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Fall Greetings from Tourism,
I've finally landed back in the office after being on the road almost non-stop. I just finished two days of meetings in Milwaukee with Wisconsin's Native American tribes. I mention our annual Tribal Consultation and meeting with Great Lakes Inter–Tribal Council because of the impact our Native American Tribes have on the culture, arts and entertainment experience in our state. The meetings provided an opportunity to exchange information, but more importantly it was a chance for us to reestablish our commitment to our ongoing partnership with the state's sovereign nations and to build a roadmap for the future.
Later this month, Deputy Dave and I will be taking the tourism "jobs and economy" message on the road through a series of editorial board meetings. It's hard to believe that Dave and I have been in our jobs nearly nine months! Another aspect of our editorial boards will be sharing how far we have come in meeting our strategic business goals to grow tourism in the state.
On the consumer side of our business, it's fall in Wisconsin. And we all know that means fall colors, harvest festivals, cranberries, apples, corn mazes, and let's not forget pumpkins -- although this year I won't be paddling in one! Our team has been hard at work making sure that we're using every tool at our disposal to get potential consumers to your door during our second busiest travel season. Whether it's the Fall Color Report, social media, TV interviews, TravelWisconsin.com, Welcome Centers or providing publications, we are connecting with travelers in a big way.
Keep reading for additional news on our work, upcoming grant deadlines, important conference dates to note, and much more.
Best Wishes,
Stephanie
Spread the news: Post! Tweet! Share!
Like what you see in the business journal? Go ahead and share it on Facebook and Twitter using our handy links here!
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Council Perspectives from Chair Lola Roeh
Tourism is on the move in Wisconsin! Now that the intensity of summer has ended–and by most accounts, it was a good summer season–it is back to the business of The Governor's Council. As your representatives of our industry, we are working closely with Secretary Stephanie and Deputy Secretary Dave and the staff of the Department of Tourism, always looking for ways to increase the impact of Tourism on a state level. To that end, the Governor's Council will be meeting in Milwaukee this week, where Council Committees will report back on actions taken since the last meeting, in addition to a host of many other exciting agenda items. I can tell you that the Marketing Committee has had several meetings with Laughlin Constable and members of the Department to review concepts for fall, winter and next summer. In fact, the fall Girlfriend's Getaway spot has just started running–you may have seen it within the last week.
This is also the time of year when our industry associations bring emerging trends, marketing ideas and new products to the membership, specifically WACVB Fall Tourism Conference, Nov. 3-4 and the WH&LA Conference and Trade Show, Nov. 6-8. It is always a good investment of time and energy to learn what is new in the industry, how to improve our businesses and reconnect with industry friends and partners.
Thank you for all of your hard work in giving our guests a great Wisconsin experience as they respond to Tourism marketing. As always, we welcome your thoughts and ideas in moving Wisconsin Tourism forward.
Best,
Lola
Fall Marketing and Publicity Update
Our Marketing Overview page is now refreshed for fall. See all of the Department's recent marketing and public relations efforts and our new TV spot. In other publicity efforts, the public relations team has booked a dozen TV interviews hitting just about every media market in Wisconsin plus Rockford to promote fall travel, events and the fall color report. Speaking of the Fall Color Report, this is a good opportunity to send a thank you to all 100 of our fabulous fall color reporters who are the backbone behind this wildly popular travel tool.
WIGCOT Comes to Green Bay
 First there was a Packers Super Bowl win. Then there was a live broadcast featuring Green Bay on the Today Show. Now it's the Governor's Conference on Tourism. Let's just say, the location is just one added reason to attend our annual tourism conference, March 4-6, 2012. Make sure you have the days blocked and your rooms booked, because we expect the turnout to top last year's conference (so it's going to be big!). Look for a few surprises including some green and gold ones.
With your help we can bring the best in cutting edge speakers and educational opportunities to our industry. We are always looking for new sponsors and would love for you to consider supporting this enriching and worthy event. If you're interested in being a sponsor, contact Dawn Zanoni at 608-266-3978 for more information.
Mark Your Calendar for These Important Industry Events
- WACVB Fall Tourism Conference
Nov. 3-4 at the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa in Lake Geneva. Highlights include a keynote presentation by Corbin Ball on "Technology Trends for Tourism". Online registration.
- Wisconsin Lodging Conference & Trade Show
Nov. 6-8 at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel. Online registration.
- Governor's Northern Wisconsin Economic Development Summit
Dec. 13-14, location TBD. Bookmark http://northwoodssummit.com/ in order to check back for more information as it's available.
ESTO Presents Another Exceptional Conference
The Educational Seminars for Tourism Organizations (ESTO) Conference hosted annually by the U.S. Travel Association was again a must-attend event. Sarah Klavas and Joellyn Merz, alongside other state, regional and local tourism destination marketing professionals learned the latest in tourism trends for destination marketing, social media and creative and innovative approaches to managing the shift in consumer behaviors. Session topics included
Defending Your Budget and the Zen of Social Media Marketing. Sarah and Joellyn are already downloading best practice lessons from the conference to share with our staff and industry partners.
Chinese Tourism Delegation Visits the State
Deputy Dave visited with a dozen Chinese tourism officials during a recent visit to the Milwaukee Art Museum where the visitors viewed the audience-wowing "Summer of China" exhibit.
Wisconsin in the News
The tourism industry is busy making news! Take a look at some highlights featuring our industry partners including a spread on our recent TV shoot with Tony Shaloub, coverage of late summer getaways in the Journal-Sentinel, a New York Times feature on Little Switzerland (Green County), Wall Street Journal Online road trip story on "Craft Beer and Pub Grub in the Midwest" and several clips from our recent press tours.
Also a special congratulations goes out to those industry partners actively marketing to the group travel market: Wisconsin beat Alaska and Hawaii as the second most popular state for bank loyalty travel programs in a recent survey by Bank Travel Management. In addition, Milwaukee was listed in the top 10 most popular cities for bank incentive travel.
A Welcome Sign Travelers Won't Miss
Check out this new sign promoting the Travel Wisconsin Welcome Center located in Platteville. Its size should come as no surprise for a city famous for the World's Largest M. Congratulations to our tourism partners in Grant County and thank you for your service to travelers and for promoting Wisconsin!
Message to Areas Impacted by Severe Weather
Anytime anyone in Wisconsin's hospitality family has been adversely affected by weather or other crisis, we want to know about it so the state can help. We have received reports about areas in Northwest Wisconsin that were impacted by severe weather this summer. If you experienced weather-related impacts, please contact your Regional Tourism Specialist so they can let us know.
Tourism Dashboard
How many people like us on Facebook? And how many people click a link to an industry partner site? Find this information and more in the Department's metrics report.
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August 2011 JEM Grant Recipients
Eight applications were funded in the most recent round of Joint Effort Marketing grants.
See the list online.
Tourism Grant Tip of the Month
Here is a great tip from Grant Coordinator Abbie Hill. She encourages grant applicants to find out who else from their area has recently received a grant or might be applying. Start by contacting your Regional Tourism Specialist or area's destination marketing organization such as a chamber of commerce or CVB. It's good to know who else might be applying as the Department has limited grant dollars and a mission to promote the whole state. It's a competitive process and grant applications are often compared side by side.
Upcoming Grant Deadlines
- Joint Effort Marketing, Nov. 1
- Meetings Mean Business, Dec. 1
- Ready, Set, Go!, Jan. 1
- Tourist Information Center, Jan. 1
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Moroccan Tourism Delegation to Visit Wisconsin
Tourism experts from Morocco have chosen to study the Travel Green Wisconsin program in order to create their own sustainable tourism program. The Department will host them for four days so they can learn about the program and how it works. They will be visiting several TGW certified businesses and working with the US Department of Interior. TGW was chosen based on their research for sustainable tourism programs and our established reputation
Newly Certified Businesses
Congratulations to these new Travel Green Wisconsin certified businesses:
- Sail Door County, Sister Bay
- Rock the Green, Milwaukee
- Cliff Dwellers Resort, Sturgeon Bay
- Lakefront Brewery, Milwaukee
- Lewis Station Winery, Lake Mills
- Legendary Waters Resort & Casino, Bayfield
- Ice Age Trail Alliance, Cross Plains
Why Go Green?
In addition to helping the environment and being a part of something bigger, there are many fantastic reasons to become Travel Green Wisconsin certified – and many of them will affect your bottom line.
So become part of the movement, join TGW to lower your operating costs, attract today’s traveler, and build upon the environmental culture of Wisconsin
View the application instructions and learn more about becoming Travel Green Wisconsin certified.
Just ask a TGW certified business about the benefits
"Today's travelers are very conscientious about conserving our natural resources. Travel Green Wisconsin is an important program to inform travelers that we are trying to do the right thing to better our planet… Our guests really appreciate the efforts we go to, and every year, we work on ways to improve upon them."
Educational Opportunity
Join Focus on Energy for their business training courses scheduled for this fall. Check out the awesome line-up of programs here!
Need more TGW information?
Contact Shelly Allness and she'd be happy to help you with your Travel Green Wisconsin questions, application, or to submit your own success story. You can also reach her at (608) 261-8767.
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