Athens CVB Newsletter August 2012

Athens Now:

The monthly newsletter of the Athens Convention & Visitors Bureau

In This Issue...

Website Program Aug. 22

DMOs Influence 1 in 5 Group Rooms Booked

Hospitality Newsmakers

Visitors Guide 2012 is Here

Out & About with the CVB

Classic Center Hardhat Tours

Mark Adams Departs Athens CVB

VisitAthensGA.com:
New Initiatives & Opportunities

The Athens CVB website, VisitAthensGA.com, provides visitors to our region with essential information as they make their spending decisions concerning lodging, dining, entertainment, and culture.

We are pleased to invite area businesses and organizations to an informative meeting that will explore the expanding role of the CVB website in generating new economic rewards for communities as well as the organizations listed on those sites.

WHAT: Your CVB Website - New Initiatives & Opportunities

WHEN: Wednesday, August 22, 8:30 a.m.

WHERE: The Classic Center, Foundry Street Complex, Cypress 1

RSVP: Hannah Smith, hsmith@VisitAthensGA.com

CVB Director of Marketing & Communications Hannah Smith will discuss new upgrades to the CVB website and Ted Cummings, an Account Executive with Destination Travel Network, will discuss how CVB websites generate local revenue & ROI for partners, as well as a new advertising program for VisitAthensGA.com.

DMO Influence

At the "State of the Industry" session at the 2012 Annual Convention held July 16-18 in Seattle, Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) released results from a landmark study, which determined that DMOs (Destination Marketing Organizations such as the Athens CVB) influence 1 in 5 group rooms that occur in the U.S. annually. Key findings of the analysis include:

In 2011, DMOs influenced 37.5 million group room nights for future events
35.6 million group room nights occurred U.S. destinations in 2011 as a result of DMO sales and marketing efforts
DMOs new group room bookings grew 4.8% in 2011
In the 275 markets where DMOs are active in group sales, DMOs influenced 19%, or one in five, of all group hotel room nights in 2011

The analysis, based on a massive collection of data from more than 100 DMOs representing three-quarters of the total market, was commissioned by DMAI and produced by Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics company. Read the full study here.

Hospitality Newsmakers & Media

The UGA Performing Arts Center's (PAC) new website has won the Interactive Media Award for outstanding achievement. This Interactive Media Council award is considered one of the industry's top website awards. Atlanta-based Bluetube Interactive, which collaborated with PAC staff for a year on the site and has also designed the site for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, shared the award. Check it out at pac.uga.edu.
Athens Institute for Contemporary Art (ATHICA) has hired Hope Hilton as its new Gallery Manager, effective Aug. 13th. Hilton replaces founding Artistic Director Lizzie Zucker Saltz, who assumes emerita status. Hilton is an active artist, teacher, curator, and designer in Athens. She teaches Art Appreciation at Athens Technical College and has been the education coordinator at Treehouse Kid and Craft since 2010.
The CVB advertised on WXIA-11 Alive to reach the valuable Atlanta market during the high-visibility Olympics, running a 60 second spot with Christine Pullara of the station's Atlanta & Company.
Watch it here.

Visitors Guide 2012

The 2012 Official Athens Visitors Guides have arrived! A huge THANK YOU to our advertisers and those who helped along the way with editorial updates.

If you have not already received a new supply and would like to have some, please contact
CVB Information Coordinator April Skelton at

askelton@VisitAthensGA.com
or call 706-357-4430.

Out and About with the CVB

CVB Director Chuck Jones made a presentation to Prudential Blanton Realty on Tuesday, July 17. The trivia-based format continues to be a crowd-pleaser. The winner of the trivia contest was realtor Diane Adams, who correctly answered 10 out of 12 questions. Congratulations, Diane!

Classic Center Hardhat Tours

Athens hoteliers take a hardhat tour of The Classic Center following their July 27 GM meeting. Current and prospective clients are invited to get a close-up view of the expansion's progress and the new spaces on tours given on Friday afternoons, or by apppointment.

Farewell, Mark Adams

After serving as director of sales (DOS) at the Athens CVB for six and a half years, Mark Adams has accepted the position of director of sales at the Georgia World Congress Center Authority in Atlanta. His last day at the CVB was Friday, August 3.

Mark was an extremely successful director of sales and was instrumental in generating a significant amount of business for The Classic Center and our city. He is well liked and respected by industry partners, as well as clients. Mark will be greatly missed by us all. Because of his efforts, the CVB is a stronger and more respected organization than when he first arrived.

We know that he will do a great job in his new position and look forward to working with him in his new role.

The CVB is currently conducting a search to fill the DOS position.

August 2012