Working with Your Local Tourism Board (Part One)

Sep25by inshortdirectmarketing

Your local tourism board can be a great help to your winery. Not only do they promote the city, town or county, including your winery, they also have information that can help you putting your own plans together. Invariably the local tourism board has information on who is coming to the area and why. They can usually tell you, generally, the numbers of people, their age, the average of what they spend, etc.

Not only can they help you, but you can help them by providing information on your guests to the tourism board. To find out more I turned to Thomas Salley, a friend of mine from the wine industry who is now the Director of the Wilkesboro, NC Tourism Development Authority. As Thomas has expertise in both wine and tourism, he is the perfect person to give benefits of working with your local tourism council.

Speaking as a tourism director, Thomas said:

“It is our full-time job to attract tourists to the area and attention to our attractions. While you’re harvesting, paying taxes, handling HR/payroll, pouring wine. We’re focused on putting heads in beds and promoting your winery. We are constantly interacting with journalists, writers, influencers. Remember that one media article for your winery is worth thousands of dollars of advertising. So spending a few minutes updating your local tourism council on what’s going on is well worth your time and can pay huge dividends. You may spend 30 minutes describing your wines to a potential customer. Spare 5 minutes and give tourism professionals a call to tell them about a new release, event, weather, etc.”

Are you hosting an overnight event? Then you may be entitled to compensation. Many TDA’s or DMO’s, etc., have marketing dollars available for organizations who host events. IF you can tie hotel room stays back to these specific events then they may be able to help you promote them.

This week, take a look at the website for your local tourism council and see what they are involved in. They may be sponsoring or involved with projects you are not familiar with. If you already know and work with your tourism council, give them a call just to say hello. Then you will be top of mind if something comes up that your business can be a part of.

Check out the website for www.explorewilkesboro.com you may get some great ideas.

Next week more tourism tips from Thomas Salley.

A tip of the glass from me to you!

Working with Your Tourism Board – Part 2

Oct2by inshortdirectmarketing

Continuing the theme from last week’s blog, here are more tips on working with your local tourism programs (and others) to promote your winery and increase sales. 

Thanks to Thomas Salley, Director of the Wilkesboro, NC Tourism Development Authority for this great information. This week, Thomas’s tips are on working with others, in addition to your local tourism office.

It’s good business and good for business to network with other attractions in your community: It’s hard to get out and about when you’re minding the store, wines and grapes, but successful destinations always keep their Tourism director in the loop. One of my favorite things is connecting people with other people that I think complement their skill set to ignite collaboration within our district. B2B collaborations, especially online, are great ways to leverage credibility and add value to your marketing campaigns. Tourism people love to network with other tourism people, and we’ll promote what’s top of mind (ie. the last thing someone told us), grand openings, anniversaries, milestones and events.

Other Organizations: There are many local and national organizations who can help promote your business. WineAmerica is a great resource for wineries big and small. Or band together with similar wineries to form a niche group (Rhone Rangers, etc.) or a trail. Our winery trail was able to pay for most of its marketing efforts by hosting ticketed events that generated revenue. You may also consider affiliate memberships for other local businesses with winery ties. Look for state or regional organizations that are complementary to the wine industry to affiliate with: e.g. local restaurant and lodging association or the National Restaurant Association. If you are a winery owner and you are established in your field, find ways to introduce your wine to your others. Sponsor corporate events, speaking engagements, seminars. For example: Jay Raffaldini (Raffaldini Winery) gave a Ted Talk at a local event in Raleigh, NC. The talk encouraged people to visit and established the winery as both credible and relevant.

Don’t forget Universities and Nonprofits: Partnering with nonprofits may open doors to your desired client base,  expose you to influential members of the community and get your name out. Universities thrive from public/private partnerships. They can provide you with sound advice from other industries that they work with. Students may be willing to work on your projects as their projects for free or for a reduced fee. Students are also a good source for part-time employees. You may have the opportunity to talk to a class or two. These students will be loyal to your winery and visit when they are old enough.

A tip of the glass from me to you!