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Tourism & Group Sales
Generating Business from Afar
In 2007 the Tourism & Group Sales continued to target the much-sought-after international tourist—both groups and individuals. These travelers are so coveted because the international tourist spends five times more in the market than a domestic traveler.
The Tourism staff hosted 185 representatives of travel trade and media from nine countries on familiarization tours of Minneapolis. Nearly half the participants were from countries outside the U.S., including Japan, Norway, the United Kingdom, Canada and various other European nations.
Of these clients, 32 were media who generated 14 travel articles about Minneapolis in international newspapers and magazines, plus three travel guidebooks (Japan, France, Germany) and a Norwegian television travel show. All together, these media stories reached 10.5 million potential travelers.
The Tourism department continued to work Pow Wow—the nation's major international travel trade show. Held in Anaheim, CA, in 2007, staff met with 48 international tour operators during the 3-day conference, securing 17 new fly/drive travel packages to Minneapolis before year's end.
But the highlight of the department's international efforts in 2007 was perhaps the Active America conference, hosted for the first time in Minneapolis Saint Paul in more than a decade. This springtime event was sponsored by Northwest Airlines for the Japanese travel industry to promote North American destinations and products. With 130 buyers and suppliers attending the conference, staff met with 44 Japanese buyers and media to present and develop new product to Minneapolis. Seven new travel programs were developed.
Minneapolis co-sponsored the Active America conference, together with Explore Minnesota Tourism, Saint Paul RiverCentre Convention and Visitors Authority, Bloomington Convention & Visitors Bureau and Mall of America. Minneapolis sponsored a reception and dinner at Mill City Museum, where Mayor Rybak welcomed the group to the city. Staff developed a driving tour of the city that included the Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway, downtown Minneapolis, Mississippi River Parkway, and Summit Avenue. Alamo provided 16 vehicles for the buyers to use to drive the course that ended at the Minnesota State Capitol.
Driving Travel Closer to Home
To capitalize on a world-class exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Meet Minneapolis partnered with the museum and worked with the Saint Paul RiverCentre Convention & Visitors Association and Explore Minnesota Tourism to create Nordic Summer. 40 events related to the Nordic countries were planned around a major art exhibit, Mirror of Nature: Nordic Landscape Paintings, at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts from June – September.
The 3-month Nordic Summer promotion was targeted to people in the Upper Midwest, encouraging summer travel to Minneapolis Saint Paul for weekend visits surrounding these special events and exhibits. Marketing included a direct mail campaign, radio promotions and advertising to the members of various Scandinavian organizations.
Sponsors included Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Sons of Norway, FinnStyle, Norway House and Ingebretson's. Other partners included Guthrie Theater, Historic Theater Group, Minnesota Historical Society, American Swedish Institute, Mindekirken Norwegian Church, Danish American Center, Plymouth Playhouse, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Metro Connections, Schubert Theater, Minnesota Orchestra and Cedar Cultural Center.
Communicating the Impact of Tourism on the Economy
On May 14, area convention and visitors bureaus held a press event at Como Park Zoo to promote National Tourism Week. Bill Deef, Chair of the Metro Tourism Committee and Meet Minneapolis Vice President of Tourism, released the latest tourism research numbers that revealed the Minneapolis Saint Paul area has 18.3 million visitors annually. The story was carried by WCCO-TV and KARE-11.
