|
 McMurtrey spoke first about improving the presence of the Bureau
at local events, and providing better information to visitors about
tourist attractions. She said the Bureau had Visitor Guides that
were available locally, but also being distributed throughout the
state at various tourist information sites. She said the Bureau’s
Dinning Guide was a very popular publication with local colleges,
and while she was currently out, more were being printed.
She talked about the sub-grants that had been requested recently and
said awards had been granted. Those who received advertising dollars
from the Bureau included the Logan County Fair, Balloon Festival,
and the Lincoln Heritage Museum Lincoln Colloquium that will be held
in October.
McMurtrey also announced that beginning in June, the Logan County
Alliance/Tourism Office will be open on weekends. She explained the
LCA and tourism now have salaried employees who can man the office
on weekends with no additional wages paid out.
Marty Neitzel asked what the hours would be on weekends. McMurtrey
said that it would vary. She noted as an example that on the weekend
of the Route 66 Garage Sales, visitors would be out and about in the
early morning hours. She said she planned to be at the office
personally that day and would open the door at 7 a.m. She added that
on other weekends when specific events were not going on the office
hours would probably be 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
She was asked if that would be Saturday only, and she said it would
be both Saturday and Sunday.
Steve Parrott asked McMurtrey to explain how the Bureau measures
tourist activity in Logan County. She answered that the primary goal
is always 'heads-in-beds' and that her office surveys the various
motels in Lincoln and asks them about their overnight stays.
She explained this measurement was the standard for the State of
Illinois as well. The Bureau receives grant funding from the state,
and at each reporting period, the state asks for the number of motel
stays.
Parrott asked then if the Bureau could compare heads-in-beds this
year to last year. McMurtrey said it could and does. She said the
annual report to the state is due in July and that will be the time
when they will have an annual figure, which would be more telling
overall than the quarterly figures. However, she also added that the
motel stays are trending upward this year.
Todd Mourning asked if the Bureau could track multiple years in the
same manner. McMurtrey said that it could. She said getting the
numbers on paper might be a little confusing because of the name
change involved for the Bureau, but it was still possible.
She also talked abut the official name change for the Bureau. The
paperwork has all been filed and approved by the state, so while the
Bureau has referred to itself recently as the Logan County Tourism
Bureau, it is now the official legal name of the agency. As a new
entity, the bureau also had to file for a new 501(C)3,
not-for-profit status. She said that had also been done.
Jonie Tibbs asked if the visitor’s guides were given out to local
businesses. McMurtrey said that any business who wanted the guides
were welcome to them. Michelle Bauer, who is not only and
alderman, but a member of the Lincoln/Logan Chamber of Commerce
Young Professional’s Network, and on the Pigs and Swigs committee,
asked McMurtrey to explain how the Tourism Bureau was promoting that
event.
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The Pigs and Swigs event has multiple components with committees overseeing each
part. There had been multiple requests come to the Bureau for dollars for
advertising from those committees. McMurtrey said that looking at all the
requests, the Tourism Council had seen that granting each one would leave little
else in the budget for other requests. The dollars available at that time were
the last few of the fiscal year. Because the bureau receives state funding, the
fiscal year begins July 1st, in line with the state fiscal year.
McMurtrey said the council had looked at the various requests and made the
decision that instead of giving dollars, they would give assistance. They
decided on a specific dollar amount and authorized McMurtrey to invest in
advertising for the entire event. She said she felt that for this festival that
was a better plan. By having the bureau do the promotion, all the components of
the festival were getting equal attention.
The dollars she spent included purchasing a large banner for the festival that
now hangs on Broadway Street near the train station. Dollars had also been spent
on non-local radio, newspaper, and digital advertising. This is in compliance
with the state grant that says dollars should be spent for outreach and also
meets the standards of the Marketing Plan created by DCC Marketing that
indicated the advertising should reach into the Midwest Region at about 50 miles
out.
McMurtrey said dollars had also been spent to purchase advertising on Facebook.
She explained that the program is not simply posting information on a Facebook
page, that it is real advertising that shows up on the sidebar of profile pages.
Facebook can measure the effectiveness of the ad, and McMurtrey said to date,
the Pigs and Swigs ads have reached more than 170,000 viewers.
McMurtrey said that for other entities in the county, the bureau would be happy
to assist them with similar advertising programs if they wish.
Jonie Tibbs asked about the Tourism website, wanting to know if all the problems
had been fixed.
McMurtrey said the website was a “beast of its own” and work is being done on a
regular basis to keep it up to date. She explained that part of the issue for
the bureau is that outside websites change and information changes and the
bureau is not always notified. Because of this, she and LCA Events Coordinator
Cara Barr have designated time for going through the website, checking links,
and updating as needed. McMurtrey said maintaining the website was a chore and
never ending, but in her opinion the site was currently “up to par.”
The bureau is asking the council to continue funneling dollars earned through
the Hotel/Motel Tax into its organization. On Tuesday evening, the exact dollar
amount was not mentioned. During the budget building process in April, the city
had estimated the tax revenue to be $169,000 and discussed awarding 95 percent
or $160,550 to the Tourism Bureau.
At the end of McMurtrey’s presentation, the question was asked, were the
aldermen ready to put the item on the voting agenda. All agreed, it should go on
next week’s agenda.
The motion will appear on the agenda for Monday, June 1st. However, aldermen
have the right to table any item if they feel they are unprepared to take a
vote.
[Nila Smith] |
