TOURISM TODAY

March/April 2000

New Economic Development Programs available to Tourism Businesses

The Departments of Tourism and Commerce are pleased to offer three new economic development programs designed to assist Wisconsin's tourism businesses.

The programs, proposed by Governor Thompson and the Legislature in the 2000-01 budget, include the Gaming Early Planning Grant (EPG) Program, the Gaming Impact Loan (GIL) Program, and the Gaming Diversification Loan (GDL) Program. All programs are available to individual businesses beginning this March.

• The EPG Program helps entrepreneurs and small businesses obtain professional services to develop a comprehensive business plan. A business plan is necessary to receive funding for the other gaming programs as well as to attract private financing. Two categories of matching grants are available:
• The GIL program provides low interest loans to businesses interested in modernizing or improving their operations.
• The GDL program provides low interest loans to existing businesses interested in establishing or expanding operations in Wisconsin.

For more information on the gaming economic development programs, contact tourism consultants Ruth Goetz (715/682-4591), Kit Sorenson (920/722-0507) or Debbie Skinner (608/267-0752).

Conference computer lab to highlight Department technology initiative

The Department of Tourism will be hosting an open lab at the Governor's Conference on Tourism to help Conference attendees better understand how the Department is using the Internet to gather information from our tourism partners on Wisconsin events, attractions and activities.

On Monday and Tuesday during lab hours, participants will learn about the Department's Extranet applications. The Department's Extranet is a private network that allows password-identified tourism partners to share information about their product with the Department using the Department's computer network and applications.

The Department will be sharing more information about the Extranet and many other exciting technology-related efforts and opportunities throughout the Conference, and particularly at the Department Showcase on Monday at 10:15 am. Lab hours will be posted in the Conference registration materials.

Free cookies!

Save a little drive time while you travel in style to the Governor's Conference on Tourism, March 19-21. For the first time, Midwest Express Airlines is offering a special airfare of $75 round trip to conference participants. Bookings on instate flights from LaCrosse, Wausau/Stevens Point, Appleton and Green Bay to Milwaukee aboard Midwest Express are available.

Interested parities should contact JoAnne Ziesemer at Midwest Express Convention and Meetings Department at 888/601-4296 ext. 3. Please mention the Governor's Conference on Tourism or code #C679 when making your reservations.

Cream Puffs to lure industry to meeting

There will be free Wisconsin State Fair cream puffs for all those in attendance at the Governor's Council on Tourism open meeting and listening session Sunday, March 19. The session runs from 1-3:30pm at the Hilton Milwaukee City Center and will feature stimulating discussions, exciting prizes and of course - cream puffs. Don't miss it.

Briefly

Updated Tourism Manuals available: The updated Tourism Development Manual is now available. Updates include the 1999-2000 Strategic Marketing Plan, 2000 Co-op Advertising Opportunities, Tourism Trends, Governor's Council on Tourism membership and more. These materials are an invaluable reference to the programs and assistance the Department offers.

To receive this updated information, or to receive a Tourism Development Manual, please contact Linda Anderson at 608/261-8212.

Focus group research available: The Department of Tourism recently held a series of focus group studies on various promotional tools in Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Chicago. Participants provided responses to various direct mail brochure concepts, publications, print ads, TV concepts, radio spots and Web sites. Study findings are available by contacting David Scheler at 608/2261-8187.

Save the date: The 2000 Wisconsin Heritage Tourism Conference is set for October 18 & 19 in New Glarus. The conference will focus on the theme "Sense of Place: Experiencing Local Heritage."

Welcome to Tourism: Lyn Pilch joined the Department in February as the JEM Coordinator. Prior to her position in the Department, Lyn served as the volunteer coordinator at the Madison Area Literacy Council. Lyn is a 1997 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Lyn Pilch can be reached at 608/261-6272

Susanne Thiede-Barnet joined the Department of Tourism in February as the Public Relations Assistant. Her primary projects are managing the Department's Weekly Radio Network, maintaining the Department's media analysis files, providing updates to the Department's Web site and providing public relations support. Prior to her position with the Department, Susanne was a corporate meeting planner for Oxyfresh Worldwide in Spokane, Washington. You can contact Susanne Thiede-Barnet at 608/261-8767

The check WAS in the mail

The Department of Tourism has received nearly 180,000 requests for travel information in response to the return postcard that accompanied state tax rebate checks.

In January, the Department of Revenue mailed 2.5 million rebate checks to Wisconsin residents. Attached to the check was a tear-off postcard from the Department of Tourism offering free Wisconsin travel information.

Thanks to Governor Thompson and the State Legislature, the travel Wisconsin message reached 2.5 million state residents.

In the four weeks following the project, the number of publications distributed to customers equaled the amount typical of a six-month period.

Mailing a postcard to 2.5 million customers would have cost the Department of Tourism $475,000 in postage alone.

We extend thanks to Governor Thompson and DOR for their partnership with this promotion.

Department studies show that 50% of Wisconsin visitors are in-state residents. This promotion hopes to increase those figures.

Spring and Summer publications include rec guide, new Heritage guide

The Department's new Spring Sampler is the first publication off the printing presses this millennium.

Poised to break in the April issues of seven Midwest magazines and newspapers, the Spring Sampler is a colorful invitation to warm-up to Wisconsin, along with the weather. This alluring, 16-page pocket-guide offers an exciting sampling of the event and attraction fun travelers can expect in spring in Wisconsin.

But the Sampler is just one of many new publications that will usher-in Wisconsin's warmer weather.

Packed with new photography, the second edition of the Wisconsin Heritage Traveler will be ready for distribution March 1. Artfully redesigned, the piece includes sections detailing Wisconsin's 12 Heritage Tourism project sites, ten State Historical Society sites and select museums, as well as a directory of the state's Heritage Sign sites.

The 2000 edition of the Wisconsin Spring/Summer Event & Recreation Guide is also ready for March distribution. This annual summer staple includes more than 1,000 event listings, as well as information about everything from ATV trails to Waterfalls.

Also in-house is the centennial-year edition of the Wisconsin State Parks' Visitors Guide. Produced in conjunction with the DNR's Bureau of Parks & Recreation, the 22-page guide is a pocket-sized introduction to Wisconsin's 79 state parks, forests and trails. A pair of companion posters has also been produced to honor and promote the Park System's 100th birthday.

On the horizon, the Department's line-up of summer publications will be completed with all-new editions of both the Official Wisconsin Travel Guide and the Wisconsin Biking Guide. Both will debut in May.

Gearing up for summer

The Department has several new and exciting advertising vehicles coming up in this year's summer campaign. First, we will use three new television spots to showcase a sampling of what Wisconsin has to offer the traveler. The one 60 second spot and two 30 second spots will be aired in the Chicago, Twin Cities and Milwaukee areas March through May.

Second, we will be wrapping a four-color promotional piece around the cover of TV Week. TV Week is included in the full circulation of the Sunday Chicago Tribune and Minneapolis Star Tribune. The wrap will highlight photos as well as a return postcard that allows potential travelers to select the information they would like to receive by activity. The wrap will also include our 800 number and Web site address.

The summer advertising campaign also places ads on radio and in newspapers and magazines.

Public Relations activities include pitching niche activities to targeted media through specialized releases, deskside visits and trade show meetings.

Reaching our customers

The travel Wisconsin message reached more than two million potential visitors in 1999. Some highlights include:

• Travelwisconsin.com had more than 740,000 visits (user sessions).
• The Wisconsin Travel Information Centers served approximately 1.3 million visitors.
• The Department handled nearly 219,000 phone inquiries; 7,000 e-mail requests; 41,000 mail inquiries; and 44,000 publication requests generated from magazine coupons. In addition, 11,000 publications were ordered on the Web site between August and December.
• The Department distributed 2.7 million publications.

Governor's Council on Tourism Member Highlight

\Charles Metelka

Looking back, living in Wisconsin makes sense as Charles Metelka recalls spending many summers in Eagle River. He traces his career in Wisconsin tourism to his parents who owned a restaurant in Chicago. After receiving his Undergraduate Degree in Sociology from Loyola University, Charlie pursued his Master's Degree in Hawaii. There, his lifelong interest in tourism as a vital component of social behavior began. He received his Doctorate Degree at Northwestern University and subsequently joined the University of Hawaii faculty.

Charlie left the Aloha State to take a position with UW-Stout to "live where other people pay to visit." He has now been a member of the University's Department of Hospitality and Tourism for 25 years. During his tenure he has served as program director of undergraduate and graduate programs, as department chair, and has held a joint appointment with the Travel and Tourism Research Center. Charlie served as president of the Wisconsin Festivals and Events Association in 1999.

Charlie was appointed to the Governor's Council on Tourism in 1997 and has helped the Council and Department pursue the goals of educating residents to the benefits of tourism and enhancing the image of tourism as a viable, profitable career that teaches the skills that will be used in any occupation.

"Tourism is a fantastic economic resource for communities and an exciting career for our youth," Charlie said. "This industry provides the props and expertise for virtually every occasion- from a visit by the Pope to a family wedding. We have to realize how important we are in order to promote our benefits and attract tomorrow's workforce."

This is the ninth of a continuing series highlighting Governor's Council on Tourism members.

Tourism and Retail Development

Tourism and Retail Development, a publication that highlights case studies that demonstrate how select Midwest communities built and maintained successful retail centers developed around serving travelers needs, is now available.

Published by the UW Extension CCED in conjunction with the Department of Tourism, the publication offers ideas that may help other communities further their tourism development.

The Tourism and Retail Development publication is available on the UWEX site at http://www.uwex.edu/ces/pubs/. Hard copies of the publication can be ordered by calling 608/262-3346 or 877/WIS-PUBS. Please reference "Tourism and Retail Development G3713.

Summer Job Site finds jobs, employees

The Department of Workforce Development's (DWD) new Wisconsin Summer Jobs Site, http://www.wisummerjobs.org, links summer job seekers and potential employers. The site is a key labor market system for employers to promote seasonal, full-time and part-time job openings and for job seekers to find employment.

Along with listing employment opportunities, the site offers businesses the flexibility to list housing assistance, hours and benefits. Job seekers have the ability to search for jobs by geographic area and may post resumes allowing employers to locate candidates.

For more information on the Summer Jobs Site or to post job openings, contact your local job center or call 888/258-9966.

Co-op Research Program to kickoff at Birkie

The Department of Tourism is pleased to offer a new Co-op Research Program designed to assist non-profit tourism organizations, communities, festival and event organizers, and local government officials with gathering research.

The American Birkebeiner and the Department have teamed up to obtain visitor information during the Hayward event February 24-26.

Through the program, the Department will provide technical assistance and data entry of completed surveys. The collected data can be used to guide marketing decisions and provide valuable insight into customers.

For more information on the Co-op Research Program, contact your area consultant or Sue Hamilton at 608/266-6792.