CLEVELAND (March
23, 2017) - At its 2017 annual meeting today, Destination Cleveland, the only
organization in Cuyahoga County responsible for growing the travel and tourism
industry, announced the outcomes of recently fielded research which show
meaningful progress in the organization's efforts to change perceptions of
Cleveland. The findings underscore
Destination Cleveland's role as a vital contributor to the region's economy and
provide an updated analysis of metrics first measured in 2012 and again
in 2015 regarding the visitor experience, as well as the perceptions of potential
and recent visitors, meeting planners and locals about Cleveland as a destination for leisure and meetings and
conventions travel.
CHANGING PERCEPTIONS OF CLEVELAND
Meeting Planners
Since the
launch of its visitor-facing "This is Cleveland" destination brand in 2014,
Destination Cleveland has focused on changing the perception of Cleveland among
its target audiences through several initiatives. Meeting planners, whose
primary job is to evaluate and select cities to host conventions and
business-related events, were an important area of focus, particularly as the
opening of a new, state-of-the-art convention center anchored Cleveland's re-emergence
as a place to host large-scale events.
Research conducted in 2012 by the Watkins Research Group
evaluated Cleveland as one of more than 40 meetings and conventions
destinations in the U.S. and Canada and revealed that planners would hardly
consider the city as a meeting host due to a lackluster destination narrative,
concerns about cleanliness, safety and friendliness, and an inadequate number
of hotel rooms.
The most recent Watkins Meeting Planner Research Study
identified Cleveland as one of the top 15 most improved meetings destinations, as
a result of its advances across the eight factors considered most important by
meeting planners when choosing a meeting destination. Factors include safety
and security, convention center facilities, accessibility within the city, etc.
When evaluated by meeting planners who had previously hosted an event in the
city (Destination Cleveland's clients), Cleveland secured a 12th
place ranking (out of 40 cities) as a city that previous clients would
recommend to their peers as a place to host a meeting. This data reinforces previous
findings that visitor perceptions about Cleveland significantly improve after traveling
to and experiencing the destination first-hand.
Potential Visitors
While first-hand experiences yield a more favorable perception
of Cleveland as a destination for business and leisure travel, an outdated city
narrative significantly impedes initial consideration of the destination as a
place to visit.
In 2015, a study conducted by TNS Global revealed that only 33 percent
of potential visitors said they would definitely or probably consider a trip to
Cleveland. While Cleveland contained many of the assets that would create a
true visitor experience, potential visitors were unaware of the city's travel-related
attractions and experiences.
Today, 38 percent of potential visitors would consider a
leisure trip to Cleveland, which is on par with both Columbus and Pittsburgh. With
the launch of the visitor brand and an integrated marketing effort aimed at
improving Cleveland's narrative, Destination Cleveland has made significant
strides in closing the communication gap. The organization's annual campaigns
target millennials and Gen-Xers in drive markets and showcases Cleveland as
irreverently fun, eclectic, passionate, bold and world-class.
Residents
While the crux
of the destination brand effort is designed to change a potential visitor's
consideration of Cleveland as a place to visit, a critical component of
changing visitor perception is positive word of mouth by a destination's
residents. Due in large part to the organization's launch of #ThisisCLE, a platform created for Clevelanders to share their
passion about their hometown, the TNS Global study also indicated that the
number of residents who would recommend Cleveland as a visitor destination
significantly increased from 54 percent in 2015 to 77 percent in 2016.
IMPACT OF DESTINATION
BRAND CAMPAIGN
In addition to
driving changed perceptions of Cleveland, the Destination Cleveland visitor brand
has also proven successful with regard to its financial impact on the
community. In partnership with Longwoods International, a respected leader in brand strategy
and ROI research who was contracted to evaluate Cleveland's travel and tourism
campaign, Destination Cleveland announced that for every advertising
dollar spent to execute the brand campaign, the return generates $195 in
visitor spending and $5 in tax revenue. The study also cited that, in 2016
alone, Destination Cleveland's ad campaign helped drive 1.2 million visitors to
Cleveland.
Moreover, the new ROI study validated that advertising
Cleveland as a visitor destination creates a halo effect on every aspect of the
local community's economic development. In addition to improving the city's
image, promoting the visitor brand encourages people to consider Cleveland as a
place to live, work and play as well as visit.
These
findings build upon previous research conducted in 2014 by Oxford Economics, a
world leader in global forecasting and quantitative research, which concluded
that destination marketing improves a city's overall profile thereby creating growth
in the broader economy. The Oxford Economics study also concluded that those
cities that prioritize destination marketing efforts experience an increase in
economic development through non-tourism channels while creating a lasting
impression on visitors.
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.