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Chamber sponsors tourism seminar
By Mike Bollin ger • Staf Writer
 | | Using the state tourism Web site, Virginia.org, was one of the main points made by Steve Galyean, director of product development for the Virginia Tourism Corporation, Friday at a tourism seminar sponsored by the Bath County Chamber of Commerce. (Recorder photo by Mike Bollinger) |
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WARM SPRINGS - Representatives of the chambers of commerce in Alleghany, Bath and Highland counties gathered Friday at the Gristmill to hear presentations on how to better market the area to prospective tourists and learn what is available on the state level to help them do so.
Steve Galyean, director of product development of the Virginia Tourism Corporation, and Susie Hall, director of economic development and tourism for Shenandoah County, both emphasized the Allegheny Highlands region and Virginia as a whole have many ways to draw travelers.
Melinda Nichols, executive director of the Bath chamber, and Carolyn Pohowsky, executive director Highland's chamber, said the seminar was a success.
"I thought it went really well," Nichols said. "Everyone I talked to afterward said they enjoyed it and learned a lot. The speakers made a lot of points that will be valuable in the future as we move to where our tourism program is developed a little more."
 | | Susie Hill, economic development and tourism director for Shenandoah County, was one of the presenters at a tourism seminar sponsored by the Bath County Chamber of Commerce Friday. Hill emphasized the importance of communities working together to promote tourism. (Recorder photo by Mike Bollinger) |
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Pohowsky agreed. "I think it is always good to have an opportunity to interact one-on-one with the Virginia Tourism Corporation. Up until about a year ago, a representative had never been to Highland," she said. "I'm pleased to see them making the effort to get in the field more and that the new leadership sees the need for them to be more hands-on."
Nichols said the seminar helped lay the groundwork for more opportunities to advertise Bath County. "I think this was a starting point that gave us the basic information we needed," she said.
She believes the seminar will be the first of many, with others designed to target discussion in more specific areas.
Galyean discussed the tourism corporation's new campaign, "Live Passionately." He said response has been good and the state is finding reaction has been positive to Virginia's events and products.
"Our goal is more people, staying longer and spending money," he said. In 2007, Galyean said travelers in Virginia spent $17.7 billion, which generated $7.4 billion in tax revenue. There are 201,200 people employed in the tourist industry in the state, who earn $4.26 billion in salary and benefits, he said.
One of the main ways localities can advertise is to use the state travel and tourism Web site, Virginia.org, Galyean said, noting 85 percent of today's travelers make destination decisions using the Internet. "If you are not on that Web site, you aren't going to be found. It is the primary travel Web site in the state of Virginia.
"The beauty of it is, it costs absolutely nothing. Our marketing directs folks to the Web site. Travel is about experience and authenticity, and people want to get a feel and pulse of the community they are visiting," he said.
Hill said lodging and restaurants could be listed on the site, as well as special events being sponsored by the chamber. These listings are also free, she said.
There are more than 500,000 subscribers to the Virginia. org site.
Local groups wanting to promote tourism should also use vatc.org to keep up to date on the latest partnership opportunities from the Virginia Tourism Corporation, Galyean said. In addition, they should subscribe to the Tourism Dashboard, a monthly electronic newsletter that points out available grants for localities as well as the latest tourism trends.
In addition, through a partnership with Travelocity, travelers can now book their vacations on Virginia.org, Galyean said. Through Virginia.org, information can be transmitted seamlessly with local Web sites. "If you update on Virginia.org, information will automatically be updated on your local site," he said.
Hill said the state's 13 welcome centers are also valuable ways to get information to the traveling public. Shenandoah County, she said, places brochures in the centers it feels will most benefit the county. "You can pick the ones you want and pay individually or you can be in all of them," she said. A discount is available if a locality chooses to use all of the centers, Hill said.
"You can pick and choose if you know the areas people are coming from to visit your county. It is important to have a relationship with the employees in the welcome centers so you know who they are and what they have to offer," Hill said.
Galyean said all the welcome centers offer the chance for groups to make presentations on local offerings. He said as an example, Lynchburg hands out popcorn at welcome centers along with information about the area. "This is a wonderful way to get the word out about specific events," Hill said.
Anyone requesting information about the state's tourism opportunities is sent a copy of the Virginia Travel Guide. About 700,000 are distributed in print and about 300,000 more electronically, Galyean said. Localities pay for ad placement in the guide. Hill said Shenandoah County entered into a cooperative agreement with other counties and the group was able to afford a five-page presence in the guide.
"Working together with the other counties makes that very affordable for me," Hill said.
All advertising done by the Virginia Tourism Corporation, Galyean said, is based on research. That research has shown that at present, women make the majority of travel decisions. Because of that, new marketing campaigns are targeted toward females.
Competition with neighboring states is made difficult, Galyean said, by the limited budget for the VTC as opposed to other states. Where South Carolina has a $50 million budget and West Virginia $40 million, Virginia's annual tourism budget is $3 million. "We have to get very creative in our marketing initiatives," he said.
"It appalls me that tourism is the third biggest industry in the state when you compare our budget with that of others, particularly West Virginia," Pohowsky said. "Virginia is very lucky to have a significant number of destinations that appeal to people because of historical significance or other reasons, but some parts of the state are struggling with tourism initiatives."
One of those initiatives has the VTC working in cooperation with localities in magazine advertising where the tourism corporation takes half a page and the locality takes the other half, thus getting the locality in the magazine for half the cost.
Another is the Marketing Leverage Program. Under this matching grant program, a minimum of three partners must join in an application. Applications are reviewed based on market research concerning the audience, the message of the program and how that message will be delivered and performance measures on how well that message was delivered.
Hill said in Shenandoah County, the tourism group there teamed with county wineries on an initiative that will enable them to produce a winery map that will also list places to stay and other attractions. The state has matched the amount for the project. Galyean called the application process "very competitive" and said the deadline for submitting projects is mid-November.
The Virginia Tourism Corporation has also joined the Virginia Department of Business Assistance and the Cooperative Extension Service on an "Entrepreneur Express" program.
The Bath and Highland chambers sponsored Entrepreneur Express in Bolar March 29, and Pohowsky said the event went well.
"It was very successful. It was basically for start-up businesses or businesses looking to expand, and we had a good turnout. There was a representative from the Virginia Tourism Corporation there, and they gave out a lot of information," Pohowsky said. "We were very pleased that a representative came to our area and brought the information directly to us."
Galyean said 98 percent of tourism-related industries are small businesses and these types of workshops connect people with the resources they need to begin developing business plans.
He also said the VTC's public relations department provide information to travel editors throughout the state for stories about tourism opportunities. "This is a great way to get exposure," he said. Press releases, he said, can also be provided with blanks to be filled in locally. These can then be sent to local media outlets.
Trade shows, Galyean said, are another way for areas to get noticed. For example, shows are held for the tour bus industry or meeting planners. "This is a great opportunity to partner with the Virginia Tourism Corporation at a reduced cost and have a presence at one of those shows," he said.
Galyean said marketing is being done in Canada and the Washington, D.C. area and opportunities are available through the Virginia Film Office as well. "Film is big business in Virginia," he said.
"The Virginia Tourism Corporation is an extremely important partnership for small destination marketing associations," Hill said. "It is about relationships and neighbors working cooperatively. The tourist does not know municipal boundaries. We are all in this together, and that is important in these challenging times and challenging budgets. We need to make sure we partner and work together."
The state's tourism slogan, "Virginia is for Lovers," was first used in 1969, Galyean noted, and is the second most well-known tourism slogan in the country. Only "I love N.Y." is better recognized.
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