February 2006
MEMORANDUM TO: Marty Davis
DATE: March 8, 2006
FROM: Billie Jo
Waara
SUBJECT: Tourism’s
February Monthly
Status Report
You may download and print the entire
February Report in Adobe Acrobat (PDF).
Contents:
2010 Initiative
Governor's Conference on Tourism
Public Relations
Group Tour
Outdoors
Film Office
AAA/CAA
Information Centers
Hospitality
Inquiries
Lewis and Clark Promotions
Native American Tourism
Photo/Video
Travel
Market Advertising
Logo Usage
Publications
World Wide Web
Winter Campaign
Great Events 2006
Tourism Office
Funding
2010 INITIATIVE
Please refer to
www.2010Initiative.com for updates.
Will attend scheduled 2010 meetings in Aberdeen, Sioux Falls, and Rapid City in March.
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Governor's Conference on Tourism
Held meeting to review 2006 Conference and made preliminary plans for 2007.
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PUBLIC RELATIONS
Drafted, edited, distributed, and posted press release to South Dakota News
Web site and MediaSD.com regarding visitor spending adjustment, South Dakota
Travel Monitoring System, and new Group Tour Planning Guide.
Traveled to Chicago for media blitz and held individual meetings with Chicago
Parent, Chicago Sun-Times, Orbitz, Rand McNally Travel News, iExplore,
Chicago Tribune, BET, Spa Management Journal, and selected
freelancers.
Fulfilled/handled media requests for travel and outdoors information to South
Dakota Public Radio, Argus Leader, Mitchell Daily Republic,
Midwest Living, Fishing the Midwest, Tony Dean Outdoors, Rapid City
Journal, Argus Leader, Omaha World Herald, Sioux City
Journal, Fargo Forum, Dakota Outdoors, and various
freelancers.
Began compiling 2006 public relations intern projects and scheduled interviews
with candidates.
Hired John Forney as the new Film and Media Relations representative.
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GROUP TOUR
Mailed forms inviting approximately 3,000 South Dakota suppliers, who can
accommodate group tours in their business, to become a partner in the Group Tour
Planning Guide.
Added leads to SDVisit.com from the NAJ Summit in Los Angeles. These leads are
not password protected as are those from the National Tour Association (NTA) and
American Bus Association (ABA) marketplaces.
Met with 34 tour operators at ABA Marketplace in Nashville. Attended educational
seminars and conducted a caucus meeting following DMO appointments to share
leads with South Dakota suppliers who attended. While at ABA, met with 2Nation
Tours partners – North Dakota, Minnesota, and Manitoba to discuss the Midwest
Group Tour Meeting in Minnesota in April. Made plans to attend. Met with
Minnesota to discuss South Dakota/Minnesota 2Nations Tours fam to be held in
early June.
Participated in conference call with Rapid City CVB regarding NTA Board meeting
to be held there in April.
Finalized arrangements for trade blitz to Chicago in March with representatives
from several Convention and Visitors Bureaus. Developed appointment schedules
with tour operators and South Dakota blitz partners.
Began contacting possible hosts for participants of the Rocky Mountain
International (RMI) Roundup, itinerary, and other details of the hosting in
April. Worked with RMI on 4-state media fam for June and July for My Planet,
Denmark. The South Dakota portion is early July with visits to Black Hills,
Badlands and central South Dakota.
Fulfilled requests for information/itinerary helps to Giovanni Tours,
California; Itineraries Minnesota; Retreats and Seminars; Vacationland Holidays,
Alberta and Mae’s Travel Inc, Ontario, Canada; and DERTOUR, Germany.
Sent shipment of maps and brochures to Japan for Osamu Hoshino, Japanese
representative for South Dakota, for a sales mission. Sent shipment to Germany
for ITB.
Conducted interviews for the open position with the Trade Sales Team and hired
Tyler Sharp as the newest member of the Trade Sales and Marketing team. Sent
regret letters to other applicants.
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OUTDOORS
Worked on design and content of Outdoor News, which is mailed to 3,000
outdoors editors and writers twice a year. Piece is scheduled to be mailed in
early May with fall stories and photos.
Attended SHOT Show in Las Vegas and met with writers from Field and Stream,
Outdoor Life, Cabela’s, Sports Afield, Heartland USA,
Gun Dog, Game and Fish, ATK, and Winchester.
Completed follow-up.
Finalized plans for a March meeting in Sioux Falls with partners who will help
host and sponsor the American Great Lakes Outdoor Writers (AGLOW) conference,
September 2006, in Sioux Falls.
Contacted media regarding a spring turkey hunting familiarization tour in the
Black Hills. Contacted outfitters, as the media calls have started regarding
opportunities for turkeys in the Black Hills. Pitched story idea to Field and
Stream magazine, and they will be running a piece on Black Hills hunting in
an upcoming issue.
Continued making plans to assist with a spring hunt for ESPN’s Ultimate Outdoors
TV show with Wayne Pearson.
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FILM OFFICE
Interviewed by Markee magazine.
Fulfilled requests for information and crew/service updates.
Worked on details and preparations for Association of Film Commissioners
International (AFCI) Locations Tradeshow in California in April.
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AAA/CAA
Fulfilled requests for materials from Canada and 15 states: Connecticut,
Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nebraska, New
Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and South Dakota.
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INFORMATION
CENTERS
Received 130 applicants for the Information Center travel counselor
positions. Mailed letters to all applicants to schedule face-to-face interviews
for new ones in March and will conduct phone interviews for returning
applicants.
Continued working with executive directors of the Great Lakes and Southeast
South Dakota Tourism associations on the Information Center training tour, April
28-May 4, since it will be going through both regions.
Will mail letter and form for the poster co-op program on March 1.
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HOSPITALITY
Will assist Rapid City and Sioux Falls with their training sessions in May.
Researched hospitality programs in other states and compiled information for
review.
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INQUIRIES
Total FY2006 Inquiries through 03-01-06:
Mail: 15,282
Internet (e-mail): 49,306
Phone: 7,358
Total: 71,946
Total FY2005 Inquiries through 03-01-05:
Mail: 19,751
Internet (e-mail): 47,531
Phone: 8,138
Total: 75,420
For fiscal year 2006, there is an overall
decrease in inquiries of 4.6 percent over FY2005.
Calculated Web stats for TravelSD.com for
February:
| |
Page Views |
Daily
Average |
% Change over 2005 |
|
February (26 days) |
1,006,668 |
38,718 |
24.4% increase |
“Page views” represents the number of times
each and every page within the web site is accessed.
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LEWIS AND CLARK PROMOTIONS
Answered questions from fourth grade teachers regarding the Lewis and Clark
Essay Contest. Sent additional Lewis and Clark materials to teachers who
requested them.
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NATIVE AMERICAN TOURISM
Traveled with officials from Mount Rushmore National Memorial to five
different reservations to learn about their expanded tribal exhibits planned
over the next two years. Met tribal leaders during these meetings and discussed
the Office of Tourism’s programs.
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PHOTO/VIDEO
Fulfilled requests for photos/slides to State Publishing, Bureau of
Information and Technology, Pierre Chamber of Commerce, Koupal Communications,
Department of Transportation, Game, Fish and Parks, Pierre; Outdoor Campus, AAA
Home and Away magazine, Lawrence and Schiller, Sioux Falls; Lamar
Graphics, Black Hills Community Economic Development, South Dakota School of
Mines and Technology, HMS Enterprises, Black Hills Overdrive committee, Rapid
City; Center for Tourism Research, Spearfish; Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer;
Gettysburg Chamber of Commerce; South Dakota magazine, Yankton; USA
Today, National Geographic Adventure magazine, New York;
Collette Vacations, Rhode Island; American Bus Association, DC; Qwest.com,
Colorado; Arctic Cat, Minnesota; Markee magazine, Florida; and Rocky
Mountain International, Italy;
Fulfilled requests for video footage: Sent buffalo footage to Exclaim Inc.,
Illinois, for a promotional video they are doing for Colorado Technical
University. Sent stock footage to University of South Dakota for a promotional
video they are producing.
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TRAVEL MARKET ADVERTISING
Finalized revisions to Giant Step ads, newspaper ads, Chicago insert, banner
ads, and TV image spots. Assigned ad coding for tracking. Giant Step co-op ads
with the following themes were approved for the magazines as noted: Rushmore –
Ladies Home Journal; History – Budget Travel and Midwest Living;
and Laughing Waters – Child. Magazine ads were place in Chicago Parent,
KC, Milwaukee Metro Parent, Milwaukee, D,
Dallas/Ft Worth Child, KC Spaces, and Mpls/St Paul. Newspaper
ads were placed in Chicago, Milwaukee, Kansas City, and Dallas. Other promotions
were approved for banner ads, TV, Chicago FSI newspaper insert, and Chicago jump
page.
Worked on design and content of Great Getaways co-op newspaper insert. First
delivery date is 4/14/16. The insert will reach 1.4 million people via 28
different newspapers in the states of Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota,
and South Dakota; and the two Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Worked Tourism’s travel booth at the Las Vegas Sportsmen’s Boat, RV and Travel
Show. The show was very positive. Will consider the value of returning to this
show as there are a lot of people from the mid-west who go to Las Vegas so they
already know about South Dakota.
Sent Travelsmart to 145,102 subscribers.
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Logo Usage
Sent logo to Herve Duxin in Paris, France; and to South Dakota Fellowship of
Christian Sports for their web site.
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PUBLICATIONS
Worked on layout/design of Adventure Travel Guide and the Group Tour Planning
Guide.
Developed project plan and timeline for motorcycle brochure. Worked with dealers
on content and provided co-op partnership opportunity in brochure.
Began working on updates/changes for the new Native American booklet. Plan to
combine the Guide to Indian Reservations and Art with the Guide to the Great
Sioux Nation to ensure updated content yearly.
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WORLD WIDE WEB
On TravelSD.com: updated Visitor Services Directory to show 4,957 entries;
and 88 packages 16 coupons are listed for 27 cities in 25 categories. There are
585 listings for the 2006 statewide calendar of events.
Worked on redesign of TravelSD’s interior page and Trip Planner functionality
and design. Researched and encoded data for longitude and latitude for cites
that will be part of the Trip Planner option. Reviewed design of Black Hills
jump page.
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WINTER CAMPAIGN
Continued placing snow report on snowatts phone line.
Will compile report of all aspects of the campaign.
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GREAT EVENTS 2006
Fish Days, June 2-4, Lake Andes: Met with local committee to discuss
promotions. Sent mock-up of direct mail postcard to local committee. Will print
2,260 for mailings. Routed mock-up of the South Dakota magazine ad which will be
placed for the May-June issue. Worked on design of the rack card.
Oz Festival/Dakota Heritage, June 9-10, Aberdeen: Worked on design of
an oversized postcard for March mailing, poster, button for Information Center
travel counselors, and newspaper and magazine ads placed in March. Event
celebrates Aberdeen’s 125th anniversary as well.
Black Hills Overdrive, Black Hills, June 9-18: Placed ad in Home and
Away. Created an ad insert to be mailed with Centerline magazine, Minnesota, for
March delivery.
Corn Palace Stampede Rodeo, July 13-16, Mitchell: Met with local
committee to discuss advertising and media. Different promotions will be geared
to different audiences – postcards will have a genuine rodeo feel; South Dakota
magazine ad will target middle-age audience; and the posters will target a
younger crowd. Sent mock-up of postcard to local committee, which will be mailed
in March. The South Dakota magazine ad is due in March for the May-June issue.
Worked on poster design.
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TOURISM OFFICE FUNDING
Deadwood gaming revenue deposited for January was down 0.2 percent at
$163,232, as compared to $163,631 for January 2005. The tourism tax deposited
for January was up 12.9 percent at $268,536, as compared to $237,864 for January
2005. The deposits in FY06 for gaming and the tourism tax are $5,992,431, as
compared to $5,609,882 for FY05. This is an overall increase in revenue of 6.8
percent when comparing the same time period.
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