Marketing is key to tourism health

This week, I’m attending the Western Association of Convention and Visitors Bureau’s annual convention. The theme of the convention is “Adventures in Selling Your Destination,” and it made me reflect on just what goes into marketing the Mat-Su Valley as a premier destination.

We know that people come to Alaska to see the natural beauty, glaciers and wildlife. But how did they know about those in the first place? Marketing. And now more than ever, destination marketing is important as people make tough decisions about their disposable income. If they can only take one vacation, why should it be a long-haul vacation to Alaska?

As we enter the busy marketing season, the Mat-Su CVB makes tough decisions on how to target our efforts that result in the biggest return on investment. In other words, how do we get the most bang for our marketing buck. This winter, we will participate in a number of programs that target different market segments. We make a conscious effort to make our marketing dollars stretch as far as possible, while still touching all of our various market segments in an efficient manner.

Internationally, we will be participating in the Alaska Down Under Mission, targeting Australian visitors who have become Alaska’s largest international market. We’ll also participate in the Mid Atlantic Seminar, a deeply discounted program offered by Icelandair to meet with European tour operators.

Domestically, we will again participate in the American Bus Association and National Tour Association national conventions, where we meet with tour operators who are either planning to offer Alaska products or are interested in building out their existing programs.

We participate in one consumer travel show each year in Los Angeles, and our visitor guide and website are geared toward consumers looking for more information.

Just as important is the in-state market. We reach Alaskans through participation in outdoor shows, through television and radio, and through online advertising. We also do targeted print advertising in magazines and newspapers that Alaskans are reading, giving us the most eyes on our destination as possible. We also reach out to meeting planners looking to organize retreats and related events.

A targeted marketing approach gives us the opportunity to showcase our destination to all segments of those making travel decisions. This winter, we’ll be busy trying to make sure that when May rolls around, hotel and B&B rooms are filled, flights are packed, fishing charters are busy and all our tourism businesses are busy. Those dollars stay in our community long after visitors go home, making it an important part of the Mat-Su Borough’s economy.

Casey Ressler (casey@alaskavisit.com) is the marketing and communications manager at the Mat-Su CVB.