March 2024
The Marketing Team ran the Colorado Convention Center Expansion ad campaign in March with a total of 625,546 impressions for the month. An additional 110,935 paid impressions ran on LinkedIn for a total of 736,481.
Total convention advertising impressions for March totaled 630,855, and there were 3,151 combined conversions to the VISIT DENVER website.
Group lead demand continues to remain strong through March with 1,024 leads generated year-to-date.
99 new events were booked in March which will bring in nearly 32,000 delegates and $102.4M in Economic Impact.
March was a productive month for convention sales, closing over 75,000 RNs of definite business to a goal of 58,324. YTD the sales team is at 122% of their Definite Room Nights production goal.
2024 continues to be on track for a solid convention year. We are currently up 14% in total room nights compared to the same time last year.
VISIT DENVER hit the road again in March, attending MPI Cascadia and hosting the MIC Tradeshow at our very own Colorado Convention Center. Key messaging focused on growth in Denver, including the CCC expansion, DEN improvements, National Western Center and 16th Street Mall renovations.
We are excited to have hosted our first group into the new Bluebird Ballroom, National Science Teaching Association, from March 20th -23rd. The group brought in approximately 9,500 total room nights, and a total economic impact of $14.5 million.
Immediately following a convention or meeting in Denver, the meeting planner is sent a survey regarding their experience with VISIT DENVER's Sales and Service staff and effort.
MARCH INTERNATIONAL & DOMESTIC TRAVEL TRADE:
Denver International Airport updates:
Lufthansa reached 23 years of service to DEN
Flights resuming seasonal service include Air France nonstop service between DEN and Paris/Charles de Gaulle (CDG) as well as Icelandair nonstop service between DEN and Reykjavik (KEF).
International:
Room nights: 456 (YTD: 2,147 total with 3rd Party/Online = 2,047 & Travel Trade marketing = 90)
E-Dreams/Opodo (France): B-C online digital campaign generating 456 Denver room nights and $92,956 in revenue.
Marketing Initiatives: 3 representing 482,232 impressions (YTD: 14 representing 18,898,312 impressions)
Aer Lingus (Ireland): Co-sponsor of Aer Lingus pre-inaugural launch reception with 60 travel trade and media attending.
E-Dreams/Opodo:(France): OTA B-C digital campaign generating 482,074 impressions, 456 Denver room nights and $92,956 in revenue.
Visit USA Association (UK): 98 website impressions. (ongoing initiative)
Tradeshow/Sales Mission: 1 Sales Mission (YTD: 1 Tradeshow, 1 Sales mission with 102 contacts)
Dublin (Ireland): Training and meetings with 22 contacts from travel companies before the Aer Lingus reception.
Travel Trade Trainings: 2 with 883 trained (YTD: 9 with 1,577 trained)
Colorado Tourism Office (Australia & France): Trained 883 travel trade agents on Colorado and Denver.
New Programs 1 (YTD: 5)
Trips Beyond (UK): Denver city page with things to do, hotels and several itineraries.
Site Inspections 2 (YTD: 5 site inspections with 18 travel trade participants)
Mundo Ski (Colombia): 2 people
Globalys Travel & Beyond/OpenView (Italy): 1 person
DOMESTIC LEISURE CONSUMER MARKETING
The winter campaign targeting Colorado skiers concluded in March and was an unqualified success. In total, the campaign generated more than 74 million advertising impressions. More importantly, the campaign generated more than 57,000 bookings, nearly 134,000 room nights and nearly $24 million in revenue from those who were exposed to the advertising. The campaign will start up again in October, 2024.
The campaign to support Denver Restaurant Week concluded in early March. In total, there were nearly 7 million advertising impressions and more than 308,000 conversions to the Denver Restaurant Week website. A post-program survey sent to restaurants showed the program yielded a significant economic impact, with 144,650 meals served and nearly $10.5 million in sales for local restaurants.
Our regional campaign is now promoting events in May, including concerts at Ball Arena, the Cinco de Mayo festival and top performing arts shows. Through March, the campaign has generated nearly 30 million advertising impressions, more than 20,000 bookings, nearly 37,000 room nights and $6.2 million in revenue, all of which are outpacing our 2023 efforts year-todate.
The summer campaign, our largest of the year, launches on April 22 to national markets.
Total campaign impressions in March: 31,776,349 (90,200,923 YTD). Total campaign website conversions in March: 328,263 (847,744 YTD).
Mile High Culture Pass:
Officially back up and running as of April 2022. VISIT DENVER launched the pass as a threeday option priced at $37 per pass. 60 tickets sold in March via VISITDENVER.com
Denver CityPASS:
218 tickets sold in March via VISITDENVER.com v. 104 sales in March 2023. Year-to-date sales totals $2,250 in tickets.
Marketing
o The March Marketing Advisory Committee took place on Thursday, March 7. Myha Gallagher, from national research company Future Partners, presented their most recent traveler data to partners with a focus on the upcoming summer travel season. 30 partners joined the meeting in person with an additional 17 joining online.
Interactive
o Total monthly sessions to all websites in March were 1,060, 049 sessions, which is up .9% from March 2023.
o Top landing pages included Plan Your Getaway | VISIT DENVER (over 90k) and Fall & Winter in Denver, Colorado | VISIT DENVER (over 37k).
Social Media
o Total social media engagements (paid and organic) were 11,636,882 in the month of March. Primary platforms include Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
o A new agency to manage VISIT DENVER's paid social media programs was hired in March. Their initial campaign will be our summer effort that launches on April 22.
