TOURISM TODAY

July/August 2000

Mall of America WTIC open for business
The new Wisconsin Travel Information Center in the Mall of America opened its doors in early June.

"We're excited to showcase Wisconsin in the Mall of America," Moose Speros, Wisconsin Department of Tourism Secretary said. "Our presence in the mall is sure to increase the number of Minnesota, Midwest and international travelers to Wisconsin and boost our visibility as a top tourist destination."

According to the Mall of America, more than 42 million people visited the Mall last year, making it the busiest attraction in the United States. Mall representatives estimate that 40 percent of visitors reside outside a 150-mile radius of the site. Four percent of those visitors are international.

Minneapolis/St. Paul residents account for approximately 10 percent of Wisconsin's visitors, designating the area as the state's third largest tourism market.

The new WTIC provides excellent visibility for Wisconsin on the first floor of the mall's west quadrant. The center features Wisconsin travel information, highway maps, publications, and destination, event and attraction brochures. Travel consultants are on hand to answer questions, help visitors purchase DNR hunting and fishing licenses, and visit the Department's Web site on two kiosks.

The center's main design elements feature Wisconsin's four geographic quadrants and the "Stay Just a Little Bit Longer" theme. A large display window, designed to showcase Wisconsin manufacturers, products and tourism partners, is available and special promotions for destinations, events and attractions will be held in the center as well. For more information on display and other opportunities at the Mall of America WTIC, contact Beth Salzwedel at 608/266-1513 or your area consultant.

The travel center is open 10am to 9:30pm Monday-Friday; 9:30am to 9:30pm on Saturdays; and 11am to 7pm on Sundays.

A grand opening at the new WTIC featuring Governor Thompson is planned for later this summer.

Destination JEM maximum award increases to $40,000
The Department is pleased to announce that the Destination Marketing JEM grant program is now able to offer a $40,000 maximum grant award per application. The previous grant maximum was $20,000.

This new level allows a participating municipality to receive up to $10,000 per grant, up from $5,000. The Destination Marketing grant program requires that applicants define a destination that encompasses at least three municipalities.

In fiscal year 1999-2000, the Department awarded nearly $1.2 million in JEM grants, including $415,840 in the Destination Marketing category.

For more information on the JEM grant program, please contact Lyn Pilch at 608/261-6272 or your area consultant.

Winter PR campaign wins award
The Department's 1999 winter public relations campaign took top honors at the Midwest Travel Writers' Association (MTWA) 2000 Spotlight Awards. The winter Indoor/Outdoor media kit won the Spotlight Award for Excellence in Public Relations at MTWA's spring meeting.

The winning kit packaged items representative of a Wisconsin winter including an authentic snowshoe, a winter cap, hot tea for romantic evenings by the fire, bottled water representing the state's frozen lakes, a B&B Guide, and a Wisconsin State Parks Guide.

In reviewing the entry, judges said that the publicity device was creative and certainly would get editors' attention.

The promotional media kit was created by the Department's PR staff and agency, Advertising, Boelter and Lincoln.

MTWA is the oldest travel writers' association in the United States. It is an invitation-only organization composed of writers, editors and tourism professionals from 13 Midwestern states who travel and write about the U.S. and the world.

Briefly
International Planners: The Department is updating its International and Group Tour Planner. The guide is used at international trade and travel shows such as Pow-wow and World Travel Market and domestic group events like American Bus Assocation and National Tour Association conventions. It highlights non-costed travel itinerary ideas and serves as a sales tool and resource piece for tour and receptive operators.

Please forward any itinerary ideas to Sarah Klavas at 608/266-3750.

Event changes or cancellations? Please let us know: A thank you to everyone that submits events to be included in the Department's Monthly Calendar of Events Updates and on the Web site.

A reminder to please make an effort to also let us know if an event has been canceled, or if dates, times, activities or other details have changed. We provide event highlights to the media and millions of travelers and want to be able to report the most accurate information possible.

The Events listings reflect best on the entire tourism industry when information is kept up-to-date. Please help us maintain our quality product.

To make changes to existing events, or for information on the Calendar of Events program, please contact Linda Anderson at 608/261-8212.

Welcome to Tourism: Glenn Aumann joined the Department of Tourism on June 26 in the Bureau of Administrative Services as an accountant. Previously, Glenn was employed at the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance as an Insurance Financial Examiner. We are very pleased to welcome Glenn. You can contact him at 608/266-7933 or gaumann@tourism.state.wi.us.

Mark Your Calendars

American Indian Tourism Conference - Sept 28-30
The 2nd Annual American Indian Tourism Conference is September 28-30 at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center in Green Bay. The theme "Preserving Our Past Sharing Our Future" directs the three-day conference that will highlight how to maximize tourism potential and capture the market that matches products and services.

The national conference invites tribes from across the United States to participate in this opportunity to network, identify issues, learn and relax.

For additional information, please contact Gloria Cobb or Jerry Rayala at 715/588-3324 or visit indiantourism.org.

Wisconsin Heritage Tourism Conference - Oct 17-19
"Sense of Place: Experiencing Local Heritage" is the theme of the ninth annual Wisconsin Heritage Tourism Conference to be held at the Chalet Landhaus in New Glarus. The annual statewide conference, organized by the Department of Tourism, brings together historians, preservationists, museum professionals, and volunteers and representatives from the tourism industry.

This year's agenda includes educational sessions on marketing, interpretive planning, and folklore. Special field sessions will highlight the rich heritage of Green County. Registration materials will be mailed in August.

For more information on the Conference or the Wisconsin Heritage Tourism Program contact Lee Ann Merrill at 608/266-7299.

WACVB Fall Conference on Tourism - Nov 16-17
Tourism professionals from across the state will gather at the Paper Valley Hotel in Appleton November 16 & 17 for the 7th annual WACVB Fall Tourism Conference. The Wisconsin Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus (WACVB), the Wisconsin Festivals & Events Association, and the Wisconsin Agriculture Tourism Association are sponsors of this year's conference.

Conference registration forms will be in the mail in late summer. For more information or to get on the mailing list for this year's conference, contact WACVB at 877/967-9674 or twhite@EscapeToWisconsin.com.

Tourism database initiative
The Department is busy filling its database with all sorts of Wisconsin tourism information this summer.

As part of its single database initiative, the Department has been working with many state tourism organizations to build a more extensive database on Wisconsin's tourism product including lodging, campgrounds and golf. The Department is also building an infrastructure that will allow its call center operators and travelwisconsin.com users access to the more complete data.

Another component to the database initiative is to build an "Extranet" that will allow identified representatives of chambers of commerce, convention and visitors' bureaus and state tourism organizations online access to the data that pertains to their area or product. The online access will allow the Extranet partners to update or add information to the Department's database. The Department will be contacting these potential Extranet partners in early fall and offer training on the new system in early November.

If you have questions about the Department's database initiative, please contact Julia Hertel at 608/261-8195.

New travel guides available
A trio of new Department publications are now available.

The second edition of the Official Wisconsin Travel Guide includes information on 441 Wisconsin attractions, up 40 from the 1998-99 debut edition. The cover features an image of the Julia Belle Swain paddlewheeler plying the Mississippi on her first cruise of the 2000 season. A press run of 250,000 copies is expected to last into the summer of 2001.

All the attraction information included in the 2000-2001 edition is now in the Department's database. This makes the attraction information easy to update and automatically available to the Department's Web site.

A third edition of the Wisconsin Biking Guide is also in distribution this summer. The guide includes 15 new trails and tours, in addition to the 30 from the previous edition. Phil Van Valkenberg, a Midwest biking expert, again edited the guide. A two-year supply of 100,000 copies was printed.

A new edition of the Wisconsin Fall Sampler is ready for the autumn campaign. The very popular 16-page digest gives consumers a taste of Wisconsin's many fall events and activities.

Fall is in the air
The Department's fall campaign will integrate traditional and innovative marketing methods to reach our customers.
The initial focus will be distributing 2.5 million Fall Samplers to customers.

The backbone of this effort includes inserting 1.3 million samplers into magazines and newspapers including: Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies Home Journal, Madison Magazine, Midwest Living Magazine, Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine, Minnesota Monthly, Wisconsin Natural Resources Magazine and Wisconsin Trails. Newspaper inserts in the Chicago Tribune Sunday Magazine and the Journal Topics Newspapers will circulate an additional 820,000 Samplers.

In addition to the Fall Samplers, the Department will run newspaper ads in the Chicago Sun Times, Eastern Iowa Group, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Minneapolis Star Tribune, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Rockford Register Star, Wisconsin State Journal and Chicago Tribune, and Journal Topics. Ads will also be placed in the fall edition of the Chicago, Minneapolis and Iowa editions of AAA Home & Away Magazine.

Radio ads will air on both spot and traffic radio in the Chicago and Twin Cities areas. Additional radio ads will run on Milwaukee Brewers Radio, UW Badgers Sports Networks, NPR's Whad'ya Know and Tent Show Radio.

Ads will run on Waters & Woods and Discover Wisconsin television programs and various Web sites. Direct mail promotions will be incorporated in the plan.

Public relations efforts will include a fall promotion, updates and promotion of the Fall Color Hotline, a targeted fall media kit, an e-newsletter and radio and television interviews to promote fall activities and events.

"The 2000 fall campaign takes a well-rounded approach by using both traditional and innovative venues to reach travelers and promote one of our fastest growing seasons," Sarah Klavas, marketing director, said.

In 1999, travelers spent $2 billion in fall, an increase of 9 percent over 1998.

Governor's Council on Tourism Member Highlight
Bill Hanbury
Bill Hanbury, president and CEO of the Greater Milwaukee Convention and Visitors Bureau (GMCVB), started in tourism nearly 21 years ago as a sales manager for his hometown CVB in Syracuse, NY. Following a promotion to executive director, Bill continued his career at CVBs in Buffalo, NY; Hilton Head Island, SC; and Flint, MI, before moving to Milwaukee six years ago.

Bill received his Masters Degree in Public Administration from the JFK School of Government at Harvard.

"I started in tourism because I always had an interest in helping the community," Hanbury said. "The CVB not only impacts a community's economy, but the pride residents feel for where they live."

Along with growing the GMCVB's budget from $2.3 to $7.4 million, Bill has enjoyed the challenges and excitement surrounding the downtown area's revitalization. He looks ahead to the opening of Miller Park and the Harley Experience to further enhance Milwaukee's appeal as a leisure and business traveler destination.

"I've urged the Council and Department to focus on urban tourism and meetings and conventions," Hanbury said. "These are defining ingredients in Wisconsin's tourism product."

Hanbury believes Wisconsin tourism can only go onward and upward. "Consumers want a safe product they can experience, with a sense of heritage and diversity," Hanbury said. "If for no other reason, people should visit Wisconsin to meet great people. We haven't forgotten our values or our manners."

Hanbury is serving his second term on the Governor's Council on Tourism. He chairs the Council's Meetings and Conventions Sub-Committee.

Lottery asks players to "Experience Wisconsin"
The Department of Tourism has partnered with the Wisconsin Lottery on the new "Experience Wisconsin" instant scratch game. The $1 lottery tickets feature five Wisconsin outdoor scenes and the Department's 800 number and Web site.

"This is a great chance for us to reach state residents and visitors with a reminder of the many vacation opportunities found in Wisconsin," Sec. Speros said. "We expect the scenes on the 'Experience Wisconsin' tickets to encourage people to explore the state, and perhaps even spend their winnings on a Wisconsin getaway."

The first series of "Experience Wisconsin" tickets highlights scenic Wisconsin vistas in Eagle River, Bayfield, the Kettle Moraine State Forest, and Columbia and Waupaca counties.

If the game proves to be successful, the Lottery plans to reintroduce "Experience Wisconsin" with different Wisconsin images.

Summer promotion wrap-up
The Department was pounding the pavement, and the airwaves, with promotions this summer.

Brewer Radio listeners will hear Bob Uecker asking State Park trivia questions during Milwaukee Brewer games through September. The 15-second spots, which began airing in April, set the stage for valuable "Uecker-esque" banter about Wisconsin getaways.

A prize boat filled with a Trek bike, camping and fishing gear, State Parks passes and more is making its way to events throughout the Milwaukee area as part of the WMIL-FM "106 Days of Summer" promotion. The boat and all its contents will go to one lucky winner at summer's end.

A promotion with WLIT-93 FM out of Chicago promoted Wisconsin heritage and culture June 19-23. The contest, based on Wisconsin heritage trivia, gave away five vacation packages to statewide destinations and attractions.

Answering 20 Wisconsin State Parks trivia questions correctly awarded one lucky listener a weekend getaway, a canoe, two Wisconsin State Parks passes, a bike, and camping and fishing gear in the KEEY-FM Minneapolis "Wisconsin Travel Trivia Questions with Chris Carr" promotion. The prize package was displayed in the new Mall of America WTIC to help publicize the contest.

Thanks to Wisconsin State Parks and all vacation package providers for making these summer promotions a success.