Community/Local Engagement Promotion

In-house

Description:: The Rose City Ambassador program is a new volunteer program aimed at giving high school students the opportunity to earn community volunteer hours while at the same time providing Visit Tyler with a volunteer base to help at large events throughout the year. Students are required to apply and go through a training to participate in the program. Students will earn community service hours, which can be counted on their college applications or for high school requirements as well as earn badges for events and hours worked.

Objectives: Community involvement, especially within the education system, has always been important to Visit Tyler. This program gives students an opportunity to earn community service hours and helps them to better their communication skills, through the application & interview process, as well as interacting with the many visitors who come through Tyler. These are lifelong skills the students will be able to take with them.

Project Costs:: $2,000

In-house

Description:: Nac Snack Fridays

An event held on the 4th Friday of every month featuring local food trucks Downtown around the Visitor Center and live music in the evening. The event is well known amongst locals and encourages them to eat, shop and play in Downtown Nacogdoches. We've partnered with local organizations like Nac Swing Dance to bring different elements of music and culture to the event.

Objectives: To showcase Nacogdoches musicians and local food scene against the Downtown scenery. To position the Visitor Center/Downtown Square as an event venue. To have locals and visitors meet and enjoy the culture of Nacogdoches.

Project Costs:: $500 each event. Depending on sponsorships

In-house

Description:: The Victoria Convention and Visitors Bureau presents an annual promotion during the holiday shopping season to promote our local retailers, titled "Yule Love Shopping Victoria!" Participants are asked to use a physical stamp booklet and take it to any of the participating retailers. At each retailer, they can get an Explore Victoria stamp for that location; no purchase is necessary. Once they have at least 10 stamps, they can turn in the booklet to the Victoria Convention and Visitors Bureau and be entered into drawings to win prize bags filled with items and gifts cards bought by the CVB from the participating retailers.

Objectives: The purpose of the promotion is to increase foot traffic into Victoria's local retailers during the holiday shopping season and to increase the chance for repeat business at their locations from promotion participants. Only local, boutique retailers are allowed to participate. No purchase is necessary for promotion participants, making it an activity that all socio-economic groups can enjoy. The first year of the promotion was the 2020 holiday shopping season, and the number of participating retailers doubled from approximately 20 to over 40 for the 2021 promotion.

Project Costs:: $5,275.00

In-house

Description: League City's Hometown Holiday Shopping Pass showcased the local shopping scene, supported small businesses, and incorporated Historic District seasonal happenings. 20 Days of Shopping Local “Shop. Stamp. Win!” provided a new tool to increase foot traffic and bring new customers into local shops. The CVB teamed up with Economic Development and worked with local groups and organizations, hoteliers, retailers, community stakeholders and events. The Hometown Holiday Shopping Pass Campaign served as the unifying theme and was incorporated in both new, and annual events including Nutcracker in the Park, Nutcracker Scavenger Hunt, Historical Society Walkabouts, Holiday in the Park, Nutcracker Ballet Performances, and South Shore Harbour Resort’s Sugar Plum Fairy Sleepover Weekend.

The CVB used Community Impact newspapers to print and facilitate bulk distribution campaign materials to 42,360 mailboxes to target travelers the regional drive market. The campaign also included PR, outdoor advertising, digital marketing, and special event marketing.

Objectives: Capitalize on League City's Hallmark-worthy historic district, local boutiques, and seasonal events to drive visitation.

- Support small business during an important market-recovery holiday shopping season.

- Facilitate economic growth through retail tourism.

- Increase awareness of League City's shopping, historic district, cultural events, and destination offerings to regional travelers.

- Strengthen and build relationships with local shop owners and tourism stakeholders.

Project Costs: $30,000 for printing, advertising, distribution and special events.

In-house

Description: Visit Conroe worked with the Conroe Economic Department to create “Spotted in Conroe.” This was a virtual scavenger hunt using cropped photos of landmarks within the downtown Conroe area. Participants were encouraged to take selfies once they found the hidden item and post them on social media with the appropriate hashtags.

Clues were posted on Facebook and Instagram each day for 14 days. Each post reached an average of 2,000 people.

Objectives:: The objective was to collaboratively engage our social media followers and attract new followers with a participation event that drew attention to and encouraged foot traffic in downtown Conroe.

Project Costs:: $0

In-house

Description:: For National Travel and Tourism Week, the staff at Visit Laredo planned an event for every day of the week. Visit Laredo celebrated local hoteliers, brought attention to local museums and attractions and invited the public to a City familiarization tour and extended hours of the Visit Laredo Gift Shop as well.

Objectives: The goal for the week was to celebrate Laredo's hospitality heroes and make the community aware of the importance of the tourism industry to all destinations.

Project Costs:: $5,000

In-house

Description:: Created in 2005 as a free, family-friendly event, First Friday has continued to evolve into a multi-faceted production that promotes Bryan’s Cultural and Music Friendly Designations. On the First Friday of every month, the streets of Historic Downtown Bryan are transformed into a community stage that showcases live music, art demonstrations at the Art Loop, unique performances, interactive events and activities, a farmers market, local non-profit organizations, and merchant and retailer specials. First Fridays are not only a great opportunity for visitors to experience what makes Bryan a unique destination but also give our community partners a chance to engage with residents to bolster community pride and awareness. Perhaps the greatest aspect of First Fridays is the event's ability to bring people together from all walks of life.

Devices Data:

- Estimated Attendance: 5,000+ (varies by month)

- Avg. Device Split: 75% Resident / 25% Visitor

- Since October 2020 when Destination Bryan took over First Friday, visitor devices have increased 85.09% and resident devices have increased 30.86%.

Analytics:

- Total Impressions: 140,194

- FB Event(s) Reach: 121,205 (65% residents)

- 513 QR code scans of on-site signage

- Total count of non-profits (Oct. 2020-Present): 300+

- Time on Page: 4:39

Objectives: Provide a one-of-a-kind event that allows residents and visitors to get a snapshot of the abundant aspects that make Bryan such a great community to be a part of.

Project Costs:: FY22 (October 2021-May 2022)

Revenues: $22,150

Expenses: $16,650

Net Profit: $5,500

In-house

Description:: The Certified Tourism Advisor (CTA) Program Certification specializes in improving our visitors’ customer service experience. The course is a two-hour class and two-hour tour that covers general ideas of why tourism and hospitality are essential. Participants get to experience the life of a tourist for one day while learning everything South Padre Island offers, such as hotels, restaurants, and activities.

Objectives: The program serves to improve the quality of service and information our Island partners have to lead to an improvement in visitors’ customer experience. The better interactions that tourists have with South Padre Island will lead them to plan return trips or extended vacations.

Project Costs:: $15,000

In-house

Description:: RESPECT OUR ISLAND HOME

In the midst of this global pandemic when destinations across the globe are seeing significant drops in visitation levels, Port Aransas continued to see record-breaking numbers of visitors. This surge in visitation put pressure on natural resources and infrastructure, amplifying issues related to workforce, and leading to negative resident sentiment toward tourism.

This program was an opportunity for the community to come together surrounded by research and community involvement, around ways we can encourage visitors to blend in with, not disrupt, our very special way of life. It was a four-month project that enlisted the entire Port A community in researching, testing and developing a new messaging campaign aimed at inspiring vacationers to "Live the Island Life—the Port A Way" while they are here and to 'Respect Our Island Home.'

Objectives: The Port Aransas Tourism Bureau & Chamber of Commerce launched and completed a destination stewardship planning process needed to balance visitor growth with the long-term health and vibrancy of the Port Aransas community, beach, and residents' quality of life. Destination stewardship is different from destination marketing and management in that it’s a shift from promoting communities to engaging and stewarding communities, which in turn provides more livable and sustainable destinations.

Project Costs:: $85,000