The words that come to mind are “ambitious” and “accountable.”
You could well add “strong.”
The Tacoma Regional Convention & Visitor Bureau has a new logo and new strategic business plan.
Mike Gommi, the bureau’s board chairman, and Tammy Blount, selected in January as executive director, will present the plan at a meeting this morning at the Landmark Convention Center.
“We mean business,” Blount said Wednesday afternoon – after two weeks spent planning for the event and six months developing the plan.
“We stopped counting at 287 people, counting the number of people we talked to,” she said.
More than 150 people, including officials from various Pierce County cities and towns, and workers and managers involved in the tourism business, are expected at today’s gathering.
“We are entrusted with building an industry,” Blount said. “This is the time to take advantage of the opportunities.”
Among the items in the new plan:
• A new mission: “To execute initiatives that deliver tourism to Pierce County.”
• A new vision: “To be the recognized regional leader in effective destination marketing.”
And there it might have stopped, with nice words. But the plan goes on to proclaim “the New Day of the Tacoma Regional Convention & Visitor Bureau.”
The core values of this new day include regionalism, leadership and accountability – and that accountability demands the execution of “measurable sales and marketing initiatives.”
• Meeting and event leads will increase from 100 in 2009 to 150 in 2010. Booked room nights will increase from 15,000 to 25,000. Economic impact will increase from $4.7 million to $7.9 million.
• Marketing will increase to include “pavilion programs” at trade shows – developing cost- and space-sharing partnerships with cities, towns, attractions and hotels when presenting the county’s story at industry gatherings.
• Developing relationships with tour operators (and generating 3,000 room nights by 2010) who will steer visitors to Pierce County.
• The bureau will revise its Web site, giving visitors the chance to book travel packages, rooms, transportation and even restaurant tables online. The site will include a store that sells products unique to the South Sound.
• Unique Web visitors will increase from 320,000 in 2009 to 450,000 in 2010.
• The value of media exposure will rise from $500,000 to $1 million.
• The bureau will extend its reach north, establishing a presence at Sea-Tac Airport and at unstaffed kiosks at rest stops along the I-5 corridor.
No local taxpayer money will be levied for the initiatives, Blount said. Instead, she expects to add to the bureau’s $820,000 annual budget through private investment, by retaining and expanding the lodging tax, and by developing a plan to levy an assessment on occupied rooms in hotels or motels that meet certain criteria, including that they offer more than 40 rooms.
C.R. Roberts: 253-597-8535
blogs.thenewstribune.com/business
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.