MIDLANDS AUTHORITY FOR CONVENTIONS, SPORTS & TOURISM
FISCAL YEAR 2015-2016
ANNUAL REPORT
ExperienceColumbia.com
Mission Statements
MIDLANDS AUTHORITY FOR CONVENTIONS, SPORTS & TOURISM
Midlands Authority for Conventions, Sports & Tourism The Midlands Authority for Conventions, Sports & Tourism’s mission is to strengthen the area’s economy by promoting tourism in the region through active recruitment of new meetings, conventions, leisure travel and sporting events and by enhancing existing tourism through exceptional customer service. Columbia Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau The mission of the Columbia Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau is to strengthen the area’s economy by marketing and selling the region, it’s accommodations, meeting facilities, restaurants, facilities and attractions as a premier destination for meetings, conventions, tradeshows, special events and leisure travel and by working cooperatively with the hospitality community providing informative materials and assistive services that enhance and promote the desired image of the metropolitan area. Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center The mission of the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center is to provide a first-class venue offering superior operations management and stateof-the-science amenities for the successful coordination of meetings, conventions, tradeshows, entertainment and other special events utilizing the facility; enhancing the economic viability and image of the area. Columbia Regional Sports Council The mission of the Columbia Regional Sports Council is to strengthen the area’s economy by marketing and selling the area’s economy by marketing and selling the region as a premier destination for sporting events, partnering with local sports organizations to grow and develop existing events, and by recruiting new events which provide an economic benefit to the region by generating room nights, food and beverage sales and associated tax revenues.
Dear Partners and Stakeholders, As you review the Midlands Authority’s Annual Report for FY 15-16, I hope you will share our sense of community pride and accomplishment as we grow the Columbia region as a tourism destination. Our Convention Center had its best sales year ever since opening 12 years ago. The Sports Council hosted events from the high-profile, such as the NXT Lacrosse SC Shootout to the off-beat, like the US Quidditch National Cup, drawing visitors from around the country. Our CVB contracted over $14 million in economic impact for our hotels, restaurants and hospitality partners in the community by booking meetings with over 90,000 attendees that will travel to our region. Our media relations department garnered editorial coverage in notable outlets such as Travel Channel Online and Points North Magazine, and an ad/editorial partnership with Delta Sky Magazine resulted in a 26-spage spread on our region reaching five million travelers. Our billboard, television and print advertising reached over 250 million impressions, and our online presence was stronger than ever with a robust search engine campaign and growing social media audience. The bottom line is everything we do at the Midlands Authority is to spread the word about the amazing things happening in our region so that we can drive business to our partners - from hotels and restaurants to shops and attractions and beyond. It’s been a fun journey to promote our region, especially with the appeal of numerous new restaurants, breweries and distilleries, live music, shopping, and developments like Spirit Communications Park. We strive to partner with all hospitality districts, attractions and businesses in the region to put them in front of potential visitors with sales leads, partnership services, online presence through our website and our cooperative advertising program. With a quality destination to sell and increased marketing efforts, no doubt tourism overall is on the rise. Occupancy rates for the Columbia region finished the fiscal year at 67.6%, which was up 5% over the previous year. Average daily rate (ADR) increased 5.4% and Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) was up 10.8%. The downtown region ended the year with occupancy at 76.9% - up 6.4%, a 4% increase in ADR and a 10.6% increase in RevPar over the prior year. Exciting things are happening – and we look forward to continued growth in the coming year. In Partnership, Bill Ellen
14.5
THE COLUMBIA REGION WELCOMES
MILLION VISITORS ANNUALLY
MAKING TOURISM A
1.9
BILLION DOLLAR
INDUSTRY FOR THIS COMMUNITY
PROVIDING 19,000 JOBS
GENERATING NEARLY
$101 MILLION IN STATE & LOCAL TAXES
Figures based on a report by Tourism Economics produced every other year.
CONTENTS COLUMBIA METROPOLITAN CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU
7
COLUMBIA METROPOLITAN CONVENTION CENTER
9
COLUMBIA REGIONAL SPORTS COUNCIL
11
MIDLANDS AUTHORITY MARKETING
13
MIDLANDS AUTHORITY MEDIA RELATIONS
15
CVB & Clients at RCMA Tradeshow
SC Welcome Center Appreciation
Destination Southeast '16 in Columbia
CVB & Clients at Atlanta Motor Speedway
CVB & Clients at Fireflies Game
CVB Shuttle
COLUMBIA METROPOLITAN
CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU
179 17 2 92
MEETINGS SERVICED
ECONOMIC IMPACT
+
$14.4 MILLION
INDUSTRY TRADE
DIRECT SPENDING
SHOWS ATTENDED
Convention expenditures, hotel, conference, meeting venue, etc.
$10.2 MILLION INDIRECT SPENDING additional food/beverage, retail, recreation, etc.
CLIENT NETWORKING
AT NASCAR EVENTS
IN CHARLOTTE & ATLANTA
NEW LOCAL
CVB PARTNERS
160,000
DISTRIBUTED
VISITOR GUIDES
25
HOSTED
3%
115
12%
CONTRACTED EVENTS
3%
MEETING SCOPE
12%
Statewide Conference Statewide Conference
Southeast/Regional
18%
RESULTING 24,946 ROOM NIGHTS
MEETING
Southeast/Regional
48% 48%
18%
Conference Local Local Conference w/room nights nights w/room National
National
International
19%
19%
International
PLANNERS
AT DESTINATION SOUTHEAST
IN COLUMBIA
Scope: 48% Statewide, 19% regional, 18% local, 12% national, and 3% international
38-statewide
6 international
Attendees 24,000
38-statewide 8,664 22 local
2016 Miss SC Pageant
2,000
1,800 6 southeast
2016 SC Early Childhood Association Conference (hosted at Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center)
2015 North American Wildlife Enforcement Officers Association Annual Conference
28 national
2- Pie chart/ title: Meeting Scope regional, national, etc. % of events (could do # of events w/ total regional, nati International Conference: 5% National Conference: 23% Regional 9% Statewide Conference: 40% Local Conference w/ room nights: 23%
60,000
40,000
6 international
1,500
1,225
900
487
20,000
0
400
Local Conference w
80,000
Room Nights
2015 Jehovah's Witness Summer Convention 2016 United Sporting Companies Dealer Show
2- Pie chart/ title: Meeting Scope regional, national, etc. % of events (could do # of events w/ total regional, national) International Conference: 5% National Conference: 23% Regional 9% Statewide Conference: 40% Local Conference w/ room nights: 23%
100,000
22 local Scope: 48% Statewide, 19% regional, 18% local, 28 national 12% national, and 3% international 6 southeast
KEY EVENTS Meeting Name
Local Conference w/room nights
HOSTED ATTENDEES
630
FY 10–11
FY 11–12
FY 12–13
FY 13–14
FY 14–15
Attendees (from CVB generated bookings) Assisted Attendees (additional attendees serviced)
7
CMCC Sales & Events Team
David Wilkins Legislative Awards Banquet
During the Boil Water Advisory following the 2015 Flood, in-house caterer Spectra was able to creatively & safely offer dinner service for Lexington Medical Center's 900 person dinner without running water.
SC Green Hospitality Alliance Award
Panoramic of CMCC Interior
New Custom trash/recycle unit
600,000
COLUMBIA METROPOLITAN
300,000 0
FY 12-13
FY 13-14
CONVENTION CENTER
FY 14-15
FY 15-16
CONTRACTED ROOM REVENUE 1,500,000
OVER
1,200,000
2.25 MILLION
900,000
VISITORS TO DATE
600,000 300,000 0
FY 11-12 FY 12-13 FY 13-14 FY 14-15 FY 15-16
347 CONTRACTED EVENTS
30,000 AFFILIATED HOTEL ROOMS
EVENTS PER MARKET SEGMENT Non-Profit/Religious
8%
8%
7%
7%
11%
BREAKING PREVIOUS RECORDS
$1.278 MILLION
Non-Profit/Religious Hobby/Sports
29%
29%
11%
Government/Military
Other
Education
Government/Military
13%
Association/Non-profit
16.5%
13% 15.5% 16.5%
RENTAL REVENUE
Other Hobby/Sports
Education
Corporate
Association/Non-profit Corporate
15.5% BUILDING ADDITIONS
1- # of contracted events 326 (pie chart, as well as a call out)
KEY EVENTS HELD IN FY 15–16 Soda City Comic Con
3 days
2,000 attendees
South Carolina Science Council
3 days
600 attendees
South Carolina YMCA in Government
4 days
1,300 attendees
South Carolina Synod
4 days
650 attendees
UCF War of the Stars Cheerleading Competition
4 days
3,000 attendees
Southern Gas Association
5 days
850 attendees
Of the 326 accounts contracted: 99 Corporate 30% 92 Association/Non-Profit 29% 52 Education 16% 100 1- # ofTRN contracted events 326 (pie chart, as well as a call out) 35 Government 11% 29 Social 8% (Should we break this down to show 15 were weddings and 14 Private?) Of the13 326 accounts 410 TRN Sports 4% contracted: 99 Corporate 30% 6 Religious 2%
• New carpet • New lounge furniture • Interactive digital signage 1,36592 TRN Association/Non-Profit 29% • Digital screens at every room 52 Education 16% 270 TRN 35 Government 11% • Complimentary charging stations 29 Social 8% (Should we break this down to show 15 were weddings and 14 Private?) 750 TRN 13 Sports 4% • Gigabyte internet capability 6 Religious 2% 550 TRN • Custom trash/recycling units
9
Spirit Communications Park
Lexington County Tennis Complex
Earlewood Park Disc Golf
Lexington Sports Complex
Carolina Softball Stadium
The Fields at Saluda Shoals Park
COLUMBIA REGIONAL
SPORTS COUNCIL
44
126,223 SPORTS EVENTS ATTENDEES
SPORTS EVENTS
HOSTED ACROSS THE REGION
8,903 CONTRACTED
ROOMS
533 155 PROSPECTING CALLS
FACE-TO-FACE APPOINTMENTS
4 TRADE SHOWS ATTENDED
WITH SPORTS EVENTS OWNERS
EVENT ECONOMIC IMPACT HIGHLIGHTS 2016 South Carolina Shootout
$873,346
2015 SCHSL Football State Finals 2016 US Quidditch Cup 9 2015-16 SCHSL Basketball State Finals 2016 St. Patrick's Day Cup 2016 UCF War of the Stars
$872,171 $857,897 $852,440 $781,157 $773,180
DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT
FROM SPORTS EVENTS HOSTED
$11,132,556
UP $1.6 MILLION FROM FY 14-15 11
LEISURE PRINT ADVERTISING
AUGUSTA'S INDEPENDENT VOICE
TELEVISION ADVERTISING
rs Guide 2016 Official Visito
NASCAR PARTNERSHIP NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Partnership with local team owner Bolen Motorsports and driver Jordan Anderson, a Columbia native, featured the Columbia, SC logo on the truck during eleven races in FY 15-16. The partnership included race coverage and features on Fox Sports 1, social media coverage, and at-track entertainment in Atlanta and Charlotte for meeting and sports events planners in those areas. We are #famouslyfast!
MIDLANDS AUTHORITY
MARKETING
COLUMBIA REGIONAL SPORTS COUNCIL • Website visitors are up 22% and overall traffic increased 17%
OVER
• Twitter followers are up 12% year over year and Facebook fans 7.5%
COLUMBIA METROPOLITAN CONVENTION CENTER
• Social media engagement increased over 100% • Started new Instagram account to engage with guests
IMPRESSIONS
BILLBOARDS IN KEY TARGET CITIES
OVER
• Social media traffic to columbiaconventioncenter.com up 145%
200
MILLION
32
MILLION IMPRESSIONS
LEISURE, MEETINGS & SPORTS PUBLICATIONS
26
COLUMBIA METROPOLITAN CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU • Over 1.2 million website visits • 24% growth in social media followers
PAGE DESTINATION
PROFILE ON COLUMBIA
DELTA SKY MAGAZINE
• 12,300 entries in leisure sweepstakes featured in Southern Living and Garden & Gun magazines
PAID SPACE ADVERTISING OUTLETS PRINT
BILLBOARD
DIGITAL
TELEVISION
SOCIAL MEDIA
SEARCH ENGINE
32,869,573 impressions
200,505,055 impressions
4,100,012 impressions
18,249,331 impressions
3,008,102 impressions
3,444,321 impressions
13
"It's not Main Street, Anywhere, U.S.A. This is Main Street, Columbia, S.C. – and it's either experiencing a unique cultural moment, or we finally took a moment to notice." Colleen McNally Points North Atlanta, June 2016 “One area that should not be missed is the
hauntingly beautiful 27,000-acre Congaree National Park… It’s a great place to go for a hike, as the juxtaposition between the stately old trees and the quiet of the river, looks like
scenery from a fantasy movie.” Carri Wilbanks Catch Carri, April 2016
“… As the city has grown, so has it’s appetite for great food. As the food scene has grown in Columbia, so too has the farm scene that supports it. Being at the center of such an agriculturally rich state, we’re able to craft exceptional food because we have access to exceptional ingredients.” Kristian Niemi Owner of Bourbon Honest Cooking, August 2015 by Annelise McAuliffe
“I love Columbia’s food scene because people here are so supportive of locally-owned, small businesses. I feel like Columbia’s food scene is the hidden
gem among the larger surrounding cities like Charleston and Charlotte.” Erin Nobles Owner of Silver Spoon Bakery Honest Cooking, August 2015 by Annelise McAuliffe
MIDLANDS AUTHORITY
MEDIA RELATIONS One way the Midlands Authority strives to live out its mission is through public and media relations efforts. We promote the Columbia region by pitching story ideas and hosting media to garner regional, national and international destination coverage.
MEDIA TRIPS & FAMS DATE
HOSTED WRITER
OUTLET
SCOPE
July 2015 July 2015 Aug. 2015 Jan. 2016 Jan. 2016 Jan. 2016 Feb. 2016 March 2016 March 2016 April 2016 April 2016 May 2016 June 2016 June 2016 June 2016
Katie McElveen Annika Harris Darley Newman Jessica Poitevien Ava Roxanne Stritt Kelly Merritt Molly McCluskey Stephanie Burnette Carri Wilbanks Randy Yagi Colleen McNally Michael George Karen Dawkins Pamela Wattenbarger Liz Mays
Freelancer; Delta Sky Magazine UPTOWN Magazine Travels with Darley for PBS &BudgetTravel.com She Dreams of Travel Spa Travel Gal & Travelocity.com Florida Weekly National Geographic Traveler & BeaconReader.com Freelancer for Greenville News & Southern Living Online, etc. Catch Carri & USA Today CBS Local Points North Atlanta Freelance Photographer for National Geographic Family Travels on a Budget Simply Southern Mom Eat Move Make
National National* National Regional Regional & National Regional National Regional National National* Regional National* Regional Regional Regional
* Denotes a S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism media opportunity. SCPRT coordinates press trips throughout the state each year. We often assist their team with press trips that include Columbia.
95
15
HOSTED
PRESS VISITS
STORIES GARNERED
15
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