Visitors Tuolumne County

Form 990, Part III, Line 4A PROGRAM SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTSTHE 2022 2023 ANNUAL REPORT HIGHLIGHTS THE FOLLOWING ACCOMPLISHMENTS:-CONTINUED ECONOMIC GROWTH AND RECOVERY FOLLOWING COVID-19:-IN 2022, TRAVEL SPENDING IN TUOLUMNE COUNTY GREW TO $251.2 MILLION, A 42% INCREASE FROM 2020 AND A 4% INCREASE FROM 2021. SINCE THE RECORD TRAVEL SPENDING YEAR, 2019, TRAVEL SPENDING IS DOWN BY 8%, BUT IS CONTINUING TO RECOVER. THE COUNTYS TRAVEL INDUSTRY SUPPORTED APPROXIMATELY 2,550* JOBS IN 2022, 250 MORE THAN THE PREVIOUS YEAR, AN 11% INCREASE. INDUSTRY EMPLOYEE EARNINGS: $97 MILLION. TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX FOR TUOLUMNE COUNTY: $7.7 MILLION, AND CITY OF SONORA: $560,000-LOCAL CAMPAIGNS FEATURING RESTAURANT WEEK AND ART WEEK: FOR RESTAURANT WEEK VTC PROMOTED LOCAL RESTAURANTS WITH DIGITAL ADS AND RADIO ADS, SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS, DEDICATED RESTAURANT WEEK FACEBOOK PAGE, AND BY ANNOUNCING THE LAUNCH OF TUOLUMNE COUNTY CRAFT BURGER TRAIL. THIS YEAR MARKED VTCS 3RD ANNUAL ART WEEK PROMOTION. VTC WELCOMED 25 ARTISTS AND 13 VENUES THAT PARTICIPATED IN VTC ART WEEK. ART WEEK WAS PROMOTED THROUGH LOCAL AND REGIONAL MEDIA OUTLETS AND THOUGH SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS.-VTC HAS CONTINUED TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL THROUGH BLOG ARTICLES, MEDIA PITCHES, AND SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS. VTC LAUNCHED CLEAN-UP DAYS AND A MEANINGFUL TRAVEL WEBPAGE.-VTC CONTINUED TO PROMOTE THE TUOLUMNE COUNTY CRAFT BEVERAGE TRAIL OFFERING A GRAND PRIZE DRAWING IN NOVEMBER. A RELAUNCH OF THE TRAIL IN MAY ADDED THREE NEW PARTNERS TO THE CRAFT BEVERAGE TRAIL. AS A RESULT OF THIS PROGRAM MANY OF THE PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES SAW AN INCREASE IN CUSTOMERS IN THEIR OFF-PEAK BUSINESS HOURS.-VTC LAUNCHED A FOOD THEMED TRAIL, THE CRAFT BURGER TRAIL FEATURING RESTAURANTS THROUGHOUT TUOLUMNE COUNTY WITH BURGERS.-VTC REFRESHED THE MEETING PLANNER GUIDE. VTC ADDED NEW INFORMATION, NEW VENUES, SERVICES, AND TEAM BUILDING ACTIVITIES. THIS GUIDE SERVES AS A SOURCE TO HELP PLANNERS ARRANGE THE BEST MEETING OR GETAWAY FOR THEIR GROUP-VISIT TUOLUMNE COUNTY CREATES AND DISTRIBUTES AN ANNUAL TUOLUMNE COUNTY TRAVEL GUIDE TO INSPIRE TRAVELERS TO PLAN A TRIP TO TUOLUMNE COUNTY. IN 2022, 75,000 COPIES WERE PRINTED AND DISTRIBUTED AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS. THE ANNUAL GUIDE CONTINUES TO BE A VALUABLE RESOURCE FOR VISITORS HIGHLIGHTING THE ASSETS OF TUOLUMNE COUNTY.-A WEBSITE REFRESH WAS COMPLETED IN FALL OF 2022. IN LARGE PART, THE FOCUS OF THE REFRESH WAS TO MAKE THE SITE MORE MOBILE FRIENDLY AS MORE THAN DOUBLE OF USERS ARE USING MOBILE VERSUS DESKTOP.-VISIT TUOLUMNE COUNTY HAS BEEN RUNNING THE WANDER FREELY CAMPAIGN SINCE 2021. IN 2022/2023 VTC GAVE IT A REFRESH AND INTRODUCED THE WANDERFULLY TUOLUMNE COUNTY CAMPAIGN. CHANGING UP TAGLINES AND AD CREATIVE HAS HELPED CAPTURE THE ATTENTION OF NEW AUDIENCES AND RECAPTURE EXISTING AUDIENCES. THIS CONSUMER CAMPAIGN TARGETED FIVE MARKETS BASED ON AVAILABLE FLIGHTS TO NEARBY AIRPORTS, VISITATION DATA, AND WEBSITE ANALYTICS.-VTC CONTINUES TO UTILIZE TRADITIONAL MEDIA PLACEMENTS LIKE PRINT ADS. FOR THE 22/23 YEAR ADS WERE PLACED IN AN ARRAY OF REGIONAL, STATEWIDE, AND NATIONAL PUBLICATIONS-TELEVISION AND RADIO ADVERTISING; VTC CONTINUES TO TAP INTO KEY AUDIENCES THROUGH SPECIAL PROMOTIONS, TRADITIONAL PLACEMENTS, AND STREAMING PLACEMENTS. ALONG WITH SPECIAL PROMOTIONS ON SELECT CHANNELS.-VTC RAN TRADITIONAL BILLBOARDS FOR THE FIRST HALF OF THE YEAR BEFORE SWITCHING TO DIGITAL BILLBOARDS. DIGITAL BILLBOARDS ALLOW VTC TO QUICKLY CHANGE MESSAGING, TO HELP WITH CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS, EVENT PROMOTIONS, AND SEASONAL PROMOTIONS.-DIGITAL ADVERTISING: YEAR OVER YEAR VTC CONTINUES TO EXPAND OUR DIGITAL PRESENCE. ALONG WITH SOCIAL MEDIA WE WORK TO STAY CUTTING EDGE ON UP-AND-COMING PLATFORMS AND PUT FORWARD INITIATIVES THAT WILL SUPPORT OUR MISSION-PARTICIPATED IN MARKETING PARTNERSHIPS WITH REGIONAL, STATE, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL MARKETING ORGANIZATIONS ALLOWING VTC TO LEVERAGE FUNDING AND CAPTURE ADDITIONAL MARKETSHARE WHILE INCREASING VTCS OUTREACH REGIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY.- INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC RELATION AND TRAVEL TRADE AGENCIES - VTC WORKS WITH INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS AND TRAVEL TRADE AGENCIES IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT COUNTRIES WHERE CALIFORNIA IS A TOP SELLING DESTINATION. INTERNATIONAL VISITORS STAY LONGER AND SPEND MORE MAKING IT EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO HAVE A PRESENCE IN THE INTERNATIONAL MARKETS.-SOCIAL MEDIA - VISIT TUOLUMNE COUNTY CONTINUES TO BE VERY ACTIVE ON ITS SIX SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS, SHARING STRATEGICALLY PLANNED INSPIRATIONAL AND MOTIVATIONAL POSTS TO ENCOURAGE VISITATION. SOCIAL MEDIA IS ALSO A VALUABLE TOOL TO DISTRIBUTE IMPORTANT, TIMELY INFORMATION AS NECESSARY TO THE VISITING PUBLIC AND LOCALS ALIKE, NOTABLY AS WE SAW RECURRING CHANGES IN ROAD CONDITIONS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.-PUBLICE RELATIONS - THROUGH BOTH MEDIA PITCHES AND VISITS VTC SECURED 157 ARTICLES THAT WERE PLACED THROUGHOUT THE US. THE TOTAL REACH ACROSS ALL ARTICLES WAS NEARLY 829 MILLION UNIQUE MONTHLY VISITORS. MEANING THAT NEARLY 829 MILLION PEOPLE SAW THESE ARTICLES. THE ESTIMATED AD VALUE ON ALL THE ARTICLE PLACEMENTS WAS $7.65 MILLION.