tourism update: thankful for sonoma county · we're thankful for sonoma county...

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We're thankful for Sonoma CountyPresident's Message: Ken Fischang

As we enter our holiday season, here at SCT we are thankful foryou, our partners, and the difference you make for our visitorsand local communities.

In celebration of the holidays, SCT staff volunteered at theRedwood Empire Food Band and packaged 350 three-pound bagsof carrots (yes, 1,050 pounds of carrots!). These will be goingout to families in need for Thanksgiving.

Pictured, from leftare Mo Tunheim, Bill Judson, DeleyseLangdale, Kila Janusevskis, and MarkCrabb. Not pictured, Biggi Vaughan.

If you're visiting our office between nowand the end of the year, we're alsocollecting food for the food bank. Bringyour non-perishable item for the barrel.

I'm grateful to our awesome team andtheir dedication to our communities.

Tourism Update: Thankful for Sonoma County https://ui.constantcontact.com/visualeditor/visual_editor_preview.jsp?age...

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Speaking of an awesome team, we hadanother great year in 2015. Our occupancy rate grew 1.9 percent and the average dailyrate increased 7.2 percent, bringing customers to more than 2,000 small, locally ownedbusinesses and providing jobs for 19,350 residents.

In this update, you'll read about the awards luncheon that celebrated our CertifiedTourism Ambassadors, as well as finding out how you can become a CTA and join theranks of more than 1,300 who strive to give visitors the best experience possible.

Mark your calendar for a free seminar with Andrew Nelson, of National GeographicTraveler, about how to attract travel writers to your business. RSVP now, space islimited.

This issue also shows how we are opening doors to international travelers and howeffective our media relations program is.

Happy holidays to you and best wishes for a prosperous 2015.

Dec. 11: Free seminar - How to work with travel media byAndrew Nelson, National Geographic Traveler

SCT will host two sessions of the free seminar on how to work with travel media onFriday, Dec. 11. The first session is 9 to 10 a.m. and the second is 11 a.m. to noon. Thisfollows last year's successful media training with Megan Singleton, a top travel writerfrom New Zealand.

Andrew Nelson, award-winning writer and editor for National Geographic Traveler, willbe leading the seminars. SCT staff will also be on-hand to add input on what we arehearing from domestic and international travel media.

There are two sessions for this free seminar, but seating is limited to 30 participants persession. We request only one representative from a business attend. Additional staffrequests will be added to a waitlist.

RSVP by Monday, Dec. 7, to Kristin Clark, at [email protected] .

Be included in SCT's promotions:Super Bowl, off-season

SCT's marketing team is collecting offers for the deals section of SonomaCounty.com topromote off-season travel from November through April. Travelers will find your deal


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and click onto your website, and then book an overnight stay.

Businesses who have submitted information are reaping the benefits of the 529 percentincrease in web traffic to that page. Submitted deals are promoted with paid advertising,public relations, and social media.

We are currently collecting deals for the following campaigns:

Super Bowl 50: These run from now until the week after Super Bowl 50, of whichwe are a major destination sponsor. (November through Feb. 15, 2016). Makesure your deal has Super Bowl in the title and references in the text.

Sonoma Sneakaway: These deals will be featured in January through the end ofMay. This is SCT's award-winning campaign that drives visitors to the website.

Submit an offer for Super Bowl 50 or Sneakaway today. You can log in to the extranetand load it yourself. If you do not have a login, or need help adding your deal, emailBeth Snow at [email protected].

Here is a tutorial on how to add an offer, vimeo.com/61056556.

April 22, 2016 - Save the date for SCT's annual meeting

SCT will host its annual meeting from 8 to 11 a.m. on Friday, April 22, at the VintnersInn, 4350 Barnes Road in Santa Rosa. Breakfast will be provided. There is no charge toattend, but space will be limited. Stay tuned for information on how to register.

CTA awards luncheon a big hit

Sonoma CountyTourism celebratedeverything "service" atthe annual CertifiedTourism Ambassador(CTA) awards luncheon.

Awards were given toCTAs who exemplifyexcellence in hospitalityand customer service.These individualsconsistently exceedcustomers'expectations, possess astrong knowledge of the


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region and its attractions, and promote the ideals of Sonoma County Tourism and theTourism Ambassador Institute.

Nominees and winners are listed by geographical area. Pictured are front row from left,Jennifer Buffo, Shiva Emdadian, Pat Pulverenti, Beth Sawatzky, and Mike Von derPorten. Back row, from left, Nicole Bradin, Mo McElroy, Clark Wolf, Ken Fischang, andEvan Anatra. Not pictured is Kim Caffrey.

West CountyShiva Emdadian, Lok Group & Company (Winner)Gabriele Gatdula, Osmosis SpaKim Wise, Dutton Estate Winery

Pacific CoastEvan Anatra, Rivers End Restaurant (Winner)Alicia Ginochio, Sonoma ConciergeAmanda Vineyard, The Links at Bodega Bay

Russian RiverCameron Mills, Dawn Ranch LodgeMegan Perkins, Russian River Vacation HomesMike Von der Porten, Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods (Winner)

Central Sonoma CountyKim Caffrey, DeLoach Vineyards (Winner)Ray Crowder, California Welcome CenterMaggie Wager, Wells Fargo Center for the Arts

Sonoma ValleyAnne Johnson, Beau Wine ToursWinner Pat Pulverenti, Sonoma Valley Visitors BureauRandy Radcliff, Sonoma Signature Tours

North Sonoma CountyChris Eberle, Rochioli WineryBeth Sawatzky, Sonoma Wine Library (Winner)Carol Vaughan, Soda Rock Winery

CTA of the Year (and nominee for the national CTA awards)Mike Von der PortenStewards of the Coast and Redwoods

The Shining Star award is given to a tourism or hospitality business that offersstar-quality service and, in the case of this year's winner, amazing generosity. PureLuxury Transportation received the honor.

Sonoma County Tourism launched the Certified Tourism Ambassador program to trainfront-line employees and volunteers in the hospitality industry. The goal is to improvevisitation by inspiring front-line hospitality employees and volunteers to work together


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to turn every visitor encounter into a positive experience. Find more about the programhere.

What's the buzz? Sonoma County lives on social media

Find out what fans of Sonoma County are saying on several social media platform in oneconvenient location. Visit the Social Hub and browse, like, comment, or add your ownphotos to the ever-growing conversation.

New Sonoma County video releases

Sonoma County is the star in two new videos. Explore Sonoma County's farms or fall in love while searching for the Real Sonoma.

If you like what you see, feel free to binge watch the entire collection atbitly.com/sonoma-videos.


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New guides help travel planners navigate area

SCT has recently published guidesfor meeting professionals andtravel operators on its website.

Both guides are available to beviewed online or downloaded as aPDF.

They detail what is available totravel professionals looking tobook business in Sonoma County.

For more information about eachprogram, visit the Meetings orTravel Trade pages atSonomaCounty.com online.


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Hundreds of journalists a year receive assistance - pitches, press releases,fact-checking, and press trips - from SCT's public relations program, led by BiggiVaughan. A key component of the PR program is to build relationships that will havelasting effects, garnering multiple articles or blogs.

Recently, Doug Wallace, a freelancetravel writer from Toronto and anew relationship for SCT, offeredhis reflections of his recent presstrip. Biggi connected with him at amedia reception a year ago inToronto.

"We had such an amazing time inSonoma! [The server] tookexcellent care of us at the girl & thefig, which was an exquisiteexperience. Thank you! We werealso at the Wild Goat, which wasawesome.

"We drove absolutely everywhere:All the way up [Highway] 116 toArmstrong Woods [pictured herehugging a redwood tree], acrossSweetwater Springs Road toHealdsburg (what a crazy drive!), up West Dry Creek Road and down regular Dry CreekRoad, and the next day all the way to Calistoga, then Trinity Road to Glen Ellen andKenwood, all along [Highway] 12, racing to catch the last tasting at Ravenswood beforeeverything closed at 4:30. Amazing fun and tons of wine."

Hidehiko Kuwata, a journalist from Japan, asked forassistance tracking down photos of the Charles M. SchulzMuseum. His email illustrates an ongoing relationship withSCT that garnered more than one article.

"My name is Hidehiko Kuwata, I met you when I was


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staying in Sonoma County making my book namedCalifornia Wine Country in 2013. I also will publish anarticle about the Charles M. Schulz Museum in November."

An ongoing relationship with Martha Ross continues to getgreat press coverage. She has visited the area and wasscheduled to return when her trip was cancelled. However,she went ahead and wrote a story about Vintners Inn andit was syndicated to the Daily Democrat (UMV: 47,164).Also the Wine Road got some love from the San JoseMercury News (UMV: 1,579,337, Circ. 581,532) inan article "Northern California wine events," also written

by Martha.

These are just a few examples of how SCT interacts with journalists across the globe.Below are a few more examples. Wanting more fabulous Sonoma County stories? Readmore here.

The Wine Institute's press release for theirwine region of the month series recentlyfeatured Sonoma County. So far therelease was found on 179 websites, with apotential total audience of 10,643,924unique visitors per day.

Some outlets that shared this article are the San Diego UnionTribune (UMV: 1,828,975),this article on Examiner, andthis article on Food & Food EquipmentNews (UMV: 7,047).

SCT hosted an Italian television crew inearly October. Their video was broadcastedrecently during the TV Travel ShowKilimangiaro on RAI 3 in Italy. There were789,000 viewers. To view the segment,after the Nutella advertising, click on the"California" highlights on the right atminute 2:34.

MacRostie, Dutton-Goldfield, Amy's DriveThru, Valette, Joseph Jewell, Three Sticks,Pascaline, The Barlow, Pangloss Cellars,Bird & the Bottle, Gloria Ferrer, andBarndiva's Gallery Bar are included inan article by Kristine Hansenon Fodors.com (UMV: 1,278,604). SCT hasan ongoing relationship with Kristine and


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A journalist from Japan visited the CharlesM. Schulz Museum and fought the Red

Baron. This was one of more than 100 mediatrips Sonoma County Tourism sponsored in

2015.

reached out to her for the inclusion.

Check out the beautiful blog by JulieFalconer, A Lady in London. SCT hostedJulie and what a fantastic trip she had.Please don't miss her amazing photos andthe great cross-section of Sonoma County that she was able to cover.

Due to SCT's assistance, Osmosis, Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa, and theKenwood Inn & Spa are included in an article in the magazine for SouthwestAirlines. The winter travel guide is a "Bucket List 2.0" and suggests that "rather thanhibernate when temps start to drop, get busy planning your dream vacation." View theentire issue online.

SCT's Deleyse Langdale has been busy coordinating and training tour and travelprofessionals in the international markets about Sonoma County. Here are a few of herhighlights.

Australia: SCT is running a series of week-long travel agent competitions in Australiathrough a travel trade daily email and website called Travel Daily. There's a newSonoma County question and prize every day throughout the campaign. The averagedaily readership for Travel Daily is more than 64,000 travel agents and tour operatorsper e-newsletter. The competitions will run throughout October 2016.

United Kingdom: UK luxury touroperator Exsus recently featuredSonoma County in a blog. LisaMattson, communicationsdirector of Jordan Winery, wasfeatured in the interview. Theblog is just one part of a multi-layered marketing campaignthat includes the blog post,social media posts, and adedicated e-newsletter to theirsubscribers. The goal is to drivetraffic to the Sonoma Countypages on their website in orderto book room nights.

Sonoma County has adestination page that is featuredin the new Visit USA print guidethat will be distributed in the UKto potential visitors and thetravel trade. Some 50,000copies of this planner are


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distributed to consumer andtrade audiences throughout2016. Readers are looking for

inspiration to book their dream USA holiday. An online, digital edition will be on thehomepage of Visit USA's website.

A new report from DevelopmentCounsellors International confirmswhat SCT's sales team has longunderstood: Meeting plannersprefer face-to-face interactionswith destination marketingorganizations. That's how theyare inspired to learn more aboutpotential locations to hold theirmeetings.

That's one of the key takeawaysfrom a new report: "A View FromMeeting Planners: WinningStrategies in DestinationMarketing." The DCI study,which surveyed more than 200North American planners whoorganize both domestic andinternational programs, follows upon a similar DCI study from 2012.

"The majority of trade shows we attend are based on face-to-face appointments withclients," said SCT's Mark Crabb. "We always get the best return on our investment whenwe meet and develop relationships with meeting professionals."

Pictured, a group of planners and travel influencers toured through Sonoma County withSCT's sales team. Along the way, they enjoyed the scenery at Ram's Gate Winery. Andthe wine was really great, too.


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U.S. ranks No. 3 on Lonely Planet's best in travel 2016from Lonely PlanetWith 59 national parks and hundreds of historic landmarks, the U.S. is ranked No. 3among the top countries of the world to see in 2016.Read more.

While Sonoma County isn't home to a National Park, we do offer more than 50 regionaland state parks that are marketed to travelers, including the international market, bySonoma County Tourism and Sonoma County Regional Parks.

How Smartphones Have Changed the Travel Industry from Roam Right Successful sellers of travel are fully embracing the technology of today and commandingit, rather than the other way around. Read more.

SonomaCounty.com is built on a "mobile first" design that makes the website scalableacross all digital platforms: Computers, smart phones, and tablets. Look for a refresh ofthe website in the second quarter of 2016.

Phenomenal Brand USA boosts U.S. economy by $15 millionfrom Travel and Tour WorldBrand USA - the nation's destination-marketing organization - generated more than 2million incremental visitors to the U.S. from around the globe over the past two years,according to a new study. Read more.

Travel industry adapting to Boomers' changing travel tastes From The Globe & Mail Just as boomers made backpacking through Europe a rite of passage, so, too, will theyshake up the rules of retirement and the travel economy? Read more.

Millennials and travel: Shifting trends in business and leisure travel

How millennials are redefining business travelfrom Fast CompanyWho says you can't combine work and play? Not millennials, at least. Recent research


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suggests they aren't the strictly utilitarian business trippers their parents tend tobe.Read more.

Millennial travel habits force tourism bureaus to shift strategyfrom SkiftMillennials at destination marketing organizations are pushing senior leadership todevelop more innovative digital communications and more experiential sales effortstargeting both the leisure travel and meetings sectors. Read more.

Millennials embrace business travel meetingsfrom Successful MeetingsAccording to recent Global Business Travel Association research, "Millennials are thenewest generation of road warriors and they understand that face-to-face meetingsremain key to getting business done." Read more.

Travel: Health and economic benefits

Five ways science says travel improves your health and wellbeingfrom TripAdvisorHow many vacation days do you have left this year? If it's more than you can take inthe two months remaining before year's end, you're hardly alone. Read more.

Vacations said to benefit employers as well as workersfrom Travel WeeklyThe message at Project: Time Off's Upside of Downtime Forum was clear: Americans areleaving more vacation time on the table than ever, and that is hurting themselves andtheir employers. Read more.

Unlimited vacation has bottom-line benefitfrom The Courier-TribuneA recent Oxford Economics study found that U.S. companies carried forward $65.6billion in accrued time off costs from 2014 into 2015. Read more.

Infographic: Business travel soaring, highly profitablefrom TravelPulseAmericans will take more than 490 million business trips by the end of 2015. Businesstrips will account for 16 percent of long-distance travel by Americans, while contributing$310 billion to the national gross domestic product. Read more.

Six charts showing U.S. travelers' 2015 holiday season hotel and airlinebookings trendsfrom SkiftLast-minute airline and hotel bookings during the holiday season are a predominantpractice for Americans in search of the best deals to get home for the holidays or awayfor relaxation. Read more.

This email was sent to [email protected] by [email protected] |


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