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Home My WebLink About020921M Tourism Coordinating Council – Jefferson County Minutes of the Meeting of the Coordinating Council February 9, 2021 (DRAFT) The February 9, 2021 meeting of the Tourism Coordinating Council (TCC) for Jefferson County, was called to order at 10:03 AM by TCC Chair Roney. A quorum assembled in attendance: Council members present: Marsha Massey, Brian Cullin, Diana Smeland, Crystie Kisler, and Bill Roney all present. Excused: Aaron Terada Partners present: Commissioner Heidi Eisenhour, Bethany Smith, Arlene Alen TCC Marketing Coordinator present: Steve Shively Consent Agenda Consisting of January 12, TCC minutes and current TCC Financials as presented, approved by unanimous consent. CALL TO ORDER CONSENT AGENDA Commissioner’s Report – TCC welcomed Heidi as she shared insights of her first month of BoCC adventure, including getting oriented with each of her 18 committee assignments. She shared tourism related news and updates, including: • Coronavirus in Jefferson County updates and ongoing briefings in anticipation of continued distribution of vaccines. • Noting JeffCo. BoCC’s draft letter to Governor in protest of our Northwest Region remaining in Phase 1 of state Road Map to Recovery process. OPTC Highlights – Marsha shared various items of OPTC information, including: • Summary of current travel industry sentiment and forecasts • Overview of 2020 OPTC’s activities, with emphasis on outcomes of the very successful Fall/Winter collaborative marketing campaign. New Business – Bill lead TCC on an overview of the very dynamic and quickly ever-changing key legislation occurring in Olympia. TCC considered request to support 2021-2023 (biennial) budget proviso on behalf of Washington Tourism Alliance (WTA) to our District 24 Legislators, especially House Appropriations Committee (Steve Tharinger) and the Senate Ways and Means (Kevin van de Wege). ACTION – Marsha Moved and Diana Seconded that Bill and Steve coordinate in sending a TCC letter in support of biennial budget proviso for WTA. Unanimously approved. Marketing Report Steve Reviewed with TCC the following: • Update that TCC’s 2021 LTAC request for $141,450, or an adjusted total budget requested of $205,000, was approved by LTAC and has been forwarded to BoCC. • January 2021 Hotel Tax revenue numbers are reflecting the very successful Fall/Winter collaborative marketing campaign lead by OPCT, contributing to JeffCo’s YoY (Year Over Year) increase for January. • TCC’s EnjoyOlympicPeninsula.com website stats for January were reviewed, showing strong Average Session Duration and low Bounce Rate • Top Social Media ad campaigns for January were reviewed along with key industry indicators such as national hotel occupancy and air travel trends. Steve review various good and bad COVID travel campaigns and conditions. Reminding all that in Feb. 2020 we were watching Over Tourism trends. What a difference a year makes! COMISSIONER’S REPORT OPTC REPORT NEW BUSINESS TCC MARKETING COORDINATORS REPORT • Steve spoke to the value of leveraging and reamplifying existing media, be it OPTC’s or Brand USA’s, vs. attempting to ‘buy’ a unique TCC message and/or image position. Area Updates: Port Ludlow - Diana shared: • Winter golf series continue to be popular. • Fireside restaurant is open for takeout and outdoor dining. Continuing plans for Valentine’s Day modified 30 outside seating, + ~30 takeout, and an extra 30 orders for in-room guest dining specials. • Sold out rooms on most weekends. Experiencing 7-10 day (non-holiday) booking windows • Golf Packages aid leisure travel segment. • Looking forward to again attending Go West Summit 2021 VIRTUAL B2B in March. Gateway VIC – Bill noted: • 2021 LTAC funding secured, enables VIC to maintained hours, staff, and external QR displays. • Virtual meet up with volunteer core indicates about 50% of volunteers are eager and interested in returning to service once they have their vaccines. • County works will be scheduling parking lot resurfacing as soon as weather permits. Quilcene – Brinnon – Brian reported: • Fall opening planned of Worthington Mansion for event and accommodations after 32,000+ hours of volunteer restoration efforts. • Glad to be running full back cover ads in upcoming issues of Fjord Magazines. • Annual Easter egg event will pivot to a community Easter basket delivery campaign. • Brian shared the brand new Worthington House Art Collection brochure and described how their gallery will manage displaying the collection. Tri-Area – Chimacum Valley & Marrowstone Island - Crystie – shared updates: Finnriver continues to support the Woodbridge Farm campaign for Peter Mustin, supporting the launch of a more equitable and diverse farming community. • The Chimacum Grange is doing a fundraising campaign for their heating system. Finnriver continues with weekend hours of operations and hoping to open for more days/week in April or May. • Will be hiring for another Cider Garden manager let good applicants know about the opportunity. • Excited about their Farm Comfort Food subscription. Offering chocolate and cider pairing the month of February. • Land Access and Equity issues, including housing for employees remains a critical issue. Bethany shared that the Old Alcohol Plant is booked full for their Valentines weekend. Offering in-suite dining and limited patio restaurant seating’s. Glad to see a return of Wedding inquires. A little video about the tiny home village for you! https://youtu.be/dqLtVtfy3uY Westend - Bill spoke of the winter storms and King Tides that have impacted Kalaloch and the coast. Marsha noted that Forks has been doing well with visitor volumes. Possibly assisted by area tribes remaining closed to visitors due to COVID. AREA UPDATES Port Townsend / Chamber – Arlene’s update including these highlights: • 95% of the Port Townsend VIC’s consolidation towards a virtual VIC is not complete. • Their outdoor kiosks are being well used. • “2030 the virtual VIC” presentation is getting national attention. Their AI chatbot is up and running. • Developing a “Community Concierge Program” of subject area docents is underway • May 15 is Jefferson County Chamber’s community volunteer awards. Nomination form is online at JeffCountyChamber.org WTA/WTMA – Marsha updated TCC that: • WTA is in process of rebranding for the state. Phase 2 of rebranding project due late spring 2021. Web redesign also underway, and a big part of the rational behind the request for budget proviso support • Explore WA Backyard campaign and Road Trips campaign will be refreshed for spring with exciting itineraries. • National search for hiring a WTA Director of Marketing continues. Adjournment - There being no further business the TCC meeting was adjourned at 11:55 AM Next meeting of TCC is Tuesday March 9, 2021 – 10:00 AM via Zoom AREA UPDATES (cont.) ADJORN