Just a bit of brief background information. I am in charge of online marketing and publications for the Colorado Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB). CVBs are an interesting marketing challenge because although we market a very distinct product (i.e. a vacation, business meeting or event in our locale) we have very little to no control over the customer experience or the final product. CVBs are also referred to as Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) and are often funded mostly through lodging and auto rental taxes. Almost all of our functions are dedicated to marketing the region.
As I reflect on our business model, we break our business into two distinct groups of people, family vacationers and group/professional meetings or events. These two groups have tremendously different needs and wants.
Demographic Trends - Here in Colorado Springs we focus on marketing to females, 30-55 years old during the spring and summer months. During this time period often moms find themselves planning for their family's summer vacation. We also tend to focus on our drive markets (Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico) with our extremely limited budget. With increases in fuel costs we have to be even more sensitive when communicating to these often budget conscious consumers. Meeting planners are a different crowd. They are normally professional people who often do not even attend the actual meeting but are concerned with the experience and value to their firm and meeting attendees. Most are also women and tend to be older, but recently there has been an influx of younger meeting planners.
Economic Trends - Two big things come to mind based on the current recession. First, gas prices are a big thing. This affects not only our families that drive north from Texas but also fuel costs for airlift into Colorado Springs and Denver. With the increase in the cost of flights, Colorado Springs as a destination for a meeting has become more expensive in comparison to other cities that we often compete against. At times, our small airport is just not as competitive. The second big trend is what the travel industry calls the AIG Effect. This has created an increased emphasis on the cost of corporate and government meetings. With the 5 star Broadmoor Hotel in town which counts on 70% of its business coming from meetings rather than leisure travel this really hit Colorado Springs and the rest of the nation hard. Thankfully, the meetings market is starting to see a resurgence. Further political issues are key to the industry's future.
Ecological Trends -As people become more focused on becoming green, they are often shifting to getting more information online and becoming more paperless. This could affect the number of Visitor Guides we produce every year. Also, as meetings become more green, planners are requesting recyclable products for promotion that are often more expensive. I think this is a trend that isn't going to go away.
Technological Trends - Clearly the prevalence of mobile devices and the development of the online marketing space has completely changed how people get travel information. If you aren't on social media, have an app and mobile site and offer extensive information online then you are left out of the race. This also affects the quantity of our print runs for the publications we now produce. We have recently reduced the number of Meeting Planner Guides from 10,000 to 2,000 over just a couple of years. More people prefer that information in an electronic format.
Political-Legal Trends - Since most DMOs are funded through public dollars as city and state budgets become tight they are at risk of losing funding. We had a funding reduction a couple of years ago and I know that the state of Washington has completely shuttered its office for the forseeable future. It is often easier for elected officials to cut travel promotion rather than streetlights or firefighters. As a DMO it is important for our staff to get the story out that travel promotion is actual a tax revenue generator that can fund other programs. In our case, every $1 we spend results in over $3 in tax revenue for our city and county. This issue will continue to be important moving forward.
Socio-Cultural Trends - Health is a key issue in America today. If the US wakes up and starts to live in a more healthy way, this might affect tourism and travel to Colorado Springs. As the home of the US Olympic Committee and Training Center, fitness and activity is important to our community. This will be a slow change, but it is important to be aware of.
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