Tourism Association adding more staff

Seeking to identify new tourist markets

The new director of the Gunnison Crested Butte Tourism Association (TA), Pamela Houghton, and the TA board of directors have some changes in mind for the valley’s marketing arm. In two separate meetings with the Board of County Commissioners they outlined 2013 budget priorities that would support a three-year marketing plan, increase market research to identify new tourist markets, and add two more full-time staff to the organization.

Houghton explained that the three-year plan had been developed as a way to maintain Gunnison County’s share of skiing and outdoor tourism. Industry research shows ski travel in 2011 dropped by 4 percent, and while data for 2012 is not yet available, Houghton expects it to remain flat.
“We were down all across the state and special event travel slipped, and all those affect the way our business happens here in this county,” she said.
The good news, Houghton added, was that key markets like baby boomers are still traveling—they’re just making different choices than they used to and the Gunnison Valley needs to capitalize on that. A three-year plan will help the TA become more data-driven, identifying new markets and customizing messages to those markets.
“Plans ebb and flow over the years; however, we need a vision to follow to make sure everyone is on track,” Houghton said, adding that this vision will help make sure “things don’t change every six to 12 months.”
The crux of the TA marketing plan uses market research to identify the Gunnison Valley’s target audiences, and, using digital media, tailors marketing messages to those groups. Houghton identified five key markets: outdoor families, couples, empty nesters, weekend warriors and sports enthusiasts.
By looking at those segments in key locations, Houghton said, the TA can analyze their general interests to promote the Gunnison Valley in a more appealing way. “It helps us identify in advance [visitors’] interests, and engage them in our activities,” she said.
Last year the TA spent 50 percent of its marketing dollars on digital advertising. This year, the TA plans to shift toward a much greater proportion online. “We’re not ignoring radio, print, or any other segment, but we think we can get more bang for our buck,” Houghton said.
Online advertising can respond to potential visitors’ online habits—what websites they visit, what searches they conduct, and their shopping habits. Houghton used the example that if someone puts an item in a digital shopping cart but doesn’t purchase it, that information can be used to tailor the ads they see the next time they open their web browser.
“Kind of like stalking,” Commissioner Phil Chamberland quipped.
“It’s cyber-space stalking—it’s harmless,” Houghton laughed. “That’s why I always say you can clear your cache.”
To fully enact the plan, Houghton and the TA board recommended creating two new full-time positions and filling a third that is currently vacant, including a communications manager, an interactive marketing manager, and a marketing administrative coordinator.
Historically, the executive director has been joined by one full-time employee, and the remaining needs have been filled through contract services. Houghton said the marketing plan will be better implemented with full-time staff.
“It is difficult to manage a team when they’re not really your team,” Houghton said.
And because hourly fees for contract work are higher than those for full-time employees, the change could be accomplished with a 4 percent increase to the budget for salaries and wages. At first, Channell questioned what he called a philosophical change to the organization. “One of the strongest aspects as I recall from a recent study was the leanness of administrative structure compared to other like organizations,” he said.
“[The study] found that we were doing equal to or greater than the human work with fewer human counterparts,” outgoing director Jane Chaney said.
But by the second meeting between the TA and the county commissioners, the commissioners were more concerned with logistics. Adding additional employees to the county healthcare plan could impact the county’s bottom line, and new questions have been raised as to whether or not the county can legally provide insurance for non-county organizations.
The commissioners supported transitioning TA staff off of county health insurance, as has been done for the library, and letting the TA give staff a stipend for health insurance instead.
“I am of a mind… that we should transition all non-county employees out of our coverage, but the key word there is transition,” Channell said.
He and Commissioner Paula Swenson agreed insurance could be maintained for the director during a transition period, and new staff could be hired under a different policy. Houghton agreed. She also agreed to look again at the proposed budget for other ways to fund the $21,000 of added research, which will be used to identify new markets.
“We’ve had great success in going to geographic markets that we know are good for us, but we can’t continue to just fish in that market. If we’re going to get different results we have to broaden our reach,” Houghton said.
That said, Houghton acknowledged that the lead time for hiring new staff would delay their start dates. Since she budgeted all four staff for the full year, she thought she could free up some of the current budget for that research. The commissioners agreed to allocate $1 million for the TA budget.