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Industry Newsletter
January 2019
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Greetings!
Attending Destination DC’s Global Marketplace recently I heard Capital Region USA’s board chair, Theresa Belpulsi, DDC’s Vice President of Tourism, Sports & Visitor Services say, “Politics is politics, but people still want to travel.”
Good words to focus on amidst shutdowns, tariffs, Brexit, currency fluctuations, and economic rumblings around the world.
The work we all do to attract people to the Capital Region is challenging right now, but we need to focus on the long game, stay the course, and have confidence in our product and programs.
While no industry is completely apolitical, it’s been my experience that tourism is one of the best for people with different points of view to come together, work together, and find success together.
Like many of you, we’re entering one of our busiest times of the year—attending
sales missions, rolling out our
tour operator marketing co-ops, and starting our marketing and budget planning for next fiscal year. While we don’t know what tomorrow looks like, I am confident our partners, programming, and friends throughout the industry will continue to speak with one voice: “We’re open and can’t wait to share this amazing place with you, your customers, or your audience.”
Keep up the good work and stay in touch!
Scott Balyo
Executive Director
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The Latest Research
The most recent data shows that in 2017,
256,000 residents of the United Kingdom visited the Capital Region. These visitors spent
$451 million in direct spending while visiting the region. UK visitors stayed an average of
11 nights with 8.5 of those nights in a hotel for a total of
1.1 million room nights sold. UK visitors continued to travel regionally, visiting 2.5 states on average.
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CRUSA has hosted eight media visits from the UK since July 2018 and generated coverage for the region with an ad value of $900,000. Highlights include:
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As of December 2018, CRUSA's UK sales reps have brought 16 travel professionals on two fam tours of the region, conducted 47 sales calls, and hosted nine training sessions for 68 reservation team members at some of the UK's top tour operators.
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CRUSA has hosted two UK trade fams this year, including a
Jetset and United Airlines fam for nine participants in early October and a
Visit USA Ireland fam for seven travel trade professionals in late October.
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2019 Holiday Guides Now Available!
CRUSA's 2019/2020 Holiday Guide has been published and sent to our market representatives for distribution.
Digital guides
are live on our website and feature updated and enticing new articles including "Ways to Hear Live Music in the Region" and "Pick-Your-Path Itineraries". The guides are available in
English
,
French
,
German
and
Chinese
.
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Register now for 2019 Tour Operator Co-Op Campaigns
CRUSA's FY19 Tour Operator Co-Op Marketing Opportunities are now available. There are ten opportunities to further leverage your international marketing budget to reach consumers in the United Kingdom, China, France and Germany.
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Virginia Partners Eligible for Miles Scholarship Program
Miles Partnership is now accepting scholarship applications for the upcoming
STS Marketing College. Miles will award one scholarship to a tourism industry professional in each of the 12 member states of the Southeast Tourism Society. The 2019 session will take place from May 12-17 at the University of North Georgia campus in Dahlonega, GA. Scholarship applications are due
Friday, February 1 at 5 p.m. EST. To learn more about the opportunity please
visit their blog or
apply now.
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Feature Destination Packages, Attraction Passes, and Other Offers on CRUSA.org
CRUSA is looking for deals, bundled attraction packages, and offers to feature on the Deals section of our consumer website. This opportunity is
free
to hotels, destinations and attractions in DC, Virginia or Maryland.
Submit your deal today!
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Copyright 2019 by Capital Region USA, P.O. Box 13352, Richmond, VA 23225 USA
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