FROM THE DIRECTOR As 2020 comes a close, I wanted to share an update on what we were still able to accomplish this year as well as let you know what we're planning based on our 2021 forecasting.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Columbia CVB has been in constant contact with its industry partners and had ongoing conversations with stakeholders in order to become the best source of information possible. We sent hundreds of emails to update industry partners on health orders, changing event statuses and resources for local businesses.
While the Columbia CVB tried to be as agile as possible, our tourism industry has been adversely impacted like every other destination across the country and around the world. Event organizers, especially in the meetings and conventions market, canceled their gatherings. Those events that were able to take place were often smaller than in the past. Based on calculations by the CVB Sales team, our community lost over $20 million in economic impact for the Meetings & Conventions Market and amateur sports alone. This, along with significant leisure spending losses, made 2020 a tremendously tough year for tourism.
However, there were a few bright spots. Columbia was able to host the True/False Film Fest in early March just before shutdowns spread across the country. Our Sports Sales team also worked incredibly hard to retain booked business, especially in outdoor facilities, and Columbia was able to host multiple safe events this fall. I want to thank our team, our tourism partners and the Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services for working diligently to ensure these events were safe and successful.
Looking to 2021, the Columbia CVB is committed to continuing the work of attracting visitors and events to our destination safely. The promise of vaccines gives us hope that traveling can slowly begin to resume near the middle of the year. Still, we expect that 2021 will also have its share of obstacles.
In 2021, the Columbia CVB team will dedicate itself to its mission and to supporting our tourism partners. We will continue to establish Columbia as a destination for leisure travelers, meetings and sporting events. We will provide planners with up-to-date information on local guidelines and assist with operational plans as needed and share options for safe, socially distanced group activities. We will capitalize on our excellent outdoor sports facilities for spring and summer bookings.
While we may be a few years from completely recovering from COVID-19 and its effects, I am confident that together we will come out on the other side a stronger destination if we continue to work as a team.
Sincerely,
Amy Schneider, CTA 2020 Columbia CVB Annual Report
CVB OVERVIEW The Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) is a department of the City of Columbia and serves as the official Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) for Boone County.
The CVB is solely funded by the
5% lodging tax collected on hotel and motel rooms
in the city of Columbia. This 5% is divided in the following way:
• 1% - Operations and Staff • 1% - Tourism Development Program • 2% - Destination Marketing, Sales, Services, etc. • 1% - Columbia Regional Airport (COU) terminal project
The CVB promotes Columbia and Boone County as an
entire tourism product. This
includes dining, outdoor recreation, festivals and events, sports, shopping, arts and culture, history, and anything else that might persuade a visitor to travel to the area.
Once a visitor chooses Columbia, we depend on our tourism industry partners to give them an exceptional experience. This is vital in creating new and repeat visitorship. During their time in our destination, visitors spend money staying in hotels, eating in our restaurants, shopping in our stores, using our airport, fueling at our gas stations and more.
The CVB uses its portion of that spending to continue our destination marketing and sales to bring in more visitors. The remainder of the spending goes to support local businesses, jobs and
quality of life.
2020 Columbia CVB Annual Report
YOUR CVB TEAM
Amy Schneider
Julie Ausmus
Zach Franklin
Director
Administrative Supervisor
Sports Supervisor
Megan McConachie
Beth Mead
Terra Crane
Andrea Jira
Strategic Communications Manager
Sales Supervisor
Sales Manager
Industry Relations Specialist
Sandi Peters
Amanda Willmeth
Services Manager
Event Services Specialist
Adam Ziervogel Sports Sales 2020 Columbia CVB Annual Report
ECONOMIC GROWTH COVID-19 & Tourism The year of 2020 was unprecedented in tourism. While the industry often is able to bounce back quickly in a crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic will require a much longer recovery. The economic impact has extended not only to local tourism-related businesses but to the entire community and beyond.
Nationally, travel spending totaled a mere $679 billion in 2020, an unprecedented
42% annual decline (nearly
$500 billion) from 2019. This has also resulted in a loss of $64 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue nationwide in the past year. In Boone County, tourism-related spending declined from over FY2019 to
$425 million in
$386 million in FY2020 despite a small travel bounce back during the summer months.
The tourism industry is just beginning its recovery, and it will be a long road before numbers are back to where they were pre-COVID. However, there is a chance that pent-up travel demand and possible funds saved from stimulus payments will allow for increased travel as vaccines become more widespread. The Columbia CVB will continue to monitor travel trends and data and act accordingly to capture potential visitors.
Convention Sales Update COVID-19 impacted our efforts significantly beginning in March of 2020. The Sales team focused on
maintaining relationships with planners by connecting regularly via email, phone and virtual meetings. We also made every effort to support our hotel partners, checking in by phone and sending timely and pertinent information via email to help them adjust to doing business in a pandemic. As we gathered information about current health and safety guidelines, we communicated to our meeting clients everything our industry partners were doing to keep their guests safe. Our goal was to reach those planners who were willing to hold in-person meetings and assure them that we were there to help.
In 2020, the convention sales team continued to put particular emphasis on the Association market, followed by the Government market, as both of those markets are strong for Columbia. We also highlighted the CVB’s
services when talking with planners, including assistance in planning on and off-site activities. With increased levels of communication through face-to-face calls, phone calls and emails,
we are keeping
Columbia as top of mind for planners and we continue to position ourselves as valuable resources when planning meetings and events in Columbia.
Unfortunately, we experienced more lost business than new business booked, but we did have some small successes for 2020 and beyond. New to Columbia events booked in 2020 include Alpha Kappa Delta in 2022 and MO GISCON in 2021.
2020 Columbia CVB Annual Report
ECONOMIC GROWTH Tourism Development Program The CVB’s Tourism Development Program (TDP) is funded through a portion of Columbia’s lodging tax. The funds provide support to for-profit and non-profit organizations to allow for the development and expansion of festivals and attractions that generate overnight visitation in Columbia hotels and have a positive economic impact to the community.
During FY2020, the CVB received 33 applications for a funding total of
$385,000. The TDP currently has five
different application categories: Signature Series, Festivals & Events, Sports Events, Attraction Development and Community Sponsorships.
Six applications were for
Signature Series events: True/False Film Fest, Roots N Blues Festival, Show-Me
STATE GAMES, Art in the Park, We Always Swing Jazz Series, and MU Concert Series. These events received a total of $60,000 and are Columbia’s largest and most established festivals.
Three
Festival & Event applications were received for a total of $22,500. One of these events was the
Unbound Book Festival. In addition to the visiting authors, the festival continues to attract an increasing number of visitors from outside Boone County.
There were six
Sports Development applications that received a total of $87,500. A portion of these funds
was used to support MSHSAA’s Cross Country Championships and the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Columbia Junior Championships.
One
Attraction Development application was received from the Columbia Parks & Recreation Department for
$75,000 for the Gans Creek Cross Country course. The funds were used to assist with the construction of the indoor race headquarters building, including walkways, utilities, and landscaping.
Also during FY2020, 17
community event sponsorship applications were awarded a total of $28,805. These
are for events targeted to the entire community that don’t necessarily generate overnight stays in hotels, but do increase quality of life and awareness of Columbia as a tourism destination. Some of these events were Harvest Hootenanny, SPLAT Jr. Obstacle Course Mud Run, Columbia Rugby Sectional Championships, 2020 Wild & Scenic Film Fest, 9th Street Summerfest and Fire in the Sky.
The Covid-19 pandemic was very challenging for many of these events. Five were postponed to a later date and 10 events had to cancel entirely. Any tourism development funds paid out have been returned to the CVB or will roll-over to the 2021 scheduled event.
2020 Columbia CVB Annual Report
ECONOMIC GROWTH Sports Update In a year of uncertainty,
the Columbia sports market has continued to thrive. In FY20 the sports market
almost doubled its room night generation and the overall economic impact the events have on the community. In the first quarter of FY20, Columbia was able to host some of our annual staple events such as the MSHSAA Cross Country, Football, and Wrestling State Championships. As we transitioned into quarter two of FY20, we started to experience the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic as some of our biggest spring events were canceled.
The Sports Sales team was forced to shift their sales efforts as they transitioned into summer, and they were able to bounce back successfully. Due to the CVB’s ongoing partnership with Columbia Parks and Recreation and multiple state and regional baseball/softball rights holders,
all of Columbia’s baseball and softball
facilities were booked from May through October. Some of these events were first-time events for Columbia and have led to future partnerships. One of these partnerships resulted in Columbia winning one of its largest pieces of business to date in the 2021 Heartland Fastpitch League Summer Championships.
The biggest win for the Convention and Visitors Bureau as well as the Sports Commission came this spring when the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced that the Columbia Sports Commission and Mizzou Athletics will play host to the
2025 NCAA Division One Men’s and Women’s Cross Country National
Championships. This will be the first NCAA Division One National Championship that Columbia will host as well as the first Division One Championship held in Missouri outside of Kansas City and St. Louis.
Columbia Sports Commission
The
Columbia Sports Commission advises the CVB with its sports sales efforts to recruit, retain, and organize
regional, state, and national sporting events. It also makes recommendations to the CVB Advisory Board related to the support of sporting events and sporting-related projects and promotions. Finally, it advises the City Council on any sports-related efforts. The Commission is composed of 11 voting members, of which seven are appointed by the City Council.
The Sports Commission’s support is paramount to the continued growth and success of the sports market in Columbia. In just its first year, it had a
huge impact on the CVB and its sports sales efforts. Sports Commissions
are vital to industry success as they carry the reputation that they are truly dedicated to the sports tourism industry. Launching the Columbia Sports Commission was timely and heavily assisted our efforts in working with the NCAA and securing the 2025 NCAA Division One Men’s and Women’s Cross Country National Championships. As we transition into 2021, we will launch the Sports Commission’s brand, which will continue to elevate its reputation.
2020 Columbia CVB Annual Report
INDUSTRY PARTNERS Pandemic Resources for Partners As the scope of the COVID-19 pandemic became more clear, the CVB adjusted its marketing and communications activities from appealing to potential visitors to serving as a source of information and resources for Columbia's
tourism industry partners. The CVB began a twice-daily update to partners
regarding pandemic information, resources for small businesses, closure and cancelation information, and more. Reaching
hundreds of partners allowed for timely, accurate information regarding the evolving situation to be
distributed. The partner message continues to be sent once each week or as the need arises, such as when new health orders are issued.
A local partnership of multiple organizations joined together to launch the
CoMoUnity campaign. While the
efforts initially focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, our community needs each other's support now more than ever as businesses continue to recover, as COVID-19 remains in our lives, and as racial injustices continue to expose how far we have to go toward equality.
The concept of CoMoUnity reflects that, during a time that
we need each other’s support more than ever,
Columbia can come together to keep our people, our businesses and our community safe. With a focus on people, positivity and resilience, CoMoUnity brings together one community with one goal: to come out of these tough times
together.
The CoMoUnity partnership organizations are the City of Columbia, the Columbia Chamber of Commerce, the University of Missouri, Stephens College, Columbia College, The District, The Loop, Regional Economic Development, Inc. (REDI), and the County of Boone.
It's vital to our community's businesses that people continue to
shop locally. With that in mind, the Columbia
Chamber of Commerce and the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau teamed up to provide graphics and content resources for all of our local businesses.
The resources included email templates, graphics for emails and social media along with possible content and a guide on how to use the assets.
Many thanks to The District for allowing us to use their Shop Local CoMo graphics and thanks to representatives from The District, the Columbia Mall, the Loop and Lindner Properties who worked with us to strategize what resources would be useful.
2020 Columbia CVB Annual Report
DESTINATION & TOURISM AWARENESS
Our Certified Tourism Ambassador© Program remained strong during FY2020 despite Covid-19 health restrictions. There were four classes scheduled throughout the year. Two of those classes had to be canceled. However, two were held and we certified 23 additional people bringing the total to
203 Columbia Tourism
Ambassadors. During the annual renewal process, 72% have committed and renewed for another year. We also held several networking events throughout the year to provide our ambassadors with engaging experiences at some of Columbia’s tourism venues. We toured the State Historical Society of Missouri and the Columbia Sports Fieldhouse and had an evening social event at Gunter Hans, an artisan café. We had our first virtual lunch & learn with the Columbia Mall management and learned of updates & renovations to the mall, as well as new retail trends. We also had two outdoor walking trail tours and lunch at the Grindstone Nature Area and the MLK Jr. Memorial @ Battle Garden.
Having this core group of
engaged individuals who understand the importance of tourism in Columbia helps
the CVB achieve its mission.
Meet CoMo Now The CVB was anticipating a strong year in 2020 due to the success of Columbia's "Meet CoMo" marketing campaign and related tactics. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the need for a
complete
marketing pivot, especially in the leisure market. As shutdowns and stay-at-home orders began to spread across the country, the CVB worked with its local creative agency, Woodruff, to develop messaging for when people started to plan for travel again.
The result of this strategy was
Meet CoMo Now, a new microsite and marketing campaign dedicated to
Columbia's outdoors, arts & culture, food & drink and shopping opportunities and how to visit them safely. These new messages were pushed out to potential travelers and bolstered by Show-Me Strong grant funds from the Missouri Division of Tourism.
2020 Columbia CVB Annual Report
CVB OPERATIONS Budget Changes During the Pandemic Tourism budgets across the country have been drastically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a convention and visitors bureau funded via lodging tax, the Columbia CVB suffered a
steep drop in tax
revenues collected. For the budget year 2020, the CVB faced difficult decisions regarding tourism operations. Two positions that were vacated have not yet been refilled and cuts were made to ensure that the CVB would
stay on
budget and still be able to meet its mission to "generate economic growth and promote Columbia as a tourism destination that creates memorable experiences." The CVB team will continue to carefully budget for the foreseeable future as the tourism industry recovers and is committed to providing the
best possible
destination development, marketing and sales.
DMAP Renewal The CVB was awarded the
Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP) seal by Destinations
International in recognition of the destination marketing organization's (DMO) commitment to industry excellence and meeting the industry standard for performance and accountability of DMOs around the world. The CVB has been accredited through DMAP since 2015 and underwent a
full reaccreditation process in
2020.
Since its inception in January 2007, the accreditation program requires a DMO to successfully comply with a multitude of standards that span a variety of performance areas to gain this momentous achievement. The globally recognized DMAP serves as a
visible industry distinction that defines quality and performance
standards in destination marketing and management.
Destinations International is the world’s largest resource for official destination organizations, convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs) and tourism boards. Destinations International is about serving destination marketing professionals first and foremost. Together with almost 6,000 members and partners from nearly 600 destinations in approximately 13 countries, Destinations International represents a powerful forward-thinking, collaborative association; exchanging bold ideas, connecting innovative people and
elevating tourism to its
highest potential.
2020 Columbia CVB Annual Report
2020 BY THE NUMBERS Key Indicators
2019
2020
OCCUPANCY
57.27%
43.90%
AVERAGE DAILY RATE (ADR)
$89.84
$78.51
REVENUE PER AVAILABLE ROOM (REVPAR)
$53.20
$35.51
$425,607,600
$386,864,652
11,632
10,328
40
33
TOURISM RELATED SPENDING BOONE COUNTY TOURISM RELATED EMPLOYMENT BOONE COUNTY TDP APPLICATIONS RECEIVED TDP FUNDS AWARDED
$376,000
$385,000
*Note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, annual marketing and convention research studies were not conducted in 2020 2020 Columbia CVB Annual Report
2020 BY THE NUMBERS Sales Measures
2019
2020
LEADS SENT
88
109
ATTENDEES
14,219
15,356
ROOM NIGHTS
21,364
41,693
$8,188,164
$14,682,401
354
252
ROOM NIGHTS
44,574
35,435
ATTENDEES
94,125
52,248
ECONOMIC IMPACT
$27,495,648
$22,462,281
MEETINGS SERVICED
315
90
EVENTS LOST (COVID-19) ***
---
108
ROOM NIGHTS LOST (COVID-19) ***
---
17,055
ECONOMIC IMPACT LOST (COVID-19) ***
---
$20,998,418
ECONOMIC IMPACT MEETINGS CONFIRMED
*** EVENTS LOST INFORMATION REFLECTS BOTH MEETINGS & CONVENTIONS AND AMATEUR SPORTING EVENTS 2020 Columbia CVB Annual Report
2020 BY THE NUMBERS Online Measures
2019
2020
WEBSITE VISITS/SESSIONS
357,741
354,082
WEBSITE USERS
300,525
298,393
1:03
:49
FACEBOOK FANS
8,890
9,774
TWITTER FOLLOWERS
8,157
8,163
INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS
8,058
9,370
2019
2020
89
23
248
156
AVERAGE TIME ON SITE
CTA Measures CERTIFIED IN THE YEAR ACTIVE CTAS
2020 Columbia CVB Annual Report
LOOKING TO 2021 Sports Outlook The Convention and Visitors Bureau and Sports Commission took a step forward in 2020 as they decided they will create their
own sporting events.
These events will act as a source of revenue generation for the department and allow the sports market to take ownership of some events that take place in the Columbia market. These events will also provide stability for the sports market as it takes pressure off of the sales team to continue to bring in pieces of business that require competitive bids. The sports sales team is currently working on FY21 and FY22 pieces of business and is looking forward to continued success.
CoMo 200 Columbia’s
CoMo 200 group continues planning and progress toward celebrating Columbia’s bicentennial
in 2021. CoMo 200 comprises multiple mayor-appointed task force members whose focus is to commemorate Columbia’s bicentennial while also overseeing the expansion of Flat Branch Park into a space that the entire community can enjoy for generations to come.
Educational events, celebrations, historical conversations and much more will all take place throughout and 2021 to
celebrate 200 years of Columbia and many more to come.
2020 Columbia CVB Annual Report