2022-2025 Visit Baton Rouge Strategic Plan

STRATEGIC PLAN

Destination Marketing & Management Plan Developed March 2022

“If you build a place people want to VISIT, you build a place where people want to LIVE.”

“If you build a place people want to LIVE, you’ll build a place where people want to WORK.”

“If you build a place where people want to WORK, you’ll build a place where BUSINESS has to be.”

“And if you build a place where BUSINESS has to be, you’ll build a place where PEOPLE HAVE TO VISIT.”

— Maura Gast

MISSION

The mission of Visit Baton Rouge is to increase visitation to and awareness of the Baton Rouge area thereby enhancing economic impact.

VISION

The Baton Rouge Area will be a nationally-recognized, premier destination providing a superlative Louisiana experience to all visitors. Residents of Baton Rouge will value the contributions that visitors make to the economy and quality of life.

VALUES

Visit Baton Rouge promotes a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion through its marketing efforts, hiring practices, vendor opportunities and visitor experiences while displaying a passion for and an appreciation of the travel and tourism industry offering an authentic Louisiana experience.

And if you build a place where business has to be, you’ll build a place where people have to visit. ”

Baton Rouge is the capital city of Louisiana, located on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River. It is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, the most-populous parish in Louisiana, and the second-largest city in Louisiana after New Orleans. The population of Baton Rouge is approximately 227,000 (U.S. Census Bureau) with consolidated population of 849,530. It’s also home to HBCU Southern University as well as the state’s flagship university, Louisiana State University.

300 YEARS OF BATON ROUGE HISTORY

As the Capital City of Louisiana, Baton Rouge is the heart and soul of the state’s eclectic culture. With over 300 years of history, Baton Rouge has a colorful story to tell, which can be tasted through our culinary offerings, seen through the picturesque views of the Mississippi River and historical landmarks and experienced through the vibrant arts and culture scene. In the “Red Stick,” every day is worth celebrating, even more so through our festivals and events held throughout the year. So, sit back, relax and let us make the planning easy – we’ll be waiting to welcome you with Southern hospitality and an authentic Louisiana experience!

STRATEGIC PLAN

241

Civic Community and Travel

industry leaders participated

This plan was developed in the first few months of 2022 and provides strategic focus for Visit Baton Rouge (VBR) beginning now through 2025. This plan is based on input from 241 community, civic and travel industry leaders who participated in the Destination Next Planning Model. The survey was deployed JanuaryFebruary 2022 and a planning workshop was conducted with Visit Baton Rouge in February 2022. Berkeley Young of Young Strategies, Inc. led the planning process, and strategies identified by the VBR workshop are included in this strategic plan.

OVERALL DIRECTION AND ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE

Visit Baton Rouge’s high-caliber staff provides leadership and innovation to promote and build awareness of Baton Rouge as a leisure and group destination driving:

•Increased overnight and day-trip visitation

•Longer average length of stay

•Increased spending per travel party

•Increased visitor satisfaction

•Positive resident sentiment for the tourism economy

Visit Baton Rouge is committed to creating a total visitor destination through the Board of Directors and staff as they focus on the following strategic initiatives:

POSITION

Visit Baton Rouge as an innovative, accredited DMO marketing Baton Rouge as a destination and make it stand out as a unique visitor experience. VBR meets the highest industry standards and ROI and is committed to promoting the unique experience of the city amidst a highly-competitive travel region.

EXPAND

and enhance the visitor experience. Baton Rouge must continue to grow and improve the breadth and quality of the visitor experience to be a world class destination.

IMPROVE

visitor mobility into and within Baton Rouge. Baton Rouge is a large, spread-out destination with many geographic areas where visitors gather and the visitor economy is dependent on efficient mobility.

ADVOCATE

and provide leadership on travel industry issues that hold Baton Rouge back as a destination. Building partnerships with other economic development entities is critical to drive economic growth for Baton Rouge.

BOARD FOCUS, STAFF FOCUS AND CHART

BOARD FOCUS:

The VBR Board of Directors will be engaged in two primary functions:

Providing proper oversight related to the function and ROI of Visit Baton Rouge staff’s research-based marketing of Baton Rouge as a destination.

STAFF FOCUS:

The VBR staff will be focused on:

Research and strategic marketing of Baton Rouge to visitors.

Fulfilling this vision for Baton Rouge in 2025 in partnership with city/parish officials and other economic development groups. VBR will foster, facilitate and encourage the growth and development of the destination.

Coordinating the implementation of the Board vision for the destination.

BOARD:

•Long-range vision

•Policy and oversight

VISIONARY, STRATEGIC PLAN:

•Sustainable long-term funding

•Destination management

•Advocacy with partners

•Advocacy with elected officials

•New product development

•Measurable ROI - accountability

COMMUNICATIONS AND REPORTING; RUNS THE DMO

Vision and Plan for the Destination

CEO

Board

Chair

STRATEGIC POINT 1

Visit Baton Rouge is an innovative, accredited DMO marketing Baton Rouge as a destination with a highly skilled and dynamic sales and marketing team. Baton Rouge must stand out as a unique visitor experience in a highly competitive travel region. VBR is a research-based marketing organization meeting the highest standards of DMO operations promoting Baton Rouge as a great place to play, live and work.

EXTERNAL MARKETING (outreach to visitors):

A B C D

Update research and marketing strategy continually as part of an annual plan that is supported by the local travel industry.

Build brand awareness of Baton Rouge based on the everchanging visitor experience.

Drive visitor growth by focusing on the “need periods” when hotels have vacancies.

Use multiple channels in traditional, digital and social to connect with new and repeat visitors.

INTERNAL MARKETING (in-reach to visitors in-market and residents):

A B C

Provide leadership to the Baton Rouge travel industry through training programs, co-op sales/marketing programs, workshops, marketing updates and workforce development.

Provide dynamic, digital visitor information services for individual, group and event visitors to drive increased spending in-market and increased visitor satisfaction.

Deliver annual economic impact/ROI updates to leaders and elected officials.

MEASURABLE SUCCESS:

Annual plan with trackable ROI

Awards and certifications

Increased participation in partner programs/events

Longer length of stay

E F

Partner with the Louisiana Office of Tourism and other DMOs within the region to leverage the Visit Baton Rouge brand and reach a wider audience.

Track effectiveness for accountability to demonstrate the highest possible ROI. In doing so, VBR will lodge market segmentation research of key performance indicators (KPIs) and track/analyze revenue.

D E F

Place advertising and messaging in-market for citizens to see what Visit Baton Rouge does to attract visitors.

Utilize messaging to assist visitors in navigating the on-going I-10 construction.

Promote the hospitality industry as a future job/ career source to students.

Increased spending

Increased visitor satisfaction

Increased shoulder season visitation

Growth in lodging room demand and ADR

STRATEGIC POINT 2

Expand and enhance the visitor experience. Baton Rouge must continue to grow and improve the breadth and quality of the visitor experience to that of a world-class destination. Baton Rouge offers a great leisure visitor experience as a state capital city, a river city with gaming and a rich culture and history. Baton Rouge is an education and business hub as well as a destination for groups, conferences and meetings. Visit Baton Rouge partners with all economic development entities, the universities and city/parish officials to support and encourage the expansion of activities that will enhance the visitor and resident experience.

A B C D E

Focus on “attractors,” defined as those experiences that inspire visitation such as Downtown, LSU Sites, Louisiana’s Old State Capitol, USS KIDD Veterans Museum, Louisiana State Capitol Building, and the Louisiana Art & Science Museum.

Support and encourage growth at all attractions—Old Governor’s Mansion, Magnolia Mound, LSU Rural Life Museum, St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center, etc. Share visitor research that exposes changing trends in traveler expectations with experiences at attractions. The visitor experience must evolve with the visitor expectations.

Expand outdoor experiences and improve/connect existing trail networks. Travelers seek out active outdoor engagement when visiting destinations. Identify opportunities to provide increased access to cycling, hiking, walking, running, paddling, swimming, climbing etc.

Encourage market and support existing outfitters that rent bicycles and kayaks. Equipment rentals are essential for visitors who want to get outside.

Support a more engaging and walkable downtown. In doing so, we should fill the downtown storefronts with more unique, local shopping, to provide what visitors want in store as well as offering shipping back home. Additionally, we need to increase the amount of distinct local dining and rooftop experiences, expand sidewalks and add accessibility curbs at intersections.

Emphasize the expansion and development of unique Baton Rouge dining to establish the city as a well-known dining destination.

G H

Increase capacity to host conferences, meetings and events. We will support and fund a study of potential convention center improvements and team sports facilities that could enhance the appeal of the destination.

Support and encourage the improvement of a riverboat gateway into Baton Rouge. Riverboat traffic is increasing and has the ability to introduce Baton Rouge to many first-time visitors who are likely to return.

MEASURABLE SUCCESS:

New experiences at attractors

New and expanded attractions

New and expanded team sports facilities

More evening activities

Rooftop dining

Capacity to host large national conventions

New and expanded sidewalks, trails

New shopping and dining

Recognition as a food/dining destination

New riverboat gateway

STRATEGIC POINT

3 A B C D E F G H

Improve visitor mobility into and within Baton Rouge. Baton Rouge is a large, spread-out destination with many visitor gathering areas/districts, and yet the visitor economy is dependent on efficient mobility. Mobility and access within the city/parish is critical to connect travelers from hotels to experiences. This includes walking paths and trails, expansion of trail to trail network, maintenance of trails, shuttles that connect travelers and groups to experiences and activity centers.

Partner with the airport to improve visitor access to car rentals, taxis and ride-sharing. The airport is a critical gateway into Baton Rouge. VBR will support and partner with the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport Commission and staff in all efforts to expand available flights and improve the traveler experience.

Encourage increased availability of high-quality, on-demand transportation such as taxis and ride-sharing. Readily available transportation is even more crucial during the evening dining hours.

Provide communication and leadership during I-10 construction. Visit Baton Rouge will communicate with both visitors and throughout the multi-year I-10 corridor expansion.

Coordinate on-going improvement of signage, wayfinding and GPS guidance within Baton Rouge. Investigate all methods of engagement (signage, GPS, geofencing, etc.) with visitors to ease wayfinding within the destination.

Provide proactive communication with meeting/event planners to coordinate transportation of event attendees within the destination.

Offer shuttle transportation for groups to overcome the negative image/inconvenience of highway construction.

Support the development and maintenance of gateways into Baton Rouge as part of an image/awareness campaign. First impressions are critical for arriving visitors.

Support litter abatement and beautification efforts starting with gateways and then all visitor areas to enhance the image of Baton Rouge as a beautiful city.

MEASURABLE SUCCESS:

Gateway improvement plan

Active engagement with airport leaders

New in-market wayfinding programs

Group shuttle services

Litter and beautification programs

Advocate and provide leadership on travel industry issues that hold Baton Rouge back as a destination. Partnering with other economic development entities is critical to drive economic growth for Baton Rouge. VBR will regularly convene travel industry businesses and conduct research to identify issues affecting the Baton Rouge travel industry. Developing partnerships with other economic development entities and DMOs in the state and region will leverage the industry’s voice when reaching out to state and federal officials.

Create a policy/action task force of travel industry leaders and conduct regular listening sessions and surveys to identify issues that affect their growth and success.

Advocate for competitive funding for VBR and deliver demonstrable ROI.

VBR will promote a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion through its marketing efforts, hiring practices, vendor opportunities and visitor experiences while displaying a passion for and an appreciation of the travel and tourism industry offering an authentic Louisiana experience.

Improve the crime, safety and cleanliness image of Baton Rouge. VBR will advocate for and support city/parish agencies in the reduction of crime and litter to create a safer environment for both locals and visitors.

Foster and support an abundant and well-trained workforce for hospitality businesses. VBR will coalesce the travel industry businesses with schools, governments and workforce organizations on a long-term plan to inspire younger generations to seek out careers in hospitality, to provide training/education for those entering the workforce and to address competitive pay and benefits to retain a qualified workforce.

Create a Baton Rouge travel industry employment index to identify the number of open full-time and part-time positions with local businesses.

Partner with secondary and vocational schools — programs should be offered to 1) generate interest in hospitality industry careers and 2) provide training and skills for careers in hospitality.

Partner with Baton Rouge and state employment services to identify potential hospitality workers, provide training, conduct job fairs, provide transportation, etc., to move people into full-time employment.

Monitor the residence location of hospitality industry workforce to determine the availability of affordable housing and short-term housing within Baton Rouge.

Address transportation issues of hospitality workers.

MEASURABLE SUCCESS:

Policy/Action Committee meets quarterly

Priority list of policy initiatives

Bi-annual presentations to elected bodies

Reduction of crime

Reduction of litter/graffiti

Increased applicants for hospitality jobs

Less turnover

Higher visitor satisfaction ratings with service

Part-time jobs converted to full-time jobs

No vacant travel industry jobs