AUTUMN 2009Welcome to TourISm Tucson, your quarterly e-newsletter from the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau (MTCVB). We invite you to use this medium to stay informed of information that will help ensure your success as a partner of Tucson and Southern Arizona's tourism community.
Holiday Marketing Campaign Kicks Off October 19
Submit Your Special Deals and Seasonal Rates, Now!
Summer is over, and we're looking forward to the busy fall-winter tourism season. Our new holiday value program is already in place, and we're ready to list holiday specials, seasonal rates, and vacation packages at participating hotels, resorts, spas, ranches, and bed and breakfasts. If you're a lodging partner, we urge you to send us information about your holiday values and special events, now. Request the Special Holiday Packages questionnaire from Hope Patterson, and return it to her by email at hpatterson@visitTucson.org or by fax at 884-7804. If you're an attraction or restaurant or other partner planning a special event or holiday activity, please send a fact sheet to Kimberly Schmitz by email at kschmitz@visitTucson.org or by fax at 884-7804.
Our annual, holiday value program provides local residents expecting out-of-town guests with information about seasonal rates and special events at participating partner businesses. We market the program with a campaign that includes television, radio, newspaper, magazine, and online ads placed throughout the destination. Ads drive visitors to www.embracetourism.com, where they can book rooms and find information for planning holiday activities. The campaign will run October 19 through December 30 under the theme, Embrace Tourism this Holiday Season. Information will be available beginning October 19 at www.embracetourism.com. USE IT!
'Vamos a Tucson' Trade Show Opportunity
Would you like to promote your business or product in Mexico? Whether you speak Spanish or not, you are invited to exhibit at Vamos a Tucson's next trade-show mission to Sinaloa and Sonora, November 3-6. You'll have the chance to meet hundreds of potential customers from Mexico, and provide them with information about your Tucson company. This mission includes trade shows in Los Mochis, Sinaloa; Culiacan, Sinaloa; and Ciudad Obregon, Sonora. Vamos a Tucson will arrange ground transportation ($250) and shipping of exhibit materials ($100) for this three-day mission. Registration costs $850. For more information, contact Martha Tadlock at 770-2171 or Marisol Romero at 770-2167.
Trade Shows & Events Schedule Now Online
Are you ready to take your show on the road? Participate in an MTCVB-sponsored trade show or sales event and you'll get to market your meetings-industry product or service to carefully targeted, potential customers in key cities. A list of trade shows and events through June 2010 can be found on the MTCVB 2009-2010 Trade Show Schedule, located in the MTCVB Partners section, under Partner Events, Tradeshow and Event Opportunities on www.visitTucson.org. Registration forms can be completed online or downloaded and submitted by fax. Cancellations with less than 30-day notice are subject to non-refund of full payment. For assistance, contact LaRee Murphy at 770-2125 or lmurphy@visitTucson.org. AOT Promotes Your Fall Travel Deals & Packages
Arizona Office of Tourism is looking for wonderful fall package deals from around the state to showcase on Travel Deals. Post your fall packages today and take advantage of this great opportunity. Remember to partner with area hotels or attractions to create even more memorable packages for visitors and keep them coming back for more. If you experience issues with uploading your travel deals or have questions about the process, contact Johnny Muongpack at 602-364-3710 or at amuongpack@azot.gov. Share Fun Times in Tucson & Southern Arizona
Tucson and Southern Arizona residents host friends-and-family visitors from all around the world. We would like to see where these visitors enjoy themselves while they're here, whether it's riding horseback or swinging a golf club. Send us pictures of how you and your guests experience our destination. We'll post many of them on our website. To see current images, click here. To share a photo, click here. Identify Your Green Tucson Business
We've added a Green Business icon to our listings pages on visitTucson.org. Partners that are either partly or completely green are now included on our Green Tucson page, and their listing on the website now features a Green Business icon (the green radio button is near the Passport radio button). Check out this example from the Hotels page listings. If your business is green, but the green icon is not showing up next to your listing, please complete and return the Green Tucson Survey, available on the Green Tucson page on visitTucson.org. WORK IT!
Educational Seminar: Media Buying
Wednesday, Oct. 21, 8:15-9:30 a.m., Doubletree Hotel Tucson at Reid Park. Join your tourism colleagues for a great opportunity to hear from an expert, Belinda Atteberry, Senior Media Specialist for the MTCVB, on media buys and to gain insight on how even small businesses can work cost-effective media buys into their marketing mix. For more information or to RSVP, click here. Meet & See: Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block
Thursday, Oct. 29, 5 p.m. - 7 p.m., Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block. This MTCVB Partner & Tucson CTA event features "Ansel Adams: A Legacy," showcasing more than 100 photographs by famed landscape photographer Ansel Adams (1902-1984). For more information or to RSVP, click here.
First Tuesday: GLBT Leisure Travel Market
Tuesday, Nov 3, from 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Don't miss this exclusive presentation by Andrew Collins, gay travel editor for About.com, who will share insights on the value of marketing to the GLBT community, despite the current down economy. Sponsor: Pamela Laurence Collection. To RSVP, click here.
Partner Orientation & Refresher
Wednesday, Nov 18 (Check in at 8:15 a.m.; orientation from 8:30 a.m.-10 a.m.) Learn tips and ideas for making the most of your partnership with the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau, share your business materials, and interact with fellow MTCVB Partners in a casual setting. To RSVP, click here. TAP Class: Sahuaro Girl Scout Council, Hacienda Program Center
Thursday, Nov 12, from 12:30-5 p.m. at Sahuaro Girl Scout Council, Hacienda Program Center.
Registration deadline is October 22. For details, click here. To register, click here. First Tuesday: North American Indian Information & Trade Center
Tuesday, Dec 1, from 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Carole J. Garcia, International Representative, NAIITC gives an overview of the national North American Indian Information and Trade Center's four annual events featuring dances, traditional food, fashion shows, and performances. Sponsor: AZ Entertainment & Events LLC. To RSVP, click here.
TAP Class: Starr Pass Golf Suites, Palmer Room
Tuesday, Dec 8 from 12:30-5 p.m. at Starr Pass Golf Suites, Palmer Room. Registration deadline is November 17. For details, click here. To register, click here. TAP Class: Park Place
Wednesday, Jan. 27, 8 a. m. - 12:30 p.m. at Park Place (Community Room), 5870 E. Broadway Blvd. Registration Deadline: Jan. 6. Cost: $30. For details, click here. To register, click here. TAP Class: Tohono Chul Park
Tuesday, Feb. 9, 12:30-5 p.m. at Tohono Chul Park, Education Center, Classroom 1, 7366 N. Paseo del Norte. Registration Deadline: January 19. Cost: $30. For details, click here. To register, click here. KNOW IT!
Enhanced Incentive Goes After the Meeting Business
The Master Account Incentive program will be a cornerstone of the Convention Sales department's marketing plan in 2010, 2011, and beyond. Based on its initial success, the program has been enhanced to offer a new total available incentive of up to $30,000 to groups that book business at MTCVB partner hotels. Half this incentive will be paid by the MTCVB, and half will be paid by the property that books the business. Last fiscal year, the program generated business for partner properties throughout the destination, resulting in 42 definite bookings (including 16 in 2009 and 26 in 2010) totaling nearly 20,000 in room nights. The Convention Sales team currently is pursuing 86 "open" leads generated by the program. This year's enhanced program is designed to encourage multi year (up to three) bookings, which need not be consecutive, but must all be booked at the same time, for the full benefit. The MTCVB launched the program last year to lure large conventions and meetings to partner hotels. For more details, contact Graeme Hughes at ghughes@visitTucson.org. Save the Date: MTCVB 2010 Celebration
Ring in the new year with your tourism colleagues, and experience Tucson's newest resort hotel property at the MTCVB's 2010 Celebration. On Thursday, Jan. 7, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., the MTCVB will present a partner gathering with very special entertainment at The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain. All MTCVB partners and stakeholders are invited to attend and gear up for a rewarding new year. Guests can expect an extraordinary evening of live entertainment and sumptuous food, including a dazzling array from each of the hotel's four stylish restaurants. Tickets are $30 per person. More details to follow from the MTCVB Partner Development department.
MTCVB Nabs Top Supplier Award
Congratulations to MTCVB staff, partners, and stakeholders! The MTCVB has been named a Top Industry Supplier by Conventions.net. The Top Industry Supplier award honors organizations and companies that make outstanding contributions within the Trade Show & Meetings industry. Conventions.net is the world's leading online resource for convention, tradeshow, and conference planning.
Major Feature Film is a Tucson Commerical
To see a perfect extended commercial for our "Tucson: Real. Natural. Arizona." brand, rent the DVD of the 2009 comic feature film Away We Go directed by Sam Mendes (Road to Perdition, The Kite Runner, American Beauty). Much of this movie was filmed in and around Tucson, with assistance from the Tucson Film Office, and showcases beautiful sunsets and desert foothills. Starring locations include JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort and Tucson Mountain Park. Read more about it on www.filmtucson.com. The Bureau is Blogging - Get on Board!
We're blogging on visitTucson.org! Go to the MTCVB Blog at www.visittucson.org/blog to check out accounts of surprising, only-in-Tucson experiences (great hikes, delectable restaurants, wondrous attractions, inspiring shopping) written by locals only. To share an experience on our blog, send an email to Kimberly Schmitz at kschmitz@visitTucson.org. Annual Report/Marketing Plan Now Online
The 2008-2009 Annual Report and the 2009-2010 Marketing Plan are available on www.visitTucson.org in the Media section left-hand navigation, and also in the Partner section on the Resources page. The Annual Report contains highlights of the past fiscal year's accomplishments. The Marketing Plan outlines the MTCVB goals for the coming year, and includes the annual Program of Work schedule of trade shows, client events, and media missions through June 2010. MTCVB partners developing their own marketing activities are encouraged to join the MTCVB in pursuing the goals outlined in the Marketing Plan. Discover Tucson Classics on New Web Page
A new web page titled Tucson Classics: Inns, Lodges and Ranches has been added to the Hotels, Resorts, Spas, Ranches, B&Bs page on visitTucson.org. The featured properties offer some combination of historic property, a relatively small-scale intimate and/or luxurious setting, and family owned and operated or guest ranch facilities. Currently four classic Tucson properties--Arizona Inn, Lodge at Ventana Canyon, Tanque Verde Guest Ranch, and White Stallion--share the page under the tagline, "intimate settings to make your stay memorable." Look for TourISm Tucson Every Quarter
This publication, TourISm Tucson, the e-newsletter for MTCVB partners and stakeholders, is now published quarterly. Look for it in your inbox in October, January, April, and July. Read the current issue or review the archives in the MTCVB Partner section, under Partner Newsletter on vistTucson.org.
MTCVB Visitor Inquiries
August 2009
Visitor Center visitors: 1,873
Visitor Information requests: 25,908
Website visitors: 247,529
Year to Date: July - August 2009
Visitor Center visitors: 3,882
Visitor Information requests: 48,381
Website visitors: 482,912 LINKS TO MTCVB RESOURCES
Follow the links below for information from a variety of MTCVB resources:
New Partners / Partner Anniversaries
Embrace Tourism Campaign
Become an MTCVB fan on Facebook!
Follow the MTCVB on Twitter! |
