TO: Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Steve Powers, City Manager
FROM: Kristin Retherford, Urban Development Director
SUBJECT:
title
Travel Salem 2017-2020 Strategic Plan
Ward(s): All Wards
Councilor(s): All Councilors
Neighborhood(s): All Neighborhoods
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ISSUE:
Submittal of Travel Salem 2017-2020 Strategic Plan.
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Information only.
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SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND:
In September 2006, the City entered into a contract with the Salem Convention and Visitors Association, (Travel Salem) to provide destination marketing services. Under the contract, Travel Salem submits a Strategic Plan every three years that defines Travel Salem’s strategies for promoting Salem for conventions, conferences, seminars, or general tourism for the following three years.
The City’s Contract requires the Strategic Plan to include specific performance measurements, including measures that determine the success of Travel Salem’s:
• Activities that promote Salem for conventions, conference seminars, or for general tours;
• Partnership development;
• Estimated economic impact; and
• Enhancement and leveraging of Transient Occupancy Tax Funds.
The Strategic Plan as presented complies with the City’s Contract.
FACTS AND FINDINGS:
Travel Salem prepared and submitted the attached 2017-2020 Strategic Plan (Plan). The Plan was reviewed by the Cultural and Tourism Promotion Advisory Board at its March 2017 meeting.
The 2017-20 Plan is organized in the form of Objectives and Strategic Initiatives:
• Community Relations and Engagement - defined broadly as building a community marketing strategy to influence dialogue and decision making that impacts tourism, quality of life and the region’s viability as a travel destination;
• Capacity Building - defined as developing long-term stable funding, strategic staffing levels, and the technology and tools necessary for organizational growth;
• Marketing and Communication - defined as positioning the region as a preferred travel destination for convention & leisure travelers;
• Destination Development - defined as enhancing the appeal of the destination by facilitating the development of new products, events and experiences;
• Conventions, Sports and Events - defined as contributing to the overall economic health of the region by booking conventions and events through direct sales efforts, cooperative promotional efforts and innovative marketing strategies; and
• Convention Services - defined as working with the meeting planner to coordinate meeting details and services before, during and after the event.
The 2017-20 Strategic Plan proposes the following three performance measures:
• Estimated Economic Impact - defined as the sum of the results in travel spending, employment and tax revenues;
• Transient Occupancy Tax Collected - defined as the total room tax revenues collected from Salem Lodging Facilities; and
• Leverage - defined as the value of donated products and services that are secured to increase organization capacity, including media coverage, in kind donations, and volunteer labor.
Attachments:
1. 2017-2020 Strategic Plan