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DELAWARE TOURISM OFFICE
sector partners – namely, the restaurants, hotels and other businesses that form the core of this diverse industry. Through FY ‘21, DTO’s sales and marketing teams generated an estimated $15M in FY ‘21 economic impact statewide through sales of sports, leisure, and group tour travel experiences.
A key initiative that helped bolster DTO’s sales and marketing efforts was the Explore Safely campaign which provided consistent messaging to residents and travelers about safe ways to experience Delaware during the pandemic. The campaign included safety toolkits with printable signage, social media messaging, and website content that tourist attractions, restaurants, and stores could use to encourage visitors to explore safely. Another effort to encourage visitation from younger travelers and help increase awareness of Delaware destinations among in-state and out-ofstate visitors was the Delaware Discoveries Trail, launched by DTO in September 2020. Eleven pieces of interactive street art were placed at four locations throughout the state, allowing travelers to pose for photos and submit them to DelawareDiscoveries.com to win a prize.
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The Trail was planned before COVID-19, but ultimately provided an opportunity to create a new, safe outdoor activity for visitors, while also supporting Delaware artists. Several artists involved in the program have noted that without the development of the Trail, they are not sure how their business would have survived the pandemic. Many of our partners in the
As the pandemic’s economic effects began to be felt more deeply in Delaware, the Delaware Tourism Office (DTO) positioned itself as a leader in communicating crucial updates about travel in Delaware, working with industry partners to facilitate safe travel and simultaneously pushing to sustain tourism sales revenue.
DTO’s primary focus throughout the year remained on providing pertinent updates to the industry regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The office worked closely with Governor Carney’s office and the Department of State to deliver these updates.
At the same time, DTO also took steps to keep Delaware in the minds of potential travelers by fine-tuning national marketing efforts and reaching out to help its in-state private-
DELAWARE TOURISM OFFICE tourism industry faced the same challenges that had begun with the pandemic’s arrival in FY ‘20, and sustaining their survival was crucial to them and to the entire state. In more typical times, tourism attracts about 9 million travelers to Delaware, contributing $3.5 billion to the state’s GDP, and $545.1 million in state and local taxes.
$15 MILLION
Estimated economic impact statewide through sales of sports, leisure, and group tour travel experiences
DTO knew it needed to be there to help those businesses endure and to keep the tourism economy moving forward safely and sustainably.
Sports events were a key driver of that sustained economy. The Tourism Office’s sales team worked with event organizers, complexes, hotels, and others to uphold Delaware’s high standing as a sports destination: In October 2020, thanks to DTO’s partnership with the University of Delaware Athletics Department, Delaware was awarded the 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Quarterfinals. DTO’s team also helped transition ownership of the “Slam Dunk to the Beach” event to the Delaware Sports Commission, and participated in several virtual trade shows for the group tour and sports markets. and VisitDelaware.com. The numbers speak to the effort’s success: In FY ‘21, the website received 1.1 million visits, and $3.3 million in hotel revenue was generated from online marketing and VisitDelaware. com.
The DTO team launched an awareness campaign that targeted the primary markets of D.C., Philadelphia, and Baltimore in early 2021 (it also would be introduced to new markets such as Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, and Denver). Conceived to give travelers compelling reasons to discover Delaware for business, relocation, and tourism, the campaign reached 17 markets across the country, and a television commercial created for the campaign was viewed far and wide during the weekend of the presidential inauguration and during the Super Bowl.
Ultimately, the campaign would achieve 77 million ad impressions and 100,000 clicks to the accompanying DiscoverDelaware.com website. Within two weeks of the campaign, DTO generated over 1,200 hotel bookings.
Looking inward to the state of Delaware itself, DTO also recognized in FY ’21 that the pandemic’s lingering challenges presented an opportunity to re-emphasize the crucial role of close community outreach with industry partners.
Part of that effort came through a program that was in the planning stages before the pandemic: The Destination Development Program. Through this marketing incubator program, DTO gives businesses and non-profits access to stateof-the-art marketing strategies, including one-on-one services from top agencies. By providing training and resources, DTO helps participating partners to help themselves, and further increases awareness of Delaware’s appeal to potential travelers.
DTO also completed a full redesign of VisitDelaware. com, the state’s #1 online resource for planning a trip to Delaware. The enhanced site includes enhanced integration with Google, giving travelers a seamless experience between Google My Business
The first three businesses selected for the marketing incubator program include Riverfront Wilmington, Mispillion River Brewing in Milford, and Coastal Kayak in Fenwick Island. Through the guided incubator process, the participants are receiving the following services directly from a national marketing agency: • Audience/customer analysis regarding out-of-state visitors utilizing or showing potential to utilize their business, visit their city or attend their event. • Branding analysis and recommendations based on target out-of-state audiences/customers. • Marketing plan research and implementation, as well as up to $20,000 in advertising funds. • Marketing materials with an easily editable design, giving businesses a sustainable platform that can be used well into the future. • An online media audit and training on how to utilize social media, online tools, and website management to achieve a successful return on investment with out-ofstate visitors.
An accompanying Destination Development workshop program is helping 12 tourism businesses or non-profits, including: The Canalside Inn, Delaware Greenways, Delaware Historical Society, Town of Bethany Beach, Southern Delaware Tourism, Kent County Tourism, Delaware State Police Museum, Pencader Heritage Museum, Hagley Museum and Library, Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce, New Castle Historical Society, and Clear Space Theatre.
DTO worked with a Delaware vendor, AB&C, to conduct five training workshops and one-onone follow-up sessions in the following areas: • How to determine target audience and how to reach them • Digital media best practices (social media, build a website, etc.) • Branding best practices (how to take photography, videography, messaging, etc.) • Tracking success (analytics, data)
Throughout this fiscal year, DTO also continued to give businesses and non-profits access to a Marketing Portal offering free step-by-step guidance on a variety of topics from top experts. Because it began during COVID-19 -- just as marketing departments shrank into one-person teams -- it would prove to be an invaluable resource for staffers taking on additional responsibilities. Similarly, the pandemic would create a shortfall of the vendors typically used to mail large distributions of the Delaware Discoveries Guide, the state’s primary travel publication. DTO team members responded quickly, handling distribution internally and mailing more than 120,000 guides throughout the fiscal year. Distribution would range through travel centers and rest areas in the surrounding regions of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia. As part of that effort, DTO staffers also created a Discovery Advisors program, giving travelers a place to submit questions (and receive answers) about state travel guidelines. DTO would ultimately handle more than 750 individual trip planning requests.
This fiscal year, the state of Delaware also provided the tourism industry with three advertising co-op programs, each an opportunity for businesses to share costs of ad placements and boost their return on investment. For participating co-op partners, the results were significant: 24 million ad impressions, hundreds of hotel room
DELAWARE TOURISM OFFICE bookings, and hundreds of thousands of clicks to pertinent websites. Turning to Central Delaware, DTO partnered with the Greater Kent Committee to launch a new campaign, Live Central DE, that promoted local businesses, events, attractions, and organizations. From March to May 2020, the DTO team promoted the use of a Live Central DE checklist that encouraged locals to mark off places they have visited. The campaign also partnered with local businesses and non-profit organizations to create social media contests and award raffle prizes to residents and visitors who used the #LiveCentralDE hashtag. Due to the success of the campaign, we have provided a sponsorship to Greater Kent Committee to continue support of this local initiative.
DTO’s marketing efforts during FY ‘21 gained thousands of new potential visitors, garnering the kinds of awards that inspire respect for Delaware as a brand and as a place that cares about travel industry success. Out of nearly 35,000 entries, DTO was recognized with three American Advertising (Addy) Awards - the advertising industry’s largest and most representative awards. DTO also received a Telly Award, which honors excellence in local, regional and cable television commercials and video from each of the 50 states and five continents.
Addy Awards Silver Addy for Delaware Discoveries Guide –Online Interactive Category
Although tourism began to see signs of recovery with visitation during FY ‘21, tourism businesses and non-profit organizations have still been severely impacted by staffing shortages and the increase in costs for supplies. DTO will continue to work with tourism businesses and non-profit organizations during FY ‘22 to provide support and assistance as they recover from the pandemic.
