Travel To USA To Grow In 2013

November 1, 2012

The U.S. Travel Association today projected increases in leisure, business and international inbound travel next year will enable the industry to add 98,800 American jobs by the end of 2013. Leisure travel is expected to rise 1.2 percent, business travel is projected to increase nearly one percent and international inbound travel will increase four percent. These job gains will increase direct travel industry employment to more than 7.6 million jobs next year.

“The focus of this election season has been how to put Americans back to work, and our industry is uniquely capable of adapting to economic upswings and creating jobs,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. “Given our industry’s immense potential not only nationally, but also for local and state economies, we call on the Administration and Members of Congress to build a plan for economic recovery that drives significant increases in travel.”

Domestic Travel Overview

Domestic leisure travel is expected to increase 1.2 percent in 2013, a new record high, but the growth will be at a slower pace than during the past few years. While business travel volume will slow significantly next year to less than one percent, the number of business trips has grown steadily since the downturn in 2009 and is expected to see more positive growth in 2014. Total domestic travel spending, including leisure and business travel, will increase three percent.

“While the growth rate is more moderate than in previous years, leisure travel remains at an all-time high and is an indicator of rising consumer confidence,” said David Huether, senior vice president of research and economics for the U.S. Travel Association. “Businesses continue to have a heightened focus on the value and bottom-line benefits of travel. We feel the slight increase in business travel next year continues to reflect demand for face-to-face meetings that drive growth and productivity.”

International Inbound Travel

Total international inbound travel will increase four percent in 2013 while spending will grow 7.1 percent. The importance of global travel to the American economy continues to increase with international travelers now accounting for 15.1 percent of total travel spending in the U.S., up from 14.3 percent in 2011.

Overseas travel to the U.S. (excluding Canada and Mexico) will grow 4.3 percent, a slight decrease from last year’s growth of 4.8 percent. While the numbers continue to trend upward, any slowdown in travel growth is of concern because overseas travelers contribute significantly more to the U.S. economy, spending an average of $4,300 per trip.

The U.S. Travel Association’s industry forecast can be viewed here.

Wine Doggies Website Wins Award

Sara Toliver of the Ogden/Weber CVB and a WACVB Board Member presents award to John Cooper of the Yakima Valley Visitors & Convention Bureau

Winedoggies.com,  a program developed by the Yakima Valley Visitors & Convention Bureau to assist visitors traveling with their dogs, won an award last week at an industry convention and trade show.

Sponsored by the Western Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus (WACVB), the annual Best Idea Program showcases innovative projects and creative marketing strategies submitted by WACVB members. This year’s Best Idea Program awards were presented during the 2012 WACVB Annual Conference September 20th in Eugene, Oregon.

According to the Yakima Valley Visitors & Convention Bureau, Winedoggies.com is designed to assist travelers and their dogs with their visit to the Yakima Valley, providing a resource for pet-friendly businesses and must-see stops in the region. The website includes a ‘Doggie Bloggie’ hosted by a local canine, an interactive map of 54 dog-friendly businesses with open-pet policies, plus a section where dog-friendly businesses and guests can add pictures and stories of their dogs enjoying Washington wine country. The site launched in February 2012.

Awards also went to the Laguna Beach (CA) Visitors & Conference Bureau;  Monterey County (CA) Convention & Visitors Bureau and Park City (UT) Chamber of Commerce/Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The Western Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus is a regional professional association serving more than 135 destination marketing organizations in the western United States and the western provinces of Canada.

Wine Country Taste and Tote Program Gets Media

On August 17th, Taste and Tote was launched, where visitors to Washington’s wine country can fly out on Alaska Airlines/Horizon with one properly packaged case of wine checked for free, plus have tasting fees waived at 130 wineries with a current boarding pass. Enterprise Rent-A-Car will also waive car drop-off fees for cars rented and returned within Washington wine country (Pasco/Tri Cities, Yakima or Walla Walla).

Since then there has been a lot of publicity on the program:

The Yakima Herald Republic ran a story on the program that was condensed and picked up by AP Wire Services. The AP version has been picked up by numerous outlets including the San Francisco Chronicle the Seattle PI  and Seattle Times online, The Olympian plus numerous TV and radio station websites across the USA.

The Yakima Herald Republic followed up with an editorial regarding the program on August 22nd.

USA Today reporter Ben Mutzabaugh blogged the Yakima Herald/AP story in his column Today in the Sky.

The Tri-City Herald ran a piece that was also picked up by the Tacoma News Tribune online.

Local TV and radio stations covered the news including KNDO TV,  KIMA TV,  KAPP TV and KIT Radio in Yakima.

And there have been a lot of posts on Facebook and Twitter.

We’ll update this column as more stories come along. In the meantime, tell your friends and family to come fly Alaska/Horizon Air to Yakima and enjoy the great wines of the Yakima Valley!

For details on the program visit www.tasteandtote.com

Washington Wine Country Promotion Announced

Yakima, WA- (August 17, 2012) – The Yakima Valley Visitors & Convention Bureau,  Tourism Walla Walla  and Tri-Cities Visitor & Convention Bureau announce the launch of a new collaborative effort with Alaska Airlines and Enterprise Rent-A-Car to promote Washington Wine Country. Launching September 2012, Washington Wine Country Taste and Tote will make it easier and more affordable to taste and travel the Yakima Valley, Tri-Cities and Walla Walla Valley wine regions.

As part of this new partnership, Alaska Airlines will expand its existing wine check-in program “Taste and Tote” to the Yakima and Pasco/Tri-Cities airports.  Originating in the Walla Walla Valley in late 2011, this program allows outbound passengers to check their first case of wine free on their return flight. In addition, Enterprise Rent-A-Car will waive car drop-off fees for visitors flying on Alaska Airlines into Yakima, Pasco or Walla Walla regional airports who wish to fly out of one of the other two airports.

“The ‘Taste and Tote’ program has been a big success in Walla Walla and we feel our expansion to the Pasco and Yakima airports shows our dedication to being Washington Wine Country’s airline of choice,” said Clint Ostler, Alaska Airlines’ manager of retail advertising and sponsorships. “Washington State’s tourism and wine industries are so closely connected and we are committed to making it easier for travelers to visit our award-winning vineyards.”

Other features of the new program will allow travelers to sample wines at participating wineries and pay no tasting fees when they show a current Alaska Airlines boarding pass from one of the three airports.

“This is a great partnership for everyone involved, especially our visitors,” said John Cooper of the Yakima Valley Visitors & Convention Bureau. “This program gives travelers the opportunity to spend an extended vacation in Washington Wine Country and not pay extra during their stay, either in car rental, airline baggage or wine tasting fees.” The Yakima Valley Visitors & Convention Bureau initiative the cooperative effort to expand the program beyond Walla Walla.

The majority of visitors to Yakima Valley, Tri-Cities region and Walla Walla Valley wineries come from the Seattle and Portland metropolitan areas. Organizers hope that with these added incentives, visitors from these destinations and others served by Alaska Airlines will utilize air service for their trip to Washington Wine Country. Additional details on the Taste and Tote promotion are available at www.tasteandtote.com.

About Washington Wine Country

Founded in 2003, Washington Wine Country is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting wine-related tourism by fostering collaborative regional partnerships throughout the wine growing region of Eastern Washington, where 98 percent of Washington State’s wine grapes are grown. For more information, visit www.winecountrywashington.org.

About Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK), together serve more than 90 cities through an expansive network in Alaska, the Lower 48, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico. Alaska Airlines flies nonstop from Seattle to Walla Walla Regional Airport twice daily ; to Yakima Air Terminal three times daily ; and to the Pasco/Tri-Cities Airport five times daily. Starting Aug. 27, the carrier will begin new daily service between Pasco/Tri-Cities and Portland, Ore..  Connections can be made beyond Alaska’s Seattle and Portland hubs to destinations in Alaska, the lower 48, Mexico and Canada. To purchase tickets, visit www.alaskaair.com or by calling 1-800-ALASKAAIR.

About Enterprise Rent-A-Car

Enterprise Rent-A-Car Enterprise Holdings, through its regional subsidiaries, operates more than one million cars and trucks, the largest fleet of passenger vehicles in the world today. Enterprise Holdings is North America’s largest and most comprehensive service provider in the car rental industry, operating the Alamo Rent A Car, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and National Car Rental brands.

Yakima Valley Marketed at USTA Pow Wow

U.S. Travel Association’s International Pow Wow is the travel industry’s premier international marketplace and the largest generator of travel to the U.S.  In total there were nearly 5,000 attendees representing more than 70 countries including U.S. exhibitors, international and domestic travel buyers plus journalists.

In just three days of intensive pre-scheduled business appointments, more than 1,000 U.S. travel organizations from every region of the U.S., and close to 1,200 international and domestic buyers from more than 70 countries, conducted business negotiations that resulted a projected $3.5 billion in future USA travel.

The Yakima Valley Visitors & Convention Bureau was represented in and coordinated the Washington Tourism Alliance booth and appointments. Also attending were representatives from the Olympia/Thurston County VCB, the Tacoma Regional CVB and Squaxin Island Tribe Tourism Department and Northwest Tribal Tourism.

In total the group had 37 scheduled twenty minute appointments plus a dozen walk up appointments and requests with tour operators and international media.

Washington Tourism Summit a Succees

Yesterday, more than 450 tourism industry professionals, civic leaders and the media gathered at the Sea Tac Hilton for a one day summit to review the past year efforts of the newly formed Washington Tourism Alliance (WTA), hear updates on current marketing efforts plus long range funding concepts for marketing Washington as a destination. Updates on national legislative items and the newly created marketing initiative Brand U.S.A. were also presented.

WTA Executive Director Suzanne Fletcher shared an overview of the formation of the organization after the elimination of the Washington State Tourism office in 2011. WTA is a 501[c]6 organization with a mission to advocate, promote, develop and sustain the economic well being of the Washington tourism industry. It was  established by industry stakeholders with the sole mission of sustaining Washington State destination tourism marketing. WTA procures and administers funds for state destination tourism marketing activities and creates and implements a strategic statewide destination marketing plan.

Since forming last spring, WTA has taken over the assets of the closed tourism office, including the website experiencewa.com, created a partnership with the Washington Lodging Association to produce and distribute the Washington State Visitors Guide,   developed a modest cooperative marketing campaign, represents the state and membership at various industry trade shows plus built a state wide network of industry advocates. In addition, it has been building its organizational structure, solicited membership and corporate support plus educating the public of the importance of tourism for economic development and jobs.

U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow gave an update on the various challenges facing the U.S.A. in attracting foreign visitors, including long wait times for VISA approvals to visit the country and the hassles of airport security. He also discussed the importance of everyone in the travel and tourism industry taking an active role in talking to elected officials on the importance of tourism and getting their support on behalf of the industry. To that effect, U.S.T.A. and the Power of Travel Coalition have created a public advocacy campaign called Vote Travel.

The day wrapped up with a presentation by California Travel & Tourism Commission President and CEO Caroline Beteta. Ms.  Beteta serves on the Board of Directors of Brand USA (formerly the Corporation for Travel Promotion). The public-private marketing entity was created in 2010 to work with the travel industry to maximize the social and economic benefit of travel in communities around the country.  At the summit she unveiled the new Brand USA branding efforts and marketing campaigns to attract visitors to the U.S.A.

Washington State Tourism Summit This April

SEATTLE – The Washington Tourism Alliance (WTA) will host its second, statewide Tourism Summit in Seattle on April 5 to present its accomplishments and to engage the tourism industry in its future direction. Industry stakeholders are encouraged to register for the summit.

One year after Governor Gregoire’s announcement that the state tourism office would close, the WTA will convene tourism professionals from all corners of the state. Attendees will represent destination marketing organizations, hotels, visitor attractions, tour and transportation companies, restaurants, retail establishments, meeting venues and other private and public sector organizations.

The summit will feature a presentation by the WTA of its first-year destination marketing activities and a first-phase plan for long-term sustainable funding. A keynote address will be given by Roger Dow, President and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, and representatives of Brand USA, the recently inaugurated U.S. corporation dedicated to travel promotion.  In January, President Obama announced an executive order that will establish a first-ever national strategy for travel and tourism.

“Tourism promotion is at a critical juncture in Washington, D.C. and here in Washington State,” said Suzanne Fletcher, WTA Executive Director. “We’re encouraged by long-overdue progress at the national level, but here at home we have an incredible amount of work to do. Washington is the only state in the U.S. without a state-supported tourism program, so WTA’s success is inextricably bound by the combined commitment of our private sector industry, ports, cities and corporate sponsors.”

Washington’s primary competing states all boast dramatically larger tourism marketing budgets, ranging between $10 and $60 million. WTA began work with a budget of some $300,000 last July when the state tourism office closed, and has since been working to raise funds through membership and corporate sponsorships.

Washington State tourism leaders understand how quickly Washington State could be out-paced. “We know from national examples that tourism market share declines very quickly with the loss of tourism marketing programs,” said Fletcher. “Colorado closed its tourism office in the 1990s and suffered immediate declines in tourism market share that did not rebound for nearly a decade.”

Much is at stake. Tourism is the state’s fourth-largest industry according to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) produced, following software, aerospace and agriculture and food. Figures released last month by WTA indicate that visitors to Washington State spent $16.4 billion and generated nearly $1 billion in local and state tax revenues in 2011. Travel and tourism supported more than 150,000, jobs and generated earnings (payroll) of $4.5 million.

The tourism summit will be held at the Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center Emerald Room) in SeaTac on April 5. Registration opens at 7 a.m. and the program runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Registration fees include a continental breakfast and lunch and are $75 for WTA members and $100 non-members prior to March 29. Beginning March 30, registration fees are $95 for WTA members and $120 for non-members. Register online at: https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?llr=xfyssnfab&oeidk=a07e5js2grw9d5c73a4

The Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center offers a special WTA rate of $119 available for the nights of April 3-6. And, early arrivals are invited to attend the Summit Opening Reception from 6-8 p.m. on April 4 at the Museum of Flight. The cost to attend is $15 per person. Complimentary transportation between the reception and the Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center will be provided.

About the Washington Tourism Alliance

The Washington Tourism Alliance (WTA) is a 501[c]6 organization established by industry stakeholders with the sole mission of sustaining Washington State destination tourism marketing. The WTA procures and administers funds for state destination tourism marketing activities and creates and implements a strategic statewide destination marketing plan. www.watourismalliance.com

Meetings Mean Business!

Washington, D.C. (February 17, 2011) – The Convention Industry Council today released a new study: The Economic Significance of Meetings to the U.S. Economy, revealing that the U.S. meetings industry directly supports 1.7 million jobs, a $106 billion contribution to GDP, $263 billion in spending, $60 billion in labor revenue, $14.3 billion in federal tax revenue and $11.3 billion in state and local tax revenue.

The study, conducted by PwC US, assisted by a team of industry researchers, spanned more than a year in research and analysis and is the first‐ever study of the size and scope of its kind. The research quantifies the economic contributions made by the 1.8 million meetings, trade shows, conventions, congresses, incentive events and other meetings that take place across the country. Details on the study and the 14 leading membership organizations which formed the research alliance can be found at http://www.MeetingsMeanBusiness.com.

“As the nation grapples with effective ways to work its way out of a recession, the meetings industry plays a critical role in supporting jobs in communities across America, creating environments that foster innovation, consensus and business success,” said Karen Kotowski, Executive Director of the Convention Industry Council, the trade organization which unites the meetings sector and educates the public on its profound economic impact. “Two years ago, the value of meetings, one of America’s top economic and social engines, was misunderstood by governments and the public. This new research quantifies the economic significance of our sector for legislators, regulators and economists alike.”

Jobs, Spending, Tax Revenue and GDP

The 1.7 million jobs generated by the meetings industry is larger than many U.S. industries, including broadcasting and communications (1.3 million), truck and rail transportation industries (1.5 million) and computer and electronic product manufacturing (1.1 million). The industry’s 1.7 million jobs generate $60 billion in labor income and support another 4.6 million .S. workers, including industry suppliers and those who rely on meeting output for sales and
revenue. Spending on goods and services resulting from meetings and events in the U.S. totals $263 billion. The majority of direct spending, $151 billion, is related to meeting planning and production, venue rental and other non‐travel and tourism related commodities; $113 billion s spent each year on lodging, food service, transportation and other travel and tourism commodities. The meetings and events sector supports both jobs and spending in allied U.S. industries, including professional meeting organizers and venues, food and beverage, accommodation, transportation, recreation/entertainment, retail, travel services and more.

The $263 billion in spending generated $14.3 billion in federal tax revenue and $11.3 billion in state and local tax revenue. And meetings’ $106 billion contribution to the U.S. GDP is greater than, for example, auto manufacturing ($78 billion), performing arts/spectator sports/museums ($71 billion) and information and data processing services ($76 billion).
“The results of our comprehensive research demonstrate the significance of the meetings industry as a major contributor to the U.S. economy,” said Robert Canton, director, convention & tourism practice, PwC US. “New and proven research standards, as well as definitions provided by the United Nations World Tourism Organization allowed for the measurement of U.S. economic activity resulting from face‐to‐face meetings.”

Meeting Classifications and Attendance

A total of 205 million people, representing domestic and international delegates, exhibitors and organizers attend the 1.8 million meetings.

Of the 1.8 million meetings, 1.3 million are classified as corporate or business meetings, 270,000 are conventions, conferences or congresses, 11,000 are trade shows and 66,000 are incentive meetings. The vast majority of meetings (85 percent) were conducted at venues with lodging. Meetings generate 250 million overnight stays by 117 million Americans and 5 million international attendees.