers are influenced (think social media, niche markets, etc). Beginner, intermediate and even advanced general sessions and breakouts are planned to make this a “must attend” for executives and their core teams. Division leadership and team members will be in attendance to provide additional updates and insights, as well as to network with all of our Industry partners. More information will be included in future Division communications for what promises to be one the most affordable and best professional conferences in recent Ohio Tourism history!

Bottom Line: We have a lot of opportunities coming up to get together and build new partnerships for success in 2010. I look forward to seeing you as the Ohio Tourism Division hits the road!

Safe travels,

Amir

Moving Forward into Fiscal Year 2010

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!

Cautious Optimism Continues for Ohio Leisure Travel

Greetings from the 29th Floor of the Riffe Center on a gorgeous July day that makes me wish I was composing this message from one of our many scenic destination points instead of my office! June has flown by so quickly, and I cannot believe that we are already in the middle of summer travel season.

This past month saw us wrapping up our late spring/early summer town hall meetings around Ohio. A special thanks to our entire host partners in Butler, Knox, Hocking, Sandusky and Mahoning Counties for providing terrific venues in which to interact and engage several hundred members of Ohio’s Tourism Industry! Our Spring/Summer main and multicultural ad campaigns also moved ahead at full steam this past month in our primary feeder markets. Initial metrics from these markets show a terrific initial response, which we look forward to converting into additional travel and visitor spending in Ohio this summer and fall. So far, our Web traffic alone is averaging a more than 50 percent increase over last year for the past two months since our campaign has begun. Key feeder market Web traffic has even crossed into triple-digit growth in some cases! Our message of affordable getaways within a close drive is really resonating well with audiences. The economic challenges combined with a desire to still get away are helping regional leisure drive markets like Ohio. While business travel declines are still significant, the leisure market is definitely our silver lining.

In my many travels around Ohio these past couple of months, I am so energized by the determination and passion of the many Industry members I encounter along the way. Whether it is a hotel clerk or the head of the company, everyone is focused on the job at hand: creating a memorable experience for the visitor in order to bring them back with friends. Great service and memorable offerings at a good value are paying off too! As I sift through travel sites and various social media outlets where people discuss their lives and travels, I am regularly seeing postings of folks who were lured to Ohio this spring and summer by a good marketing message or strong word of mouth, and are now bragging to everyone about their experience. Yes, there are still some challenges ahead for our Industry before the economy recovers, but the impressions we make sustain us now and reward us in the future as long as we exceed expectations. 

In addition to our ongoing marketing efforts, July is a 2010 planning month for the Ohio Tourism Division, during which we put together our menu of partnership opportunities for the next year. As of the writing of this message, the process to set the new biennial budget for the State of Ohio has yet to be completed. Rest assured that the delay in the budget has not stopped our planning processes. Our focus is still to provide a maximum return on investment for Ohio’s Tourism Industry and the citizens of Ohio by increasing visitor spending with the resources we are allocated. I wish to thank and recognize the entire Ohio Tourism Division team as well as our agency partners (advertising, public relations, multicultural, Web, etc…) for the extra effort put forth over the past few months to ensure another successful leisure travel marketing season. Everyone’s passion, innovation and dedication are part of what makes me so proud of this team. Combined with our Industry’s commitment to excellence, we can only succeed! 

Safe travels,

Amir

P.S. Congratulations to the cast and crew of “Trumpet in the Land.” Ohio’s longest running outdoor drama turned 40 on July 3, and I was honored and delighted to attend a very special performance with many returning alumni from the past 40 seasons. They are truly an example of passion in our Industry!

Peak Leisure Travel Season = Planning Time at Ohio Tourism Division

The Spring/Summer Leisure Campaign is in full swing and I am happy to report that the initial responses via Web traffic, leads and inquiries are seeing solid growth over last year. As predicted, it does appear that 2009 is indeed a regional destination year for many travelers. As I write this, the next phase of the multicultural campaign is gearing up as well in key markets both in- and out-of-state. In addition, I have been impressed by the new cooperative efforts our partners around the state have begun in their marketing messages. I think that collectively, we are sending out a good message about Ohio being an affordable regional destination with a variety of experiences that are “hot buttons” for both families and empty-nesters. As always, we welcome your feedback as to what you are experiencing during the early months of our peak season.

Now that our campaign is in full execution mode, we are actually moving forward in our 2010 planning. While the process to pass the state’s budget continues, we still must prepare to prioritize our marketing efforts and partnership opportunities to develop for the next year. Our goal, as in 2008, is to present a full menu of partnership opportunities for members of Ohio’s Tourism Industry by mid-September so that you can incorporate what makes sense into your 2010 marketing plans. Over the next few months, our team will be meeting internally with our staff and key agencies and analyzing the research, consumer trends, recent campaign performance, industry feedback and a whole host of other sources of information to set our initial game plan for the next year. In fact, we began gathering some feedback just this past week as we started the latest of our Town Hall meetings series (see below for additional dates and a special thanks to our partners at the Butler County Visitors Bureau and the Savannah Center for hosting us last week). Our commitment is to deliver relevant opportunities in a timely manner to allow our partners a maximum amount of time to make informed decisions.

That being said, June is shaping up to be an exciting month of opportunities. From the North American Travel Journalists Association Conference in Cleveland at the beginning of the month to the various special events and gatherings happening across our state, it is a prime time to entice new visitors, while giving our current guests a few dozen reasons to come back this year.  In closing, I wish to once again thank all of our Industry partners who have worked tirelessly with us over the past several months to turn current challenges into opportunities: Thank You! Have a wonderful June!

Safe travels,

Amir

Game On!

The leaves are back on the trees, the weekends have been mild and mostly sunny and my neighbors are engaged in their annual ritual of lawn wars, which can mean only one thing: The peak travel season in Ohio is almost upon us!

While the Ohio Tourism Division aggressively markets Ohio as a leisure destination throughout the year, we all look forward to the main thrust of a spring/summer marketing campaign to engage and remind our target audiences that Ohio is “Too Much Fun for Just One Day!” Over the past couple of weeks, the initial print elements of our campaign have been hitting the key markets and, by this weekend, the broadcast, outdoor and online elements will be ramping up into full swing in primary markets both in surrounding states and across Ohio. Our full slate of cooperative advertising opportunities are seeing record levels of participation among Industry partners, and our media buyers were able to negotiate a high level of added value for us to help generate additional frequency and reach for the campaign.

Despite the most recent round of mandatory spending reductions (the governor is required by law to keep a balanced budget) that have obligated us to temporarily stop or change contractor operations and reduce new expenditures and travel, we are still able – at this point – to deliver a robust spring/summer advertising campaign to build upon the 12-to-1 return on investment (ROI) from 2008. While the national economic crisis continues to put enormous pressures on state budgets, I am happy to report that due to the hard work of our Tourism Division team and its partner agencies, as well as the terrific Industry partnerships already in place, the campaign will be supported with the proper online, telemarketing and fulfillment operations to make sure our call to action also puts consumers in touch with the information they need to book their next Ohio getaway. Additionally, I’m happy to report that the Marketing Assistance Program remains fully funded.

While we have postponed some additional promotions and opportunities, such as the Pittsburgh event, we are still able to offer a full slate of partnership opportunities to Industry members (like Barnes & Noble Bookstores during Ohio Tourism Month) and shortly will turn our attention to the next lineup of partnerships to be rolled out this fall. In addition, we are announcing some upcoming dates in late May and June for Town Hall Meetings to roll out a new partnership with OSU Extension and a couple of other opportunities.

To help kick off the spring/summer push, many of our destinations across Ohio are engaging in special events or promotions for Ohio Tourism Month and National Tourism Week. Value is a key element in decision making this year, so please help us by promoting your packages and promotions on www.DiscoverOhio.com. I look forward to attending some of the local and regional tourism celebrations this month in support of our great Tourism Industry. Please send us photos and reports from your local events so we can post them on our Industry Web site.

During the past three weeks, my family and I have engaged in tourism activities statewide (hiking in the Hocking Hills region, checking out a Reds game and visiting local festivals), and I smile when I think back and realize that every place we went was full of people from across the state and neighboring states. Yes, our Industry is still facing deep challenges, but I remain confident that we can hold our own with leisure travel as long as we provide timely and relevant messages to our audiences. Bottom Line: People still need to get away and we CAN get them to choose Ohio!

Now let’s partner together and get out there to tell the world about Ohio this summer!

Safe travels,

Amir

Opportunity Knocks!

I really love the spring time! Spring means warmer weather, renewal and opportunities emerging. At the Ohio Tourism Division, our team is working hard to leverage every opportunity to “Share the Ohio Story.” Leveraging resources and opportunities yields results, and in these challenging times, we must leverage partnerships now more than ever. Let’s take a look at last year as proof of leveraged success.

Last month, I had mentioned that we would be releasing the results of our advertising evaluation study for 2008. In addition to the advertising Return on Investment, we presented a whole list of key successes that would have been impossible without leveraging resources, time, budgets and new partnerships. I wish to thank the leadership of the Ohio Tourism Roundtable and Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher for helping us share this exciting news in front of more than 130 Industry leaders and media members. Here is a snapshot of just some of what 2008 Ohio Tourism Division efforts yielded:

2008 “Too Much Fun for Just One Day” Advertising Campaign ROI:
• An estimated $437 million in visitor spending was generated by the campaign in 2008 (launched in May 2008, the campaign generated this return within about 5 months).

• For every $1 invested by the state in tourism, there was a return of $12 in state and local taxes (of those $12, approximately $7 went to state and approximately $5 to local tax coffers).

• Nearly $31 million in new tax revenues is estimated to have come to Ohio as a result of this campaign.

• Launched the new multicultural campaign, “Livin’ for the Weekend,” with events in Cleveland and Cincinnati with local partners. This is the first complete TV, radio, print and online campaign for the multicultural markets to run in at least 15 years.

• As a result of increased marketing and Web site enhancements, unique visitors to DiscoverOhio.com are up more than 7 percent, and overall page views are up about 20 percent over 2007.

2008 Media Relations Return on Investment:
• An audience of approximately 187,055,288 consumers (audience/circulation) was exposed to stories on Ohio Tourism destinations, attractions, lodging facilities, restaurants and more in 2008 – Up nearly 21 percent from 2007.

• It would have cost more than $7 million (around $7,625,782) to purchase the media coverage we received (advertising equivalency) in 2008 – up nearly 58 percent from 2007 (figures are based solely on media results directly linked to our media relations efforts).

• For the second year in a row, the Division Public Relations Program was awarded a Bronze Anvil (national award) from the Public Relations Society of America as best Government Public Relations Program in the country.

The Division is so excited about the amazing Return on Investment numbers we received! To watch the press conference, click here.

2008 Travel Industry Partnerships:
• New focus on Travel Industry Partnerships and Outreach resulted in a record number of partnership offerings (more than $2 million leveraged in additional paid advertising message and brand exposure via marketing assistance and co-op programs) and private/public partnerships.

• Leveraged resources and new marketing partnerships with State of Ohio agencies including: Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio Department of Agriculture, Ohio Department of Transportation and the Ohio Lottery Commission.
 
And the list goes on! A special thank you to all of you in the Industry who have worked with us over the past couple of years to drive more visitors to your doorstep.

The challenge is upon us to keep that momentum going, and our first quarter activities were just the tip of the iceberg! Last month saw us add a Chicago Media Mission, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Week Activities and partnerships involving media and multicultural promotions (thanks to our partners at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and Positively Cleveland), Film Office Music Video Challenge and an Industry press conference on top of our ongoing marketing activities.

April will have some of our new social media developments going live (stay tuned), and preparations for Ohio Tourism Month activities including a special opportunity on May 13 as we take our story on the road (see below). I am so excited about the effort our team is making to drive leisure business into Ohio that I need to stop writing now and let you get on with this BuckeyeLine!

Safe travels,

Amir

‘March’-ing into Spring/Summer Travel

The first hints of spring are showing, which means that the Ohio Tourism Division is in full swing with March activities. I have spent some time recently traveling around the state for various meetings and obligations, and I am happy to report that, despite the serious challenges within the current economy, our Industry’s resolve and creativity is reaching new heights. For example, last week, I had the honor of addressing the annual meeting of the Hocking Hills Tourism Association. The sprit of collaboration and strength in partnership was strong as I chatted with business owners and operators. Hocking Hills Tourism Association Executive Director Karen Raymore gave a terrific presentation on their engagement in online social media and highlighted an innovative new program to capture visitor experiences and place them online for free by loaning out Flip video cameras at their visitor center. What a great low-cost idea to get some user-generated content. I believe Karen said, “If a picture is worth a thousand words then these videos are worth a million!”

Moving forward, the final touches are being put on the creative for the spring/summer campaign, the Public Relations team heads off next week on the Chicago Media Mission, and we are kicking off our efforts to tell the story about the sounds of Ohio in music! In addition, please take another look at our program supporting Ohio Military Families via our partnership with the Ohio National Guard. 

This month, we are launching the new Film Office Web site, wrapping up our video music contest, helping promote Ohio’s music scenes in partnership with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Week festivities in Cleveland, and we will be releasing the fantastic ROI information from our 2008 efforts! The Group Tour Office is following up on trade show leads, our publications review team is in the middle of our Publications RFP process, and we have some international familiarization tours coming together via our Great Lakes of North America Partnership.

There is too much information to share in this message, so I am keeping it short in order to let you get to the important articles. In closing, I want to recognize an Industry partner and leader who is moving on to a terrific tourism leadership position in upstate New York. Kelly Blazosky will be leaving her position at the helm of the Marietta CVB later this month and moving to Oneida County, NY.  Kelly has been a colleague and friend to many of us in the Industry, and her terrific attitude, ability to get things done and passion for the Industry will be missed by all of us who had the honor of working alongside her. Opportunities abound in tourism in 2009—we just need to seize them!

Safe travels,

Amir

February – Black History Month, Presidents and Romance – What more could we ask?

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! The Ohio Tourism Division’s passion for the Industry we serve continues to show via our marketing activities.  January saw us off to a great start with our team selling Ohio experiences both at the American Bus Association Marketplace in Charlotte and desk-side with the top travel and lifestyle editors in the country in New York City (see articles below).  Both opportunities involved our partners across Ohio’s Travel Industry, and we thank all of you for helping us start the year with early successes!

Speaking of successes, we just tallied up the results of our 2008 public relations efforts.  We are very much a PR-driven program in order to gain earned media above and beyond our paid advertising abilities. I am pleased to report that our increased investment in an effective media relations program has paid off handsomely. Our total audience reach increased almost 21 percent from 2007 to more than 187 million impressions! In addition, our increased national focus helped push our advertising equivalency earned up almost 58 percent to more than $7.6 million! Now that is a solid return on investment as we continue to “Share the Ohio Story.”  I wish to give a special nod to our Public Relations Team and Fahlgren Mortine Public Relations for a solid effort.

Later this month, we will be releasing the results of our 2008 advertising campaign return on investment, which will show more terrific successes in generating a direct economic impact for our Industry and Ohioans. In addition, our Group Tour Office will be heading to Pittsburgh Feb. 19 – 22 along with more than 80 Industry partners to sell Ohio at Heartland Travel Showcase. Our 2009 Ohio Travel Planner and Spring/Summer Calendar of Events are being delivered this week from the printer, while our required Publications RFP process has just concluded the submission phase and the review begins. A special thank you to Aimee Zerla for driving our publications program forward.

On the multicultural side, our Black History Month push is underway via PR efforts, multicultural marketing agency Singleton and Partners and some of our media partners.  Our Spring/Summer main ad campaign planning is almost complete and in place, and I am delighted to report that Industry utilization of our cooperative advertising opportunities has been tremendous. A great many of the opportunities have already sold out!

On the Industry side of things, I want to commend the members of the Ohio Tourism Leadership Academy’s Class of 2009 for their passion and participation in a recent day of immersion with the Tourism Division and Ohio Department of Development Leadership.  The new initiative led by the Ohio Travel Association and taught by Melinda Huntley and Diana Thompson held their second day of “class” at our offices, and judging by the fantastic questions and engagement of the group, it looks like we have some really great future leaders emerging in our Industry.

We have many more great things to share with all of you, and I invite you to read the updates and announcements from our team below. Spring is not too far away, and I look forward to the launch of our new Ohio Film Office Web site this month, a special music video contest promoting Ohio and the first installments of our new social media program going live within the next few weeks. The economy may be stalled a bit right now, but our momentum is full-speed ahead!

Safe travels,

Amir

2009 – Ohio Tourism Hits the Ground Running!

Happy New Year from the Ohio Tourism Division! As we take down the holiday lights and transition into those clear, crisp January days, the execution phase of our 2009 planning begins. Our team has put in place a roadmap that will see a tremendous amount of marketing and promotion taking place right away and lasting throughout the year.

A couple of the highlights this month include leading our Ohio Travel Industry delegations to both the annual Public Relations Media Mission in New York City to pitch our stories to the national travel and lifestyle media, and the American Bus Association Annual Marketplace in Charlotte, N.C., to sell Ohio group tour product to the top buyers and owners in the Industry. The advertising office is updating the creative for our continued “Too Much Fun for Just One Day!” campaign, while Tourism Information is beginning a massive update and improvement to our Web site and database. In addition, we are putting the finishing touches on the new Ohio Film Office Web site and online production manual that will be officially launched by early February.

In the next few weeks, please look for announcements about special projects and initiatives that will be rolled out. Over the past few years, we have been developing and telling our stories about culinary tourism, and look forward to doing even more promotion in this area as we move forward. This also will be the year when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony returns to Ohio! In the coming weeks, we will be leveraging this tremendous event and its surrounding happenings to kick off a year of promotion of the sounds of Ohio. This will be a promotion that will allow many of our industry partners across all sectors and regions to promote their stories in a new way and through some new mechanisms. The action plans are being set in motion as I write this, so stay tuned for more updates.

Okay—I better stop writing and join the team here in getting our 2009 efforts underway!  Please check out the important information below and have a terrific and successful New Year!
 
Safe travels,

Amir

The End of an Interesting Year Brings the Beginning of Opportunity

Greetings from a post-Turkey Day Tourism Division! As I write this message, I feel so thankful for this terrific industry, our partners, friends and loved ones who support our efforts to “Share the Ohio Story” each and every day.

I recently had the pleasure of attending the Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association’s Annual Conference. More than 325 colleagues from the lodging sector gathered at the Cincinnati Marriott North to share the latest trends, insights and best practices in the lodging Industry. I wish to share some forecasting data from the much-awaited presentation by Smith Travel Research (STR). According to STR, 2008 will see a 3.0 percent drop in hotel occupancy across the country, preceding a 3.5 percent decline in 2009, with a 0.6 percent drop for 2010. Average Daily Rates are expected to grow 3.4 percent nationally in 2008, 1.0 percent in 2009 and 2.1 percent in 2010. Their overall prediction for the lodging Industry is that the economic outlook for U.S. lodging will begin improving by early third quarter 2009. Interestingly, they predict the recovery to be led by the leisure sector of the marketplace. Their data confirmed our earlier statements that Ohio’s leisure travel market is performing better than many other national markets. Saturday night is actually our strongest overnight travel day of the week.

The terrific day was capped off by the annual Stars of the Industry gala where the best of the best were recognized for exceeding guest and team expectations. The dinner was emceed by Tom Keltner, Senior Advisor to Hilton Hotels Corporation, who gave an inspiring talk about our new realities and the enduring character of our Industry. Congratulations to all the award winners, the Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association and the Cincinnati Marriott North for giving our Industry a memorable day!

Also in late November, I was extremely honored to be named the 2008 “Friend of the Industry” by the Ohio Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus (OACVB) during their annual President’s Luncheon. As I told the group during my acceptance remarks, I share this with the entire team at the Division as it is the hard work, creativity and execution of our programs that touch our partners each and every day. I am so proud to work with them! I wish to once again thank OACVB for the honor, and wish Joan Van Offeren, Executive Director of the Sandusky/Erie County CVB, a successful year as President of their Board.

While the year may be winding down in days, your Ohio Tourism Division team is still moving full speed ahead with our programs geared for 2009. As you have over the past year, stay tuned for your monthly BuckeyeLine as new opportunities will be announced within the enewsletter. 

As we wrap things up for 2008, I wish to leave you with my bad attempt to be creative and optimistically passionate about our Industry’s future (I apologize in advance to the real poets out there!):

‘Twas the end of the year and anticipation was in the air,
As your tourism team realized 2009 would soon be there.
Everyone was scurrying both to and fro’
To make sure that next year’s programs were good to go!

So sit lets take a look at all this commotion,
And see what the team is setting in motion.

Alicia Reece is busy gathering our key project teams,
And mapping out how to implement our ideas and dreams.

Joy Doty is busy planning the partnership meetings,
Be they town halls, updates, or individual greetings.

Joe Vargo is juggling both creative and the ad timeline,
While sending revision #50 to the agency for re-design.

Tammy Brown is working on public relations,
And will convince the media to talk about Ohio destinations.

Aimee Zerla is reviewing the latest layouts sent
To produce another Travel Planner and Calendar of Events.

Jessie Wagner is poring over hundreds of industry pieces,
To determine which stories make our next press releases.

Christina Grozik is jumping on the phone with L.A.,
In response to the morning’s request due same day!

Celeste Krolak is following up on her leads,
And taking care of every tour operator’s needs.

Donna Cotton is making sure our suppliers get paid,
Through a big stack of papers she must diligently wade!

Eric Herzog is deep into Web 2.0,
Figuring out where our online audiences go.

Roger Barker is adding new tweaks to the Web site,
And he will not stop until he get’s it “just right!”

Andy Doty and his team are collating and grooving,
Just to keep all those fulfillment requests moving.

And our new intern Hiram is rubbing his eyes as they’re misting,
As he just approved his 500th database listing!

And Amir is running around the office full of cheer,
Knowing that opportunities and partnerships are aplenty this coming New Year!

Have a wonderful Holiday Season with family and friends. On behalf of the Ohio Tourism Division, thank you for the partnerships in 2008. Let’s innovate and reach new successes in 2009!

Safe travels,

Amir

Approaching the End of 2008

Warm November greetings from your Tourism team here in Columbus! Your BuckeyeLine is arriving a few days later than normal this month as many of our team members have been on the road across Ohio working on key projects and partnerships on your behalf, and we wanted to share all of our latest updates this month.

First of all, it was wonderful seeing more than 250 of our colleagues at The Ohio Conference on Tourism two weeks ago in Canton. Initial feedback about the new partnership in the programming with the Ohio Travel Association’s annual conference has been extremely positive. Attendees spent a few days together hearing about and discussing ideas for the latest trends and best practices in destination marketing.

Presenters at this year’s conference really brought home the message that if we are marketing geography rather than experiences, we’re missing the boat. According to Roger Brooks, Destination Development, travelers want to know what you have that they can’t get closer to home. I believe Roger’s example was, “Sell the rapids, not the river.” Dave Serino from Gammet Interactive provided some excellent tips on Internet and email marketing, and Delos Smith shed some light on the consumer confidence index and what it means for our industry.

For anyone interested in information on how to market to women (and they are the primary travel decision makers), Fran & Bill Lytle’s presentation, “She’s Got the Power,” provided wonderful insight. See the Best Practices article in this issue of BuckeyeLine for highlights of this presentation. Please feel free to contact any of the Ohio Tourism Division staff who made presentations at the conference for information or to invite them to your community for a presentation: Amir Eylon (Ohio Tourism Division Update and Partnership Development), Alicia Reece (Advertising and Multicultural Tourism), Eric Herzog (Making the Ohio Tourism Division Web site work for You), Joe Vargo (Marketing Assistance Program), Tamara Brown (The Power of PR), and Christina Grozik (Ohio Film Office Partnerships).

I wish to extend a special thank you to the Ohio Travel Association, especially Marc McQuaid and Janet Johnson, for such a terrific new partnership. And congratulations to Gregg Mervis on completing a successful year of board leadership at OTA. We wish Scott Dring (an Ohio Tourism Division alumnus) a fantastic year at the helm of such a great organization. Despite the economy, the spirit of Ohio’s Tourism Industry is strong, and the energy felt in Canton was fantastic. A special thanks also to John Kiste and the team at the Canton/Stark County CVB for their hard work to roll out the red carpet for the industry!

A couple of days after the conference, I was off to the Travel Industry Association’s Marketing Outlook Forum. This annual event is attended by more than 500 CEO’s and Chief Marketing Officers across all industry sectors that are looking for the official forecasts for our industry, as well as any trends and insights we can capture for our marketing plans. This year’s event, as you can well imagine, was especially intense as we are looking for clues of opportunity given the economic downturn. We heard from key economists and industry leadership that the sky is definitely not falling! While business travel is a sector forecasted to feel some pain through at least mid-2009, regional leisure travel (a key for Ohio) has a lot of opportunity. Generally speaking, the lodging sector will see a continued national trend of decreasing occupancy and RevPar. The big question remains as to whether or not the sector will maintain rate integrity before things improve. Meetings and conventions groups also have their challenges in terms of decreased frequencies of attendance, but, again, regional meetings have opportunity for growth.

Leisure attractions should be focusing on regional markets in the short-term, and demonstrations of added-value will improve chances for outer-market visitation. While we have seen both areas of challenge and opportunity this past year in Ohio, I am happy to report that our challenges do not seem as large as those of longer-haul destinations who are having a hard time making up for the loss of their traditional customer base. Bottom Line: While the economic downturn continues, people will still travel! They just may travel closer to home and spend a little bit less. We will be sharing excerpts of forecasts and presentations as TIA makes them available in upcoming messages, and I am always happy to discuss what the national crystal ball has shown, so feel free to call my office.

As we begin to wind down 2008, the glorious early fall weather has helped many of our attractions, and I think the year has finished slightly better from a leisure perspective than we initially had thought. Our marketing strategies of sticking regional and promoting “Too much fun for just one day!” in an experiential way via the eyes of our visitors has begun to lead us in the right direction. If you have not done so already, please check out our 2009 Marketing Partnerships and Opportunities directory on www.DiscoverOhio.com/industry for a taste of what we have in store for 2009.

We may have challenges ahead as an industry, but the opportunities are definitely there for us to grow our leisure market share as we move into a new year! Safe travels everyone.

Warmest Regards,

Amir

Don’t miss the Ohio Conference on Tourism Oct. 22-24!

It’s hard to believe it’s that time of year again – time to evaluate what worked and what didn’t from the past year’s marketing efforts and to plan and budget for next summer’s campaigns and promotions. To help you in these tasks, this year’s Ohio Conference on Tourism, “Tourism Energizes Ohio,” will provide information on new travel and marketing trends and practical methods to enhance your marketing effectiveness and stretch your marketing dollars.

Moving Ahead into 2009!

Okay—the kids are back in school and the Industry is ready for the first fall festivals, corn mazes and late summer/early fall weekend excursions! This is just a beautiful time of year in Ohio, and I am looking forward to being on the road again across the state for our next round of Town Hall meetings. This week, we began the process of rolling out the majority of our 2009 partnership opportunities and co-ops (see schedule below).  Please do not miss out on some fantastic opportunities to leverage resources with the Ohio Tourism Division to tell the world about your business!  We have seen strong RSVPs for the first few meetings. It is not too late to register for upcoming dates, so please come on out and join us for a couple of hours to find out what’s new and ask any questions that may be on your mind about ongoing Division programs.

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.