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Community Involvement: State Tourism Offices

Agencies that actively market an area to a traveler are considered to be destination marketing organizations (DMOs). Every State has some sort of organization of DMOs, and in many cases, there is a hierarchy that accomplishes the goals of tourism marketing. Byways may or may not be considered the DMO for an area; however, it is a good idea to know which organization is handling tourism marketing and how to work with that group.

In many cases, the DMOs have the ability to partner with byway organizations for larger marketing efforts or offer space in publications and brochures that a byway can use rather than duplicate efforts. It is a good idea to get to know your local DMO and find out what the group can offer your byway and your byway can offer in exchange. In many instances, it may be a money and time saver for both organizations.

Examples of common marketing activities by a DMO include:
• Destination websites
• Production and distribution of visitor guides
• Traveler information fulfillment and mailing services
• Toll-free traveler information lines (often recorded)
• Advertising in newspaper, radio, television and Web
• Itinerary development for independent travelers and group travel
• Event planning
• Soliciting travel writers and other travel-related media
• Exhibiting at trade shows

Some typical DMO activities include:
• Public relations and marketing
• Development of press releases and media kits
• Solicitation of travel writers
• Active attendance at travel shows
• Membership with other travel organizations such as Tourism Industry Association of America, American Bus Association and others
• Access to travel trends and data
• Access to cooperative marketing opportunities with other DMOs
• Solicitation of private partnerships for marketing campaigns
• Access to grant funds for marketing

Partnering with a DMO can be very simple. For instance, if your byway is considering creating a website, leasing a page or finding an arrangement on a DMO site may be a smarter route. The traveler is likely to look for the destination name when searching the Web and then look for opportunities for experiences. In addition, the cost of purchasing a domain name, designing and maintaining the site, and posting to search engines nearly every day is enough to stop most organizations right in their tracks. By partnering or even purchasing a page on a DMO site, your byway not only gets a financial break, you also gain the marketing benefit of the DMO and a great partner.

Are you creating a brochure, but don’t have a distribution plan? Your local DMO probably stocks or has an arrangement to stock various locations in an area with visitor information. They may also be willing to send your brochure out to travelers who inquire about your area. Many DMOs keep records of zip codes or other data that can help you determine who is inquiring about your byway and where the potential visitor heard about it.

Destination marketing organization staff members regularly participate in a variety of program and activities that can benefit byways. They attend tourism conferences and have access to larger programs offered through the State or national tourism organizations that can mean reduced cost for marketing efforts.

Is your byway interested in soliciting travel writers? Having trouble writing good press releases? Try working with staff members from your local DMO. They regularly work with the media and often can assist with drafting press releases or contacting writers. Byways provide such a wonderful story for a destination that a public relations professional would probably welcome the opportunity to showcase your byway to writers.

Many byways express an interest in advertising in larger publications but are astounded by the cost. Destination marketing organizations often participate in cooperative advertising arrangements with State tourism offices for a fraction of the cost of advertising alone. Ask about the next year’s advertising plan. You may discover some opportunities you could not have pursued otherwise.

Additional resources could and should have a vested interest in what’s happening on your byway. Become involved in State and local chapters of organizations like hotel and motel associations, restaurant associations, campground associations and amusement park associations. These organizations represent byway stakeholders who play an integral part in delivering the byway experience to the traveler.

Plan Ahead
All marketing should be intentional and reflect your byway’s goals. Crafting a strategic marketing plan is the first step before forging any relationship. A relationship with the DMO can help your byway organization attain its marketing goals and expose more travelers to your byway’s story.

It is a good idea to understand the difference between various destination marketing organizations. The following list explains some of the most common DMOs:

Chambers Of Commerce: The primary function of a chamber of commerce is to act on behalf of the business community for the purposes of business retention and marketing. In many situations, the local chamber of commerce may also be the destination marketing organization and handle traveler information or staff information areas. In rural areas, the staff and funds for chambers may be very limited, but their enthusiasm and connections in the community can be very valuable. Chambers are funded through memberships and in some instances tourism-tax dedicated funding (tax levied on Hotel/motel stays). Many chambers have the ability to apply for marketing grant funds through their State tourism offices.

Convention and Visitors Bureaus: Convention and visitor bureaus (CVBs) tend to be located in cities (small and large) of represent large geographical areas. Their primary focus is to attract visitors and conventions, and often the staff is divided into convention services and visitor services. Some CVBs have staff that specialize in group travel and can assist with bus tours and other and other organized travel. CVBs are often funded through a tourism tax that is dedicated to destination marketing. Much like chambers of commerce, they have access to marketing grant funds through State tourism offices and are a valuable connection for your byway.

State Tourism Offices: Every State handles tourism in a slightly different manner. There can be anything from a cabinet-level office to a division of a certain department, or an independent organization. Find out how your state works. For the purposes of this article, we will call them State tourism offices. These organizations focus on bringing visitors from outside the State in, as well as broadly marketing regions of the State to in-State travelers. It is not the responsibility of the state to market specific destination or even specific byways, and often staff members try to balance their emphasis throughout the State. Much like a CVB, State tourism offices generally have staff members that specialize in marketing, public relations, events, group travel and international travel.

The State tourism office can be of great assistance to byways collectively at the State level and can help produce statewide maps, brochures and other elements. They are also very helpful in regard to cooperative advertising campaigns. The State (or any other larger group) can sometimes negotiate cheaper advertising rates for multiple placements and will pass the savings on to the CVBs or chambers of commerce. In addition, the State tourism offices usually produce a marketing plan with templates and/or graphics that can be used by DMOs.

It is customary to work through your local DMO when working with a State tourism office. Although your byway may have a good relationship with a staff member from the State tourism office, it is a good idea to include your local DMO in the conversation at all times. The State tourism office’s responsibility is to the DMO and your byway would be considered an attraction in the DMO area.

Most State tourism offices also offer marketing grants to DMOs. A byway may partner with a local DMO to utilize these grants. It should be noted, however, that State tourism offices are not flush with funds and often look for creative means to accomplish their marketing goals that may or may not include byway grant funds. Other activities typically offered by a State tourism office include regional and national conferences, educational workshops, local marketing planning assistance and data research and analysis.

We asked several State tourism offices how byways can best work with them. Here are a few of the responses:
“Scenic byways provide the basis for a substantial amount of product here in Oregon. We are a car-traveling State, with a scenic byway (23 in all) that will lead you to all of our experiences. Our scenic byways are an experience in themselves. Obviously, we have these ‘roadways’ without the scenic byway designation. The byway designation validates the visitor’s experience and, many times, will instigate an adventure.

State tourism offices, or any agency that is primarily visitor oriented, need to be seen as a major, if not chief, advisor to the byway program. Experience, interpretation and product through the visitor perspective is essential to a byway’s success.”
- Marlene R. Eccles, Travel Oregon

“Byways provide an attraction and reason/route for people to travel. As one consumer stated, ‘they become part of our dreams about travel in Minnesota.’ Scenic byways give people access to small towns, historic sites, parks, arts, scenery and off-the beaten-path routes. Work in coordination with your State tourism agency on programs that market all State scenic byways. By leveraging limited resources with others and the State, you can greatly expand your market reach. Look at all of your possible partners. We work with the DNR-Parks, Minnesota Historical Society, Minnesota State Arts Board and MnDOT in our byway promotion efforts. We also have private sector partners such as Target and Kodak. Each byway should be working with these same groups and types of businesses at a local level.”
- Colleen Tollefson, Explore Minnesota Tourism

“The best advice I can offer is to keep an open and constant line of communication with your State tourism office. Never hesitate to let your State tourism office know that you are there, what you are doing, and what you want to achieve down the road. The State tourism office can be a terrific partner in helping tell the world your story via its marketing mechanisms (advertising, PR tourism information services, research, etc.). While a State cannot do a byway’s marketing for them, it can definitely amplify the marketing message and help to develop or facilitate relevant partnership opportunities as the State becomes more familiar with that byway’s needs and goals. In Ohio, we have partnered with our Department of Transportation to work together to maximize communication with the byways about opportunities and initiatives, and have found this to be invaluable.”
- Amir Eylon, Assistant State Tourism Director, Ohio Division of Travel and Tourism

Tourism at a National and International Level
Most DMOs and State Offices of Tourism belong to a variety of national organizations that promote tourism. There are many associations related to the travel industry. You need to work with the associations that support your byway’s tourism marketing objectives.

Travel -related associations that work with individual and group travel include:

• TIA, The Travel Industry Association of America at www.tia.org
• ABA, the American Bus Association at www.buses.org
• CrossSphere (formerly the National Your Association - NTA) at www.crosssphere.com
• IACVB, the International Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus at www.iacvb.org
• USTOA, the United States Tour Operator Association at www.ustoa.com
• RSA, Receptive Services Association of America at www.rsana.org

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