CVB spending combats gas prices

While Rau is monitoring the nation’s high gas prices, she doesn’t expect them to kill Silver Dollar City’s summer season. The Midwest average for regular-grade gas was $3.32 on Memorial Day, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

“We are looking for a very solid year,” said Rau, who wouldn’t disclose the park’s marketing budget, but said advertising efforts focus on markets within a 300-mile radius.

The state’s Division of Tourism director agrees with Rau that the local tourism economy should sustain higher travel costs.

“We feel that people are still going to travel,” said Tourism Director Blaine Luetkemeyer, noting that there are 80 million people within a day’s drive of Missouri. “Instead of traveling to Florida, they’ll go to Silver Dollar City, or they’ll go to Kansas City, or they’ll go to Lake of the Ozarks or someplace … close to home.”

The state’s tourism industry has a $13.4 billion economic impact and generates more than $627 million in tax revenue. That’s second only to agriculture, according to Luetkemeyer.

Luetkemeyer said $3.50 a gallon might be the tipping point for a decline in travel, but he doesn’t expect gas to reach that price.

Recruiting tourists

Officials continue to invest heavily in tourism marketing, and the rewards have been strong. Luetkemeyer said about $550 is generated in statewide spending for every $1 spent on tourism advertising.

That correlation is clear in Branson, where Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau increased its annual budget in 2006 to about $8 million from about $3 million after a new 1 percent tourism tax was enacted in November 2005. The tax created a new revenue stream, and most of that money went directly to electronic and print advertising, including efforts in new markets such as Dallas and Chicago.

With the increased spending, Branson drew 7.9 million visitors in 2006, about 7 percent more than in 2005. Comparatively, Branson’s draw was about 7.2 million people in 2004, according to CVB President and CEO Ross Summers.

“Last year, we had a very good year in Branson, but there was a lot going on,” Summers said, citing the openings of Branson Landing, Titanic Museum and Dick Clark American Bandstand Theatre.

Still, Summers, like Silver Dollar City’s Rau, expects a strong year. Branson’s CVB has a 2007 budget of about $9 million, and Summers expects slightly more than 8 million visitors. The big addition this year is the August opening of the 220,000-square-foot Branson Convention Center across the street from Branson Landing. Summers expects the $47 million convention center to eventually bring about 200,000 new business travelers to town.

Miles apart

While Springfield isn’t the travel Mecca that Branson is, tourism is still an integral part of Springfield’s economy. Last year, about 1.5 million people stayed in Springfield hotels, and tourism accounted for between $600 million and $700 million in direct spending, according to Tracy Kimberlin, executive director of Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau. Bass Pro Shops, Wonders of Wildlife and Fantastic Caverns were the top draws, he said.

The 2007-08 Springfield CVB budget will be $2.85 million, down slightly from $2.94 million last year and about $2.9 million the year before, Kimberlin said. Advertising spans print, radio and television in six primary markets: St. Louis; Kansas City; Tulsa, Okla.; Wichita, Kan.; and Fayetteville and Little Rock, Ark. Again this year Springfield CVB is offering to buy $40 of gas for qualifying travelers.

Kimberlin said Springfield and Branson are partners, not competitors, in the tourism game.

“When people travel, they tend not to recognize political boundaries,” he said. “We operate a tourist information center out on Battlefield and (Highway) 65, and a lot of people, when they stop there, think they are in Branson. A 35-mile separation between the communities is really nothing to a tourist.”

Both CVBs, along with many others in the state, receive grant money from the Missouri Division of Tourism, Luetkemeyer said. The philosophy is that a rising tide raises all boats, and the state division will look to raise as many boats as possible with its $20.6 million budget this year, up from $17.7 million last year and $15.6 million the year before.

A funding formula that has been state law since 1994 ties Division of Tourism’s budget directly to the revenues that it helps generate statewide.

Biggest Draws

According to Missouri Division of Tourism Director Blaine Luetkemeyer, these are the top three tourist draws in the state. He didn’t cite Bass Pro Shops in Springfield because the Division of Tourism doesn’t have reliable numbers for the store, according to Research Director Dee Ann McKinley. However, Bass Pro spokesman Larry Whiteley said the store draws 4 million visitors a year.

• St. Louis Cardinals, 3.4 million visitors in 2006

• St. Louis Gateway Arch, 2.6 million visitors in 2006

• Silver Dollar City, 2 million visitors in 2006

Source: Missouri Division of Tourism, National Park Service, Silver Dollar City, ESPN, Bass Pro Shops

Missouri’s Rank

Missouri Division of Tourism ranked 14th in the country for overall state tourism office budgets with $17.7 million in fiscal 2006–07, according to Travel Industry Association. Meanwhile, it ranked fourth – behind only California, Colorado and Texas – in domestic advertising budgets with $12.4 million. No. 1 for overall budget was Hawaii with $70.7 million. The smallest overall budget is Rhode Island’s $1.5 million.

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