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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995-09-19; City Council; 13315; CARLSBAD CONVENTION AND VISITOR'S BUREAU THRID QUARTER REPORT FOR 1994-954 0 0 L2 CITY OF CARLSBAD - AGENDA BILL AB# /33/5 DEPT. t- TITLE! CARLSBAD CONVENTION AND VISITOR’S MTG. 09/19/95 CITY M( DEPT. FINANCE ClN A1 BUREAU THIRD QUARTER REPORT FOR 1994-95 P Lk% 5 E a 4 2 0 b H 2 E! u z P 0 u I RECOMMENDED ACTION: Accept and file report. ITEM EXPLANATION: The Carlsbad Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (CCVB) has submitted their th’ quarter report for the period from April 1 through June 30, 1995. Income during the third quarter totaled approximately $65,200, of which $58,900 90% represented payments from the City. The second largest source of income the CCVB came from the hotel co-op program at $4,400 or 7% of total proceel Third quarter expenses totaled $64,600, of which $28,900 or 45% were administration. The remaining $35,700 in expenses were for programs, of wh advertising is the largest single outlay in this category totaling $29,200 or 45%. 7 second largest expense was for hosting fam trips at $4,000, followed by attendar at travel shows at $1,300. Included in the attached exhibit is a Visitor Information Summary for the third qual of 1994-95, as well as one for the previous program year. A comparison of thc two summaries indicates that the number of visitors to Carlsbad’s Visitc Information Bureau offices during the third quarter was 7,974, an increase of 1 ,E or 23% from the previous year. FISCAL IMPACT: The City’s agreement with the Chamber of Commerce established $205,000 as ’ total amount of funding for program year 1994-95, with $1 18,000 designated administrative costs, and $87,000 designated for programs. Of the progl funding, $25,000 requires matching contributions from other sources. Th amounts were appropriated within the 1994-95 General Fund budget. To date, CCVB is operating within the allowed budget. EXHIBITS: 1. Third quarter report from the Carlsbad Convention and Visitor’s Bureau for fi: year 1994-95, dated August 7, 1995. 0 0 Q? q3. August 7, 1995 Helga Stover Accountant Finance Department City of Carlsbad 1200 Carlsbad Village Dr. Carlsbad, CA 92008 Dear Helga, Attached is a synopsis of the major activities of the Carlsbad Convention and Visitors Bure from April 1 - June 30, 1995. If you need additional information, please let me know. Sincerely , Manager Encls . Carlsbad Convention & Visitors Bureau P.0. Box 1246 Carlsbad, CA 92018-1246 a (619) 434-6093 Dirision of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce 0 0 April 1 - June 30, 1995 INCOME City of CarIsbad County of San Diego Co-op program with hotels Sales of items in depot Special promotions Interest on bank account Total Income EXPENSES Administration Programs Advertising Travel Shows Video Hosting Fam Trips Brochures Promoting Special Events Total Expenses $58,856.54 1,400.00 4,386.86 498.70 53 .OO 39.23 $65,234.33 $28,903.00 29,177.68 1,313.40 107.00 1,093.42 000.00 $64,569.28 3,974.78 1 April 1 April 1-2 April 2-6 April 7-8 April 22-23 April 26-28 April 29 April 29-30 May May 6-7 May June 19 0 0 ACTIVITIES The ConVis helped promote participation in the MS Walk. The ConVis assisted in a variety of ways in the arrangements for the Carlsbad 5000. The ConVis recruited a score of volunteers for a variet! of duties in staging the race. Literature about the race was distributed a several travel trade shows in January-March. The ConVis hosted nine travel writers for four nights. They visited the flower fields, toured the Floral Trade Center and shopped in the Village Highlights of the visit were a hot air balloon ride over the flower fields, an open cockpit biplane ride over the coast and a ride on the Coaster Commuter Rail. Free rooms were provided by Carlsbad Inn, Beach Terrace Inn and Tamarack Beach Resort. Five Carlsbad hotels sent representatives to man booths in the Carlsbad section at the Phoenix Travel Show. More than 12,000 people plus several hundred travel agents attended the show. ConVis was the principal sponsor of the annual Volksmarch in Carlsbad More than 200 people from several states came to Carlsbad to participat in the 10-kilometer walk that started and ended at the Old Depot. The ConVis hosted four writers from several Japanese publications. the were provided free rooms at La Costa Resort plus golf lessons and spa treatment. Cleta Wright, ConVis director of public relations, gave then tour of the Village and a tour of Callaway Golf. The ConVis helped promote participation in WALKAMERICA, an ever to raise funds for the March of Dimes. A writer for several travel books was hosted by Beach View Lodge. Lindbergh Field in San Diego announced that they were seeking photos local scenes to enlarge to 4-foot posters to adorn the walls of the passenger terminals. A photo of the flowers fields taken by Steve Link ConVis manager was submitted and selected for display. A travel writer interested in featuring the Village Faire arts and crafts show was hosted by the Tamarack Beach Resort. The Carlsbad ConVis celebrated its 10th anniversary. A three-hour marketing workshop was held with fifteen LEG0 executiv 0 0 April-June Conducting the workshop was the director of the California Office of Tourism, the CEO of the San Diego ConVis and Steve Link, ConVis manager. After the workshop the LEG0 executives toured the Village. Articles about Carlsbad appeared in a wide variety of publications this quarter, thanks to the ConVis travel writer program. The May issue of Westways contains a six-page feature about Carlsb; plus the cover photo. The magazine is distributed to 480,000 households in Southern California. The May issue of RV Journal has an article about the flower fields a1 the Village Faire arts and crafts show. The May issue of Sunset Magazine included an article on Barnstormi Adventures open cockpit airplane rides. 0 The May issue of Family Fun magazine has an article about a family enjoying Carlsbad’s beaches. The June issue of LA Magazine lists 101 things to see and do this summer. Only six are outside of downtown Los Angeles. One is an excursion to the Village in Carlsbad. On June 25 the Copley newspapers in Los Angeles published an artic about Carlsbad and the Barnstorming Adventures airplane ride. 0 0 VISITOR INFORMATION SWWY APRIL 1, 1995 - June 30, 1995 CA. resident Out of CA Foreign Total visitors visitors visitors month April 1,608 1,164 196 2,96 May 1,248 1,196 195 2,63 June 818 1,363 186 2,36 3 month totals 3 ,.674 3,723 57 7 7,97 Above figures represent one member of family and/or group April May June TOTALS Phone inquiri’es 2,250 2,360 2,288 6,898 Mail outs 3,600 5,245 1,531 10,376 Travel agent mail outs 150 130 145 425 @ 0 VISITOR INFOEU?ATION S~~Y APRIL 1, 1994 - June 30, 1994 C.A. resident Out of CA Forgicn Total fc visitors visitors visitors month ,. .. April 1009 1028 19 2 2209 MAY 1109 . 1013 167 2289 JUNE .. 798 ~~ ~~ 9 87 ~ ~~~ ~~ 187 ~~ ~ 1972 3 month totals 2916 ~~~~~~~ ~ 3028 ~ ~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ 526 ~ 6470 ' ir Above figures represent one member of family and/or group APRIL MAY JUNE 'L'Ol"YYJL Phone inquiries 2223 2002 2032 6257 .. Mail outs 3982 ~~ ~- 2276 2055 8313 ~~~ ~ Travel agent mail outs 150. .. 130 140 420 .. .. L _".._ .. .. " ,' .. . .~~ ~ 0 a Carlsbad is well-represented at travel shc With more than 200 booths representing such exotic places as the Bahamas and Tahiti, one might wonder if Carlsbad was overlooked by the thousands of people . who attended the Phoenix Travel Show in early April. Not at all, according to Cleta Wright, ConVis director of public relations. 'We were very prominent with our doublesized booth and contingent of volunteers," said Wright. Assisting her were Bonnie Tekstra, assistant manager of Tamarack Beach Resort; Kelly Adamson, director of sales, Ramada Inn Suites; and Carol DUM, director of sales, Carlsbad Inn. Terrace Inn and Beach View Lodge. promoted the seaside village as a great escape from AP~ZOM'S broiling sun. "Besides the Carlsbad brochure, we also distributed literature about some of our events such as the upcom- In an adjacent booth were representatives of Beach Sporting Village of Carlsbad teeshirts, the volunteers ing Village Faire," said Wright. Kelly Adamson and Clefa Wright talk to a Phon "Phoenix is a good market for Carlsbad: said Wright. resident at the Phoenix Travel Show. Carol DUD, "Our presence at the travel show will be reinforced by a be seen in the background. """ -~ - . . ~ - " _"I_ . - .~ .. ...... ".~ .. Articles keep There is a wonderful six-page feature about Carlsbad in the May issue of westways. The cover is devoted to Carlsbad as well, The mapzine isdistributed to 480,000 households in Southern California who are members of the AAA Auto -.: :. Club. ..... The writer is one of about two - .... dozen who visit Carlsbad each year to compiIe material for stones about ... thecommunity.She spent five . . nights hqe in January. The ConVis moved her to a different hotel each night so she could experience the .I . .. .. ...... Carlsbad in the public's e wide range of accommodations Cleta Wright, ConVi director of public relations, scheduled inter- views for her with a dozen local merchants, elected officials and other interesting people. The writer really captured CarIsbad'sMestyle," said Bonnie Tekstra; ConVis Advisory Board Chairpemn"And while the writer .was here, the Sports Illustrated issue came out that featured Carlsbad's golf industry. That prompted the writer to expand the scope of her feature." Other publications with a about Carlsbad include the issue of RV loumal, the Ma: Magazine and American Wnj dm. add tot his the dozen or^ newspapers that published ConVis press release and cc photos of the Flower Fields included the Dallas Morning the Stars und stripes newspa Asia and the Japanese, Chir Korean language newspap Angdes. of Sunset Magmine, Fatnily 1 . .. ....... ...... __ - - .____ ... """"""""" -. .__ ... ..... ... .. ........... .. .... ...... .I.... ......... .. .. ............... .. .. .... .. .. .. .. 0 " " . LEl7ER: ConVis accounts for'40% of guests at Castaways An open letter to the &rkbad Chmnberof Commerce: I have been the resident manager of Castaways, an eight-unit vacation condo, since November of 1992 I keep records of how each guest came to Castaways. My records shoe that for all of 1994, more than 40 percent of our guests were referred by the Carb bad Convention and Visitors Bureau. This is way ahead of the second largest revenue source at 29 percent. The percentage is not as high in 1995, only because many of our guests are returning for repeat - vacations. But this means OUT occupancy continues to in-. ' ! I am very pleased, not only with : the numbers, but with the people at j ConVis. They are in touch with me ..: several times a week, checking ..... availability and refening visitors. It : has been a very pleasant association.; j.. .. -, , Sincerely, Michael McGrath .... Resident Manager ^.. ". I - ~< 0 Five writers vis Carlsbad in M: Four Japanese journalists writing for golf cations and a writer gathering material for q on the California missions stayed in Carlsbi May. The four Japanese purnalists were seeki variety of golfing experiences to write abou Cleta Wright, ConVis director of public rel: "La Costa Resort and Spa hosted them for t nights." feature entitled 'Best Golf on the West Coas the Japanese version of Golf Digest. Before T Carlsbad, they pl; TheJapanese Pebble Beach, Sp] lournaflsts were and Spanish Bay- seekfng a variety Carlsbad, *e~ vi5 of golfing Quinta before reh experiences. One to Japan: said W assignment is a Wright worked enflffed 'Best Golf K0 Uen% a consu on the West Coast' the California off for the Japanese *ourism, to aman verslon of Golf the visit of the WT Digest. During their sta took golf lessons i spa treatment at La Costa and played at AI "They also toured Callaway Golf where MI Callaway loaned them a set of clubs to use their visit," said Wright. Wright brought them into the Village for and dinner at Neimans. The writer researching the CaIifornia Mis was hosted by Beach View Lodge. He is UT contract to write a book for Penguin Press I "The King's Highway." He also writes for. USA Today and Frommefs. "One assignment they are working on is i Flower Fields poster greets airport arrivals Recently the management of Lindbergh E San Diego announced they were seeking s transparenaes of interesting local sc6les. 1 planned to enlarge them to 4-foot-high pos adorn the walls of the passenger terminals scenes of the Flower Fields at Carkbad R~I which he had photographed. One was cho: is on display in the West Terminal. Steve Link, ConVis manager, submitted t ...... .... .............................. ... ... ........... ..... .. .. 0 :. . .. .. . .. . -. President Hope Wrisley President's Forum ColzVis bvings a great return on investment Tourism is big business - and getting bigger. In many parts of the world it is the #1 industry and contributes to the economy in ways beyond measure. The dollars generated by tourists are clean dollars. We don't have to. educate tourists or provide recreation activities for them or furnish many other services that our citizens want and deserve. All tourists require is a clean, well- .. ~ ~~~ located hotel to sleep in, some good restaurants to provide sustenance and beautiful scenery or other attractions to give them pleasure and make their visit worthwhile. Except for the scenery, these things mostly are furnished by private enterprise. And even some of the scenery, e.g. The Flower Fields, are not publicly fundd. area to satisfy tourists' needs. Many years ago the decision was made to allow hotels and tourism related facilities to be built here. This was to provide a balanced economy so that we are not dependent solely on manufactur- ing and seMces or being a bedroom community for San Diego. The monies generated include transient occupancy and. sales taxes, plus dollars pumped into our economy. All of thw funds fileter down through my can have the kind of life for which they moved here. Recently, there was a letter to the editor of a local paper complaining about the Carlsbad 5ooo filling our hotels and creating waiting lines in the what a novel idea. spedal events our hotels indeed are full and our restaurants and shops are busy. This does not happen by accident. And what about other times of year? We have to fight for every tourist dollar we receive. Many cities, Carlsbad obviously is in an ideal levels, insuring that our citizens resta~rants. Making money- During the summer months and . . . - - . . both in and out of San Diego County, are out there trying to 1 people into their area and away from ours. Our Carlsbad Convc tion and Visitors Bureau has a vigorous and vaned campaign advertising our city. Some of tht writers, cost the bureau very litt cash, but are staff intensive. Ad1 ingly costly although CCVB trie participate only where they will the most bang for the buck. Carlsbad ConVis was establisl 10 years ago. It and the city haw made some mapr changes since then. Steve Link and his staff ru1 professional, creative operation ; achieve really remarkable result! How they do what they do with such limited funds always is an amazement. We realize that many demand5 placed on our city budget both il However, it seems rather short- sighted not to adequately fund a program that brings to our city o $3 million per year in Transient Occupancy Taxes alone. This me; for every $1 invested by the city, goes into the city coffers. Not a b return on investment. About 17 percent of the ConVis budget is provided by other sources, but th atfs contract is vitally importani The City Council has been very supportive of the program in the past. We hope to see increased support in the future. continued success. activities, like entertaining trave tising and travel shows are inm terms of revenue and expenses. Happy Birthday ConVis! Here's - """""" "" Carlsbad hosts walk for March of Dimes Carlsbad is one of almost 1,500 communities nationwide that will host a walk this month to raise funds for the March of Dimes. Entitled WALKAMERlU, the event will begin and end at Holiday Park on Saturday . morning, April 29. An anticipated 2,000 walkers will have a choice of a 7- or 12-mile route. Both routes include the Village and the beach. Those choosing the longer route will be able to view The Flower Fields. Organizers promise festive events at Holiday Park throughout the morning. WALKAMERICA is the oldest and largest walking event in the US. This Application forms can be picked up at the Visitor Center in the old Depot. . .. ., ... . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . .. year, more than 875,OOO people are expected to participate nationwide. :. . .. ... .. . .. \ . ... .. . . .. .. a 0 CONVIS ConVis marks a decade of serv to the hospitality industry Two significant events occurred in the business world 10 years ago this month. The Coca Cola Company introduced New Coke and the Carlsbad Convention and Visitors Bureau (ConVis) opened for busi- ness. New Coke was jud@ a flop and within a few months disappeared from grocery store shelves, Skeptics ConVis. For example, in an inter- view published in the Los AngeIes Times, the Deputy Director of the San Diego ConVis said, "It takes years and years to establish an identity and it also takes really big bucks. Carlsbad is not going to get very far." Fortunately, quite a few Carlsbad civic leaders believed in Carlsbad's potential to attract tourists. The establishment of the ConVis was preceded by many months of meetings between city and Chamber of Commerce officials. Representing the Chamber were Mike Straub, Tony Howard-Jones, Stephen "Hap" L'Heureux, Paul "It was an opportune time to predicted a similar fate for the Graham, Steve Densham and others. establish the ConVis," said Straub. . 'There were a number of new hotels - in Carlsbad and several more were under construction." Straub pointed out that for sewird years, Tony Howard-Jones had been successfully marketing his hotels do Canadians and people from colder . states to spend the winter here. Tony often said that Carlsbad didn't have to ride on the coattails of San Diego but should be a destination in our own right," said Straub. Maq'Casler, Frank Aleshire and other city officials represented the mayor and Aleshire was city city at those meetings. Casler was "It was an opportune time to establish the ConVis. There were a number of new hotels and several more were under constructiun. n - MIKE STRAUB manager at that time. 'What &Is- bad needed was a professionally managed tourism marketing program by an organization that . was accountable for its programs," said Aleshire. Aleshire had previously been the city manager of Palm Springs and had helped organize the convention and visitors bureau in that city. 'The experience of establishing the bureau in Palm Springs gave me insight into how the ConVis in Carlsbad should be organized," he said. What we designed was a stand- alone organization under the umbrella of the Chamber," said L'Heureux. The ConVis opened in Chamber of Commerce with its own advisory board. Straub was the first board chairman. In May, the city council allocated start-up funding of $lOO,OOO and -. allocated an additional $200,000 in " ' June for FY 85-86. A similar amount has been allocated each year since . then. "Initially, the Board spent a lotof time selecting a theme and design for promotional ads and literature," said Straub. "And we hired Hanna Frost as the first ConVis director." Frost was followed by Craig Seversen in 1987 and by Steve Link in 1989. duced, when an 800 phone line was May 1985 as a division of the .. "As tourism literature was pro- installed and as groups 01 agents began arriving for iza tion tours, the public k realize that the ConVis hr role," said L'Heureux. "A and impact of the ConVis each year." The ConVis has dual ro ing visitors to Carlsbad a them enjoy their stay whi Marketing programs int advertising in selected pu participating in 8-10 trave shows annually, managin program to bring travel w Carlsbad and helping pro mapr events that are slat€ Carlsbad. The Visitor Info Center in the Old Depot f seven days a week. "promoting tourism ma sense for Carlsbad," said 1 is a clean industry that do provides opportunities fo new small businesses." It was a better idea than coke. requiremanycityseMce2 Three chances to 1 Carlsbad 5000 on 1 So you were one of the fi in Carlsbad who didn't wi compete in one of the seric Carkbad 5OOO races April still have an opportunity t the event on ESPN. ESPN edits the races ink minute program and airs i times during the year. Three airing times have1 announced. Sunday, May 7,10330 1 Thursday, May 11, No Saturday, May 20,3.30 (The last airing is for yo1 owls!) 8 May, 19% Carlsbad Business Journal 0 April 28, 1995 Mr. Steve Link Carlsbad Convention and Visitors Bureau P.O. Box 1246 Carlsbad, CA 920 18 Dear Steve: On behalf of everyone associated with The Flower Fields 1995 season operation, I would like to thank you, and your staff, for helping to promote the activities at the ranunculus flower fields this year. Preliminary figures for attendance appear to have surpassed 200,000 visitors? Financially, our early numbers are very positive. We feel that your cooperation and support helped make this the most successful year, to date, for the Carlsbad Ranch ranunculus fields? As you know, the fields officially closed on Tuesday, April 25th. However, due to the demand for fresh flowers and strawberries, we have decided to keep the front flower stands open. Again, thank YOU we truly appreciate your continued interest in this project? Sincerely, h+J+-P Christoph . Calkins Vice-president 5600 AVENIDA ENCINAS SUITE 106 CARLSBAD, CA 92008 TELEPHOKE 619 930-9123 FAX 619 431-902( e * 1 e June 3 0, 1995 Steve Link Carisbad Convention & Visitors Bureau Box 1246 Carlsbad, CA 9201 8 Dear Steve: Thank you very much for being an important part of our Design Seminar last week. The input you provided wdl certainly become a part of all that our representatives have learned about Carlsbad. The information you provided was extremely valuable. This is a new area for us to work in, and we have so much to learn. All of the LEG0 representatives felt this was a successfbl week, and good beginning to the design of LEGOLAND Carlsbad. Thank you again for being a part of this important week. .. , .. , . . ,, .. . . . .! .. .;. - ... ~ ._ .. . ... . I. .: . . ., .. .. .. LEG0 Park Planning, Inc. 7040 Avenida Encinas Suite 11 0 Carlsbad, CA 92009 USA Telephone (61 9) 438-5346 Telefax (619) 438-5494 ,