Annual Meeting Presentation Unveils Strategic Plan, Previews New Industry Initiatives to Foster Continued Growth
CLEVELAND (March 23, 2017) - Today, Destination Cleveland, the only
organization in Cuyahoga County responsible for growing the travel and tourism
industry, hosted its 2017 annual meeting to announce several organizational
achievements. The group also previewed key initiatives designed to leverage the
momentum of a historic 2016 to continue to grow Cleveland as a national and
international destination for meetings and conventions and leisure travel.
2016 ORGANZIATION SUCCESSES
Convention Sales and
Services
In addition to hosting one of the largest events the
Northeast Ohio region has seen in decades, Destination Cleveland's convention sales
and services team continued to generate increases resulting from ongoing
efforts to attract conventions and business-related events to Cleveland.
The sales team pursued 744 leads in 2016, a 17.4 percent increase
over 2015. In partnership with many of the area's hotels and venues, the sales
team booked more than 228,500 definite room nights, nearly 57,000 more than
2015. Approximately 2.8 percent more hotel rooms were purchased in Cleveland in
2016 versus 2015, exceeding the U.S. increase in rooms sold of 1.7 percent.
To complement the efforts of the sales team, the
convention services team provided event planning expertise and support to 271
meetings and conventions, which is 50 more than 2015.
Marketing
and Communications
In 2016, the marketing and
communications efforts to support the Cleveland brand were heightened to both prepare
the community for the Republican National Convention and use the event to
further change Cleveland's narrative as a place to visit. The efforts resulted
in the following:
-
4.4 million page views of Destination
Cleveland's website (www.thisiscleveland.com),
a 36 percent increase over 2015. The site was explored by more than one million
people.
-
More than 55 million people reached
through paid advertising efforts;
-
More than 209 million people reached
through Destination Cleveland's social media efforts;
-
11.8 billion media impressions for both
Destination Cleveland and the Cleveland 2016 Host Committee, compared to an
average of 350-500 million impressions generated through the organization's
traditional meetings and conventions, leisure and local outreach efforts.
Destination Development
and Community Affairs (DDCA)
Destination Cleveland's DDCA team continued to
collaborate with community and industry stakeholders on several projects aimed
at strengthening the region as a destination and enhancing the visitor
experience. In conjunction with the City of Cleveland, the team completed a
major phase of its Seamless Cleveland Wayfinding Masterplan with the
installation of 54 pedestrian wayfinding signs in time for the Republican
National Convention.
In addition, more than 1,000 frontline staff successfully
completed the 2016 CLE
Travelbackers training program,
which was redesigned with new benefits for participants including less time
away from work, lower costs and RNC-related content. Since its launch in 2013,
a total of 2,600 frontline staff members have completed the CLE
Travelbackers program.
Cleveland 2016 Host
Committee Support
To turbocharge the effort to
change Cleveland's narrative, Destination Cleveland worked in tandem with the
Cleveland 2016 Host Committee to leverage the 2016 Republican National
Convention to showcase Northeast Ohio as a visitor destination.
On behalf of the Host Committee,
Destination Cleveland oversaw more than 10 subcommittees and partnered with
more than 230 organizations to create an authentic Cleveland experience for
more than 50,000 convention guests. In total, Destination Cleveland, across all
departments, contributed more than 30,000 hours to the Cleveland 2016 Host
Committee's efforts to host the Convention.
STRATEGIC PLAN
Also at today's meeting, David Gilbert, president and CEO
of Destination Cleveland, unveiled the organization's 2017-2020 strategic plan.
Developed under the guidance of Ernst & Young's Travel and Tourism
consulting team, the plan outlines approaches to drive the attraction of 20
million visitors by 2020.
Designed to ensure the continued growth of
Destination Cleveland's efforts and the evolution of Northeast Ohio's travel
and tourism industry, the plan also challenges the organization to achieve the following goals:
-
Be
a purpose driven organization
-
Increase
volume and impact of meetings, conventions, groups and events
-
Improve
perception locally, regionally and beyond
-
Elevate
the destination and visitor experience
-
Develop
and leverage community support for the travel and tourism industry
-
Enhance
organizational design and reputation
While the tactical plan to achieve the goals is still in
development, Gilbert provided a preview of three fundamental and transformative
initiatives that will drive Destination Cleveland's work in the next three
years:
-
DMO to DMMO: The organization will transition from
operating as a destination marketing organization (DMO), one that markets
communities as destinations and measures success on visitor volume, hotel
occupancy rates and number of meetings and conventions booked, to a destination marketing and
management organization (DMMO), one
that takes into account important issues that affect the overall growth of the
travel and tourism industry and its integration into broader community planning
efforts.
-
LOCAL FLYWHEEL: Destination Cleveland will work to leverage
the success of grassroots efforts, such as the utilization of #ThisisCLE, to connect locals to Destination Cleveland's mission
and create a self-sustaining momentum of positive resident word of mouth.
-
TOURISM MASTER PLAN - CLEVELAND 2.0: Destination Cleveland will spearhead
a broader effort - in partnership with the community and industry stakeholder groups - to create a shared vision
for the future of the travel and tourism industry.
In addition to Gilbert's presentation, Dan Walsh, founder
and CEO of Citymark and chairman of Destination Cleveland's board of directors,
also presented the organization's successes of 2016. Held at Severance Hall, guests
were entertained by the Contemporary Youth Orchestra and enjoyed a cocktail
reception following the meeting.
The organization is appreciative of the support of all its
partners, particularly those that worked together to put on today's event. Destination
Cleveland would like to thank Fox
Sports Net Ohio for serving as the presenting sponsor of the
annual meeting, and also is appreciative of the support of its event sponsors: Advance 360, Angstrom Graphics, Crain's Cleveland Business, Enterprise/National
Rent-A-Car, Fern Exposition and Event
Services, Microsoft,
Ohio Business Machines, Old City Soda and Vitamix.
For more information about Destination Cleveland or
visitor-related developments, attractions and activities, please visit thisiscleveland.com, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
and subscribe to our channels on YouTube
and Pinterest.