Part 2
By Kate
McAlister
Summer started early for us this year; let’s
hope it stays until October. With the
beautiful weather we’ve been experiencing it’s easy to see why visitors make
this a destination. After they meet us, it’s easy to understand why they
come back year after year. The combination of scenic beauty and our friendly,
thoughtful community is exactly what travelers are seeking; an authentic, fun
experience.
Last month we talked
about the demographics of our visitors; where they come from, how they heard
about us and what are they looking for when it comes to using their precious
vacation time. So how do they spend the
most money when they get here?
When I asked Melody Circo, Chamber Visitor
Center expert, where visitors spent the most money, without hesitation she
said, “Visitors who come to Sandpoint for a few hours or a couple of weeks will
most definitely spend money on dining, shopping and entertainment.”
According
to the State of Idaho and the commissioned Longwoods report, when it comes to
spending, more than half of every visitor dollar is spent on “food, shopping and entertainment”. They could have
saved money and asked Melody because she was right on the dot with her answer. In
2008 total spending in the state from overnight visits equaled 1.8 billion
dollars, yes ‘billion’. Overall visitor expenditures
included $502 million for lodging, $412 million for food and beverage, $333
million for retail, $298 million for transportation and $218 million for
recreations/sight-seeing and entertainment.
Domestic
and international travelers to Idaho spent $3.5 billion and generated $499.7
million to federal, state and local governments, dollars helping fund jobs and
public programs such as police, firefighters, teachers, road projects and
convention centers.
• The 26,000 jobs created by travelers to
Idaho represent 4.0 percent of the state’s total non-farm employment.
• Without these jobs generated by domestic
and international travel, Idaho’s unemployment rate of 4.9 percent would have
been 8.3 percent of the labor force.
• For every $1 million spent in Idaho by
domestic and international travelers, 7 jobs are created. 1 in every 8 jobs is tourism related.
Idaho’s
tourism industry has been growing faster than the national average and since
2003, has grown by 22.9%, contributing over $3 billion to Idaho’s economy.
The
Idaho Travel Council, a division of the Idaho Department of Commerce Tourism
Division, awarded almost $3.2 million in grant dollars in August 2012 to 28
organizations to assist them in promoting their regions. The grant funds come
from the bed tax and total lodging tax receipts are dispersed as follows:
- 10% to
administration of the tax
- 45% to fund travel
promotion statewide
- 45% to the region
from which it came as travel and convention promotion grants
The Idaho Travel Council (ITC) is made up of eight individuals
appointed by the Governor for three year terms, representing the seven regions
of Idaho plus one member-at-large. This
group determines the rules and regulations around state tourism and also
determines the grant awards.
For us, the grant writing process starts in late
February with our Tourism Sandpoint Council – Visit Sandpoint, as we discuss
our marketing strategy for the coming year. All grant funds have to be spent
out of the area to encourage travelers to visit our communities. Our ads appear
in publications such as: Outdoors NW, The Swerve (in Calgary), the Inlander
(Spokane), Horizon/Alaska Air, NW Travel and others. All ads list upcoming events in the area to
lure visitors to town. We are also responsible
for our award winning visitor guide; we won best in state in 2010 and 2011. This year, 2013, we won best website in the
state for www.VisitSandpoint.com.
Our Chamber Tourism Council is made up of 15 members
representing; lodging – 5, Retail – 3, Activities – 3, Public Relations and
media – 3, and a BID representative.
This group is a closed council and businesses have to be a member of
Visit Sandpoint to be eligible to be on the council. This council is democratically run and
majority rules.
The first round of the grant is submitted on April
25th each year and presented in the first week of May at the State
recreation and tourism conference. Final
submission is the first Monday in June.
We find out what our award is the first week in August. The Chamber receives 10% of the grant for
grant administration, as you may guess there is a terrific amount of paperwork
and time spent throughout the year to comply with State regulations. Last year we requested $231,000 and were
awarded $111,137. For 2014 we are asking
for $267,700.
We all do a tremendous regarding tourism and I
cannot tell you how much I appreciate all the hard work that goes on all
summer. Visitors add to our economic
vitality substantially and help raise the tide for those who work on the
frontlines whether serving food or being at the front counters in retail. If we
can raise their standard of living, we all benefit.
That’s tourism in a nutshell for our area. If you have any questions, please feel free
to contact us here at the Chamber. We will be talking about the visitor
experience at the June 13 General Membership Luncheon. Our very own Melody Circo will be there to
tell what visitors experience when they arrive at our door.
Here’s to a great visitor season. Remember, it’s
about Succeeding Together! See you
around town!
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