Research

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Research

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State overview.. Where are we?

Direct Domestic Expenditures up 5.6 to 18.6
from 17.7 in 2006 Direct International Expendit
ures up 12.2 to 1.5 from 1.3
Total Direct Expenditures up 5.8 to 20.2 from
19.13 Total Economic Impact -direct, indirect an
d induced reached 34.1 billion in 2007
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Other Important Figures

4.1
6.5
3.5
2.2
Jobs 241,800 Payroll 6.9 billion State tax8
44 million Local tax 567 million Total tax ben
efit with International 1.5 billion
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So whats

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Tourism Satellite Account
The standard has been adopted by over fifty
countries around the world. The TSA deals with th
e challenge of measuring tourism in two important
ways 1. Defines the tourism economy 2. Provides
methodology for calculating tourism GDP in a way
that is consistent with economic accounts
The TSA allows for true comparisons of tourism to
other industries. The measures are consistent
with the way other industries are measured,
includes construction costs and capital
investment The TSA provides greater detail.  Full
detail of economic contribution by industry
shows the composition of tourism.  Detail on
supporting industries shows how non-tourism
industries benefit from tourism activity
The TSA is more comprehensive. By including all
spending both by and on behalf of travelers, the
TSA provides a complete picture of the demand and
thus the supply related to tourism in the state
The TSA is more credible. By utilizing the
international standard for measuring tourisms
economic contribution, the TSA approach garners
credibility. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
utilizes this standard, thus providing a national
benchmark

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• ROI
• (Return on Investment)

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Statewide TSA Findings?
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GOOD NEWS!!!

• Direct demand of 28.5 billion generated 45.6
  billion in business sales indirect and induced
  impact
  
• Sustained 400,000 jobs 9.8 of all employment
• 2.4 billion in State and local taxes and 3.2
  billion in Federal taxes

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(No Transcript)
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The direct contribution of the core tourism
industry was 241,760 jobs in 2007. This narrow
measurement of tourism includes only those jobs
directly supported by visitor activity and allows
for inter-industry ranking. On this basis, touris
m is the 5th largest employer in the state of
Georgia.
Business
Day
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• Where are we for 2008 ?

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Highlights

• Hotel demand is down 5.2 from 2007
• Hotel revenue is down 2.7 from 2007
• Despite this trend hotel construction is up 34
• International visitation is up 10
• Georgia was ranked 9th in 2007 for in bound
  International travel and currently ranked 8th
  
• Online travel guide requests are up 24

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• Group Tour Projects

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Visitor Information Centers

• Peach Greet Program an initiative of the group
  sales and VICs is in the process of being
  launched
  
• YTD FY09 - 245 motorcoaches have visited a VIC
• Ringgold has tracked the most groups with close
  to 100 groups
  
• Total of 12,382 passengers YTD
• October had the largest number with 89 groups
• 3,728 passengers in the month of October

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Tracking

• Subscribing to motorcoach catalogs to see what
  companies are carrying Georgia product
  
• Survey being sent to various motorcoach operators
  to help get a better understanding of the market
  and ways in which partners can work with
  operators.

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Survey

• 1. Do your tours feature Georgia as a destination
  or part of tour packages? ________
  
• 2. Do your brochures feature Georgia?
  ______________________________________
  
• 3. What cities in Georgia are included in your
  itineraries as destinations or pass
  
• through? _________________________________________
  ___________________
  
• __________________________________________________
  __________________
  
• 4. How many tours do you book to Georgia per
  year? __________________________
  
• __________________________________________________
  __________________
  
• 5. Do any of your itineraries overnight in
  Georgia? ____________________________
  
• __________________________________________________
  __________________
  
• 6. What percentage of your tours are daytrip/
  overnight? ______________________
  
• __________________________________________________
  __________________
  
• 7. How many itineraries feature Georgia?
  ____________________________________
  
• 8. What travel regions in Georgia are featured?
• a) Atlanta Metro
• b) Northeast Georgia Mountains
• c) Georgia Coast
• d) Classic South
• e) Historic Heartland

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Survey

• 9. Do your tours visit Georgia seasonally? If so,
  what percentage come to Georgia
  
• Summer ___________________________
• Fall _______________________________
• Winter ____________________________
• Spring ____________________________
• 10. Do your tour packages cater to any special
  interests?
  
• a) Cultural
• b) Festivals and Events
• c) Fall Foliage
• d) Family
• e) Garden
• f) Heritage/ History/ Museums
• g) Music
• h) National Parks
• i) Soft Adventure
• j) Theaters
• k) Volunteerism
• l) Holidays
• m) Mystery

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Survey

• 11. What special interest travel groups do you
  cater to?
  
• a) Student
• b) Church Groups
• c) Heritage
• d) Specific Interest
• e) Other ______________________________
• 12. Have any of the following economic factors
  had an affect on business?
  
• a) Cost of gasoline
• b) Strength of U.S. dollar
• c) Overall economy challenges
• d) Other _______________________________
• 13. Have you experienced an increase in demand
  for any particular visitor origins?
  
• __________________________________________________
  __________________
  
• __________________________________________________
  __________________
  
• 14. What is your largest market segment?
  ____________________________________
  
• __________________________________________________
  __________________
  
• 15. Did any of your key markets perform better or
  worse than usual? ______________
  
• __________________________________________________
  __________________
  

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Survey

• 17. Which expenditures are included in the total
  cost of travel packages (if yes,
  
• please indicate dollar amount estimates)
• a) Food and Beverages __________________________
• b) Lodging ____________________________________
• c) Admissions or Attractions _____________________
  
  
• d) Incidentals __________________________________
  
• 18. About how much do you charge per person?
  (daytrip/overnight) ______________
  
• 19. Are the facilities and parking for motor
  coaches in Georgia adequate or
  
• inadequate? If inadequate, please give details.
• __________________________________________________
  __________________
  
• __________________________________________________
  __________________
  
• 20. Can you identify any areas that should be
  addressed? _______________________
  
• __________________________________________________
  __________________
  
• __________________________________________________
  __________________
  
• 21. Can you identify any new trends or interest
  in travel that Georgia should be
  
• looking to develop as a destination or feature?
  _____________________________
  
• __________________________________________________
  __________________
  
• 22. What helps drive Georgia as a destination?

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2008 T-OO-L REPORTS

• New subscription to Tour Operator Online Reports
• City Data Page Shows each tour operator's FIT
  and/or Group hotels as published in its brochure
  or website what country the tour operator is
  located the secondary sort is the name of the
  Tour Operator the hotelswhat's the major market
  from which this operator derives most of its
  business - Adventure, Dive, Golf, Leisure,
  Motorcoach, Religious Motorcoach, Ski, Sport, or
  Wildlife.
• Group Itinerary Page Here you will find very
  detailed information regarding the itinerary of
  each included group operator Start State and
  City for the group, End State and City,
  Operator's Name, Group Name, of scheduled
  departures, date(s) of the departures, of
  overnights for each group, the days of the week
  on which each group overnights in the indicated
  city, the name of the city, the number of nights
  the group stays in this city, the sequential
  number of nights of the entire itinerary in which
  the group stays in this city, the name of the
  hotel in which the group stays, the previous
  overnight city and the following overnight city -
  this is provided so that even if the group is not
  staying in your city you can still determine the
  general "straight line" of travel from last night
  to tomorrow night - this will let you see if your
  city is a potential "tonight" overnight city for
  this group.

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TOOL results

• City Data-Total of 425 respondents example
  numbers varied from 1 ( Waycross) to 118
  (Savannah)
  
• Detailed Itineraries featuring Georgia Product
  -307
  
• Surrounding state comparison

621
314
54
307
158
54
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• National Trends

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NTA

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NTA
Special Interest is on the rise
Culinary up 31 Holiday Travel up 35 Histori
c and Heritage up 23 Garden Tours up 20 Specta
tor Sports up 34 Agricultural tours up 72
Demographics 92 serve senior market (60 )
82 serve leading-edge boomers (51-59) 72
serve trailing edge boomers (39-50)
49 serve student market 43 serve Gen X market (
21-38) 55 said in-bound international increased-
emerging countries GreeceIndia and China

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ABA
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ABA

• 2008 has the motorcoach industry at a historic
  growth pace- taking advantage of the
  opportunities .. glass is ½ full approach rather
  than ½ empty
• Outlook for 2009 is good growth is expected to
  continue- continue to use the economy, greening
  trend to their advantage( save a penguin
  campaign)
• Newer younger demographic find traveling green on
  a bus as the cool thing to do- I-pod hook up,
  flat screen tvs, personal climate control,
  reclining seats, other amenities with the added
  perk of shrinking their carbon footprint
• Take an educational marketing approach
• Involved with lobbying approach and working
  closely with the transition team
  
• New research project by DePaul University shows
  that Intercity bus ridership surged to record
  levels between the fourth quarters of 2007 and
  2008, as scheduled intercity bus departures rose
  9.8 percent in that time period. Routes such as
  Boston to NY were highlighted.
• Finalizing the Impact of the Motorcoach Industry
  expect a double digit increase estimated
  scheduled trips up 13-16
  

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Trends, tips, ect.

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Trends, tips, ect.

• Understand your market
• Charlie Presley, President of the Group Leaders
  of America at a recent meeting
  
• Groups are the growth segment in the travel
  industry and will continue to travel. They are
  least affected by economic down turn
  
• 65 senior traveling today has 18 years of life
  expectancy and will travel until the age of 83.
  ..
  
• This is a new senior on group tours and they
  will be the bread and butter of the travel
  industry for the next 20 years
  
• The fact is most seniors own their own home with
  no mortgage and have been mostly unaffected by
  the banking crisis as well as drops in the stock
  market
• He also mentioned the mass growth of the 55 plus
  market as boomers become seniors
  
• all indicators are that the senior market will
  continue to grow and become the largest age
  sector of
  
• America in the next 10 years.

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Trends, tips, ect.

• Understand your market needs
• Kristi Shirer of Lone Star Travelers
• We dont do tourist trap tours. We love the
  little, family businesses
  
• They have journeyed to all but 5 states and have
  taken many day trips for those unable to enjoy
  
• long -distance tours.
• I hope those little mom and pop places make
  sure they have websites. Its the only way we
  can find out about them
  
• Marketing to cover niche markets varied
  itineraries- ink never dries online- group tour
  guide
  

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Get involved
ABA and OMCA will launch 2010, a group travel
booking website ABA Top 2009 100 Events in No
rth America putting more funding behind this No
mination process begins in late March- details on
the website Macon Cherry Blossom Festival Fa
ntasy in Lights- Pine Mountain (Callaway
Gardens) COOPs- apply for .. Participate in
Sponsorship and other partnership opportunities