2017 AGM REPORT STRATFORD TOURISM ALLIANCE

Transcription

1 2017 AGM REPORT STRATFORD TOURISM ALLIANCE

2 Stratford attracts thousands of visitors every summer, but few people know about the interesting (and tasty) things that happen there in winter. ~Kitchener Waterloo Record, 2016

3 Table of Contents: 2017 AGM REPORT 1 Table of Contents: Board of Directors 4 Message from the Chair 5 Message from the General Manager 7 Mission 9 Destination Overview 10 Visitor Survey 11 Finance and Administration 13 Partnership Projects 14 Membership 14 Marketing Programs 17 Digital Marketing 20 Social Media 21 Travel Media AGM REPORT - STRATFORD TOURISM 3

4 2016 Board of Directors Name Sector Represented Officer/Committee C. Schelhaas Accommodation Chair all committees N. Howard Culinary Chair Finance, Executive Committee M. Sanderson Accommodation Chair Governance D. Martin Culinary Finance/Past Chair Executive Committee C. Wreford Retail Vice-Chair R. Wigan City Centre & Culinary L. Spencer Cooper Citizen at Large S. Hamza Stratford Festival Appointed G. Bunting City of Stratford Council appointed K. Vassilakos City of Stratford Council Appointed Finance Finance Governance Vacant Position Ex-Officio R. Horne City of Stratford CAO or designate N. Fallis Ministry of Tourism S. Franklin County of Perth Executive Director Total Positions 11 Voting and 4 Ex- Officio Positions 2017 AGM REPORT - STRATFORD TOURISM 4

5 Message from the Chair Stratford Tourism Association Members, It was only a month ago that the first signs of spring in Stratford presented themselves at the Swan Parade, and yet the excitement and positive feelings continue to overwhelm many in the community including myself. The annual swan parade welcoming of spring saw over 9,000 people in attendance. As the tent guy I was downtown early to set up some of the STA tents and parked on North St. one block east of Morenz Dr. The roads and parking lot boasting the activities were packed with people continuing east past North St. Another 500 people lined the lake on the North side hoping to catch a glimpse of the feathered guests of honour. It was a wonderful sign and testament to our community s spirit and was an example of the appreciation we all have of our city and of the life we enjoy here together. At our motel we welcomed many guests from all over the province, and received a number of positive comments from visitors I talked to. Surprisingly a couple mentioned that maybe we should charge for the event. They were very surprised that it was free. The Stratford Tourism Alliance fully supports our Tourism Partners around the clock every day of the year. But more importantly we are in full support of our City and its citizens as well. Appreciation and support for our community is partly why we do the things we do as a Tourism Organization. This adds character and value to our lifestyle as we live in this city together in the spirit of cooperation and unity. Cooperation and unity are key attributes that the Stratford Tourism Alliance has tried to enhance this past year. The organization remains a strong membership based organization allowing those who wish to be involved, invest more time, money and energy into their business with others as a collective. Together much has been achieved and exciting projects and visions lie ahead. At the same time, we work to promote and enhance tourism to the benefit of all. Together we see a future in Tourism that has a definite path forward. The STA actively promotes Stratford as a world class destination through digital marketing, to travelling media and more traditional advertising. We work with our members to enhance their success and have numerous stories. I reach out to businesses regularly as Chair to hear these stories first hand and how the STA programming has helped their business. One new B&B in Stratford, attributes a great deal of their success to their partnership with the STA, and after two years of operation from a flat start as newbies they experienced $ 50,000 in sales. A second 2017 AGM REPORT - STRATFORD TOURISM 5

6 business I met with has experienced 18% growth for 12 straight years and feels the STA has an important role to play in achieving this growth. Most importantly, we know that by working cooperatively and in unity with all members of the organization, our accommodators, restaurants, stores, and attractions have seen positive impacts that surpass what can be achieved alone. I would encourage each of you, as businesses, partners, members and citizens to continue working together and to help each other understand the benefits of working as a collective for the benefit of Stratford. We have reached out as an organization to engage our community beyond our membership through our Strategic Planning process to formulate a vision and plan for the organization for the next five years that takes into account a range of businesses, opinions and views. We also successfully hosted our first public meeting and experienced great enthusiasm for the work of the organization and new members as a result. As we move forward to continue to grow Tourism in Stratford, we are committed to working with our community to collectively achieve these goals. Personally, I have thoroughly enjoyed the camaraderie and commitment of my fellow board members and the staff at the STA. Thank you for a great experience and I can say you have done a wonderful job. The spirit and support of Stratford guests who return year after year, and our business and resident community tell me we re on the right track. I look forward to another great year. Sincerely, Conroy Schelhaas Chair, Stratford Tourism Alliance 2017 AGM REPORT - STRATFORD TOURISM 6

7 Message from the Executive Director 2016 represented a significant year of achievements for the Stratford Tourism Alliance. I joined the organization early in 2016 and picked up the reigns from the Board who had worked to reposition the organization. In 2016 we established a balanced budget, made progress on the repayment of the loan to the City, established a reserve fund with $40,000 to provide organizational security, while growing metrics in every program area. This is due to a strong, dedicated staff who were open to new challenges and embrace continuous improvement was a pivotal year for the STA that saw community support and membership increase and enhanced regional partnerships. The commitment of the Board and staff to achieve lofty goals has ensured that the STA is on a course for continued success. Additional highlights from 2016 that illustrate this success: Integration of financial accounting and reporting systems; Membership growth of 5%; National Benchmarking assessment of the STA relative to other DMOs; Engagement of 350 businesses, thought leaders and community members to provide input into the Strategic Plan; Enhanced marketing across channels to better position Stratford as a leading arts destination through consistent and strategic messaging; Distributed 80,000 culinary and shopping guides to tourism locations around Ontario while introducing weekly delivery to local commercial accommodators; Hosted numerous travel writers and bloggers that resulted in substantial media coverage for Stratford in significant publications, providing unquestionable endorsements of the quality that this destination has to offer; Growth in STA digital marketing outcomes by 23% increasing traffic and engagement with visitstratford.ca; Enhanced social media engagement achieving over 8 million impressions about Stratford in the minds of potential travelers, and social engagement over 289,000 times! In 2016 the STA focused on ensuring quality engagements with our visiting public, growing our positioning with our marketing and arranging quality media visits to tell the story of our destination. Stratford continues to be a strong tourism brand within North America and beyond. Last year saw attendance at the Stratford Festival of 512,016 people. The Stratford Tourism Alliance welcomed 63,300 guests at the two visitor centres and 265,000 online visits to our website. Social media campaigns have people talking about us! Online tourism stories are reaching larger and larger audiences with increasing engagement AGM REPORT - STRATFORD TOURISM 7

8 Our visitor survey found that visitor satisfaction in our destination is high. Our visitors valued their experience at the festival, in our restaurants and shops, with highlights being our beautiful parks system and walkable historic city. We should pride ourselves on the quality of the experience we continue to deliver as a community and as local businesses. It is anticipated that 2017 will continue to be a positive year for tourism in the City. With Canada named as the top travel destination by Lonely Planet, International travel is anticipated to grow. Travel Markets Outlook for 2017 note that most areas of Canada are expected to experience between 2 and 5% growth with continued growth to Canada from the US market, with Stratford well positioned to benefit from this. The successes that have been realized by the STA over the past year have built a strong foundation to ensure Stratford thrives as a premiere leisure destination. Telling that story across national media with new branding in 2017 will solidify this positioning. The completion of the strategic plan will provide a community-based vision for the next five years that combines community vision for the destination with core principles for achieving key objectives like growing visitation outside of our high season. As I prepare to depart the organization for new challenges, I am filled with confidence that the Board and team will continue to move the STA forward under new leadership. They have stepped up to meet and overcome challenges while improving our organization and positioning the STA for continued success. With the community s voice built into the Strategic Plan, a solid financial footing and map for the next five years, the organization will be launching some exciting programs in 2017 that will serve to further demonstrate the value that collective marketing and partnerships can achieve. Kristin Sainsbury Executive Director 2017 AGM REPORT - STRATFORD TOURISM 8

9 Mission The mission of the STA is to be the leading tourism marketing organization for Stratford working collaboratively with its members, tourism partners and stakeholders to enhance Stratford s tourism experiences and to increase the quantity and quality of overnight visitors to Stratford and area for the financial benefit of its members and the community at large AGM REPORT - STRATFORD TOURISM 9

10 Destination Overview 2016 was a buoyant year for tourism in Ontario. Border crossings from the United Sates increased by 7.4%, and entries to Ontario from overseas market increased by 7.2% Overall Ontario hotel occupancy rose 2.0 percentage points, while employment in Ontario s tourism related industries grew by 2.9% 1. During , Ontario Tourism reported 1.1 million visitors to Perth County and Stratford that equated to 612,000 room Tourism is a $162 million industry in Stratford/Perth County nights. Visitor spending in the region in 2014 was reported at $113 million with $15 million being spent on accommodations, $12.3 million spending on retail and $37 million on Food. A further $26.5 million was spent by visitors on recreation and culture. 1 Statistics Canada Ontario Tourism 2017 AGM REPORT - STRATFORD TOURISM 10

11 2016 Visitor Survey In 2016 the STA undertook a visitor survey that ran from June through December. Over 1,000 people responded to the survey. In August, the STA partnered with RTO4 to conduct an in-depth survey of 303 respondents: Key findings from the visitor survey illustrate a large proportion of women completed the survey. 48% were part of an adult couple travelling together, while 31% were multiple adults travelling together. 7% of respondents were visiting as a family. The top origins for visitors were London, Wellington County, Thornhill, Willowdale, Oxford County, St. Catherines, Mississauga, Michigan and Ohio. 82% of visitors came by private car, 10% rented a car/car share, 4% arrived by train, 4% by plane and 6% by bus/coach (including Festival bus). Of note is that visitor expenditures had a daily spend of $248/day or $ for their visit. 78% of respondents noted their primary reason for visiting was the Stratford Festival, followed by other events, friends and family and shopping. 75% of visitors also participated in dining, 68% in shopping and 27% in an event while they were here AGM REPORT - STRATFORD TOURISM 11

12 Visitor Satisfaction Overall visitors participating in the survey were very satisfied with their experience. 81% are likely or very likely to recommend Stratford to friends or family. Highlights: Overall, 51% noted the highlight of their visit was the Festival while 13% noted the culinary experience was. Other highlights included the swans, parks, river/gardens, shopping and walkability of Stratford. Areas for Improvement: Visitors noted that they would like to know what activities are happening on non-theatre days, the need for restaurant reservations, more information about parking, distances between attractions, better understanding of bike trails and visitor centre locations. More retailers open on Sundays and Mondays, local wayfinding, more public washrooms, wider acceptance of credit cards and extended parking times to align with plays were noted as being things that would have improved their visit AGM REPORT - STRATFORD TOURISM 12

13 Finance and Administration Stratford Tourism Alliance is operated as a Not-For-Profit, supported primarily by the City of Stratford and memberships. Stratford Tourism Alliance is charged with managing the destination branding, marketing, visitor services, as well as with membership and destination development. The primary source of revenues for the STA is the City of Stratford. Additional revenues from memberships, partnerships and grants, marketing sales, and the DMF (STS) enhance the budget for the STA to undertake and develop programs, provide visitor services and promote Stratford as a leading destination. The final budget for 2016 was $815,459 based on revenues secured. REVENUE SOURCES Stratford Tourism Revenues % DMF (STS) 14% Partner & Grants 7% Marketing Sales 11% Membership 7% City of Stratford 61% DMF 14% Marketing Sales 11% Membership 7% Partners & Grants 7% Total 2016 Budget $815,459 Municipal 61% 2017 AGM REPORT - STRATFORD TOURISM 13

14 Partnership Projects Partnerships In addition to local municipal and tourism partnerships, the STA is a key marketing partner for many organizations. The STA serves as a promotional vehicle for upcoming events and attractions and takes an active role in promoting cultural activities in Stratford for the benefit of the destination and the visitor. The STA has a robust advertising and digital marketing platform for helping organizations and businesses to expand their reach; and to promote festivals, events, activities and programs that engage residents and visitors with the clear goal of attracting visitors to the City. Google 360 Project In 2016, the STA partnered with RTO4 and Stratford City Centre to raise the digital sophistication of the destination as well as improving overall visitor experience and enhancing visitor story-telling. The Google 360 projected was piloted with 15 cultural locations that were offered the opportunity to have a 360 degree photo tour of the building/business. These were launched on google and promoted through social media posts on STA channels. The total reach for the project was 230,413 with 8,000 post link clicks and total engagement of 7,357. The posts were shared by FB users 1,349 times in total resulting in organic reach of 103,311 people AGM REPORT - STRATFORD TOURISM 14

15 Destination Animation Fund The Destination Animation fund pilot was initiated in 2017 by RTO4 and Stratford City Centre BIA, with the STA serving as a marketing partner. $30,000 of matching funding was offered to 10 projects selected through a competitive review process. The projects translated into $103,000 in direct investment in cultural experiences and was shared to audience of over 190,000. Some projects that were launched as a result included #RainyDayShakespeare sidewalk quotes, Stratford Writers Festival, Bach walks serving as a catalyst for new tourism initiatives. Visitors Stratford continued to welcome a significant number of visitors to both locations in In 2016 the Stratford Festival saw attendance of 512,016 people up from 475,742 the year before. The Stratford Tourism Alliance welcomed 63,300 visitors to our two locations, very close to what we saw in The STA assisted over 63,300 visitors at our centres in 2016 Visitor Centre Statistics 100, ,416 86,733 75, ,627 74,391 65,535 63,315 50, , Main Office Info Centre Total 2017 AGM REPORT - STRATFORD TOURISM 15

16 Membership The STA values our members and works closely with them to develop products and offerings, to showcase and promote their business and to develop marketing plans. Through coaching when requested and programs that the STA offers, there are a number of promotional opportunities for our members to capitalize upon. Membership offerings are categorized by Sector with the majority of members in 2016 comprised of Event/Attraction, Accommodation, Retail/Service and Culinary Members. Between 2012 and 2014 the STA saw a decline in membership, with levels beginning to regain year closed out with a membership of 181 up from 174 in 2015 and has been seeing gains in Membership: Growth in Retail/Service and Event Partners Declines in membership primarily in accommodation and Culinary Sectors 181 Members 93% Retention Rate in Producers 4% Producers 4% 2016 Membership By Sector Culinary 16% Retail 32% Accommodation 18% Event/Attraction 27% Associations 3% Membership By Sector Accommodation Culinary Retail/Service Event/Attraction Destination/Association Food Producer 2017 AGM REPORT - STRATFORD TOURISM 16

17 Marketing Programs Program Investments and Operations During 2016, Stratford Tourism Marketing targeted consumer travelers with an integrated, multi-platform advertising and promotional campaigns. The Stratford Tourism Alliance breakdown of marketing expenditures is shown in Figure 1. During 2016 over $190,000 was spent on marketing, advertising and digital promotion of Stratford, events, packages and trails. This is in addition to earned media garnered through Social Media, Google Grants and published articles and Newsletter Distribution. Marketing is a central focus of the STA and includes research, digital assets, video, TripAdvisor, advertising campaigns and production of Shopping and Culinary Guides. Engagement with bloggers as social influencers increased the awareness of Stratford as a destination. STA Marketing Program 2016 Media Fams & PR 3% Print & Radio Advertising 8% Destination Development 12% Marketing Digital & Web Advertising 43% $190,000 expenditure Marketing Stratford leveraged Earned media in excess of $230,000 Publications & Distribution 29% Digital Marketing Google Grants 5% 12,000 Newsletter Subscribers 2017 AGM REPORT - STRATFORD TOURISM 17

18 Publications & Advertising In 2016 the STA focused marketing and advertising efforts on London, Kitchener, Golden Horseshoe, GTA and Michigan, with the primary focus of growing offpeak visitation and enhancing visitor experience in market. The STA produces a number of key publications. In ,000 Culinary and Shopping Guides were produced and were distributed throughout southwestern Ontario, Waterloo Airport and selected inserts in Hamilton Spectator & London Free Press. The guides were delivered weekly to all hotels and inns as well as B&Bs who requested them. Additional supporting publications include production of five print event calendars per year promoting total 1857 events in These augment the online calendar which was one of the most frequented pages of VisitStratford.ca with 97,100 page views. The STA advertised regularly in Eat/Drink Magazine and placed targeted print and video campaigns in On the Go, the Path (Downtown Toronto) 2017 AGM REPORT - STRATFORD TOURISM 18

19 Culinary Trails During 2016, Stratford Tourism reinvigorated four culinary trails that included Bacon & Ale, Chocolate, and Seasonally Maple and Pumpkin trails. Featuring delectable tastes, finds or experiences, the trails serve as a key opportunity for long-stay visitors to experience Stratford. They have also become a day trip draw that are aimed at bringing people into the destination during spring and fall with seasonal trails the trails were featured in over 30 media outlets with equivalent earned media value of over $97,000. Over 44 different businesses participate in the trails with many participating in several. The trails earned over $36,700 in revenues from 1286 trails sold Trails sold = 6,500 visits to local businesses 2017 AGM REPORT - STRATFORD TOURISM 19

20 Website 867,915 Page Views (Yearly Increase of 23%) 212,000 unique visitors Google Grants $114,000 (77% yearly increase) 6 Campaigns 10 Million Impressions 71,000 Clicks (67% yearly increase) Digital Marketing In 2016, the STA undertook digital marketing including google ad words, google grants, targeted digital campaigns including banner ads, remarketing & retargeting, social media advertising, trip advisor and electronic newsletters. The total impact of our digital marketing campaigns was over 10 Million impressions resulting in 867,915 page views to VisitStratford.ca. This resulted in 206,000 referrals to members and partners. In 2016 web enhancements were made to improve functionality for members and a number of enhancements were made to the landing page to better direct visitors to feature events and activities. #Google Grants In 2016, the STA achieved Google Grants Pro resulting in $114,000 in free digital adwords to promote Stratford. This translated directly into 2.4 Million impressions and 71,000 clicks to our website. Trip Advisor The STA manages and maintains a Stratford destination Trip Advisor page that provides a destination overview of Stratford, and received 61,433 page views with 1,370 links to our website. Member Referrals 206,000 # 2017 AGM REPORT - STRATFORD TOURISM 20

21 Social Media In 2016 the STA continued to grow its social media efforts on 6 channels (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Google +), with a primary focus on engaging visitors with the destination, promoting events and partners to grow brand recognition for Stratford. During the summer the STA hired a Community Animator/Social media student who participated at events to live post and to generate unique content for STA partners. In addition, digital content was developed for social channels by the STA and RTO4, with a great deal of success. The STA produced a series of nine craft beer videos with Dayna Manning and featured a number of videos produced by RTO4. Additional videos have been produced as the culmination of #MyStratford365 Campaign that will air on STA channels throughout AGM REPORT - STRATFORD TOURISM 21

22 Travel Media In 2016 Stratford and Stratford Tourism was in the media 120 times. In 2016 our budget of $5,000 leveraged $230,000 in earned media coverage. Earned media generates valuable impact and staff regularly develop and share story-worthy local content to our developed contact base of media writers. In 2016 the STA garnered Earned Media that reached over 3.5 million readers To sustain and grow our destination s awareness this is an efficient and cost effective way to reach consumers through news media, magazines, blogs and social channels as a key branding and destination awareness initiative. In 2016 the following media outlets featured travel stories on Stratford: Earned Media from Bloggers reached 211,00 readers 2017 AGM REPORT - STRATFORD TOURISM 22

23 "Stratford reminded me of all the best parts of its fictionalized reflection, Stars Hollow: community support, walkability, personality, heritage, history, and the discernible presence of each of these traits around every corner. I believe the universe served this city to us on a platter, right in the middle of our binge watching and hectic Toronto lifestyle; right when we needed it the most." "One of the major things I noticed once we arrived was the hospitality. At every venue the people working there seemed eager to help and show off their Stratford pride." ~ One Thousand Dates (blog) 2017 AGM REPORT - STRATFORD TOURISM 23

24 Stratford Tourism Alliance 47 Downie Street Stratford, ON N5A 1W visitstratford.ca