Cape May County Tourism Partners Take the Show on the Road

COURT HOUSE — With the unofficial start of summer less than 100 days away, the Cape May County Department of Tourism has been on the road since early Jan., promoting the 2016 summer season.
Diane Wieland, Cape May County Tourism Director, who leads this effort, has been working with a team of tourism partners since late August to put together a travel show schedule that includes 19 consumer shows, targeting the leisure market in the Northeast and Canada. The shows serve as an entree to opening new markets and maintaining existing ones.
The group, called the Cape May County Travel Show Cooperative, was formed in 2010 with the purpose of pooling marketing dollars and resources to collectively market the tourism assets of Cape May County as one destination. The Cooperative includes the City of Cape May, the Wildwoods (GWTIDA), the Southern Shore Region Destination Marketing Organization (SSRDMO), the Cape May County Department of Tourism, Sea Isle City Tourism Commission, Cape May Chamber of Commerce, Stone Harbor Chamber of Commerce, the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce, Avalon 7MBCA. Marketing Partners can buy in at several levels and pick and choose the shows that best suit their budget and visitor demographic.
“The Cape May County Department of Tourism has been doing travel shows for more than 45 years, it became very costly and rather than eliminate shows, we proposed the cooperative concept and our county tourism leaders saw value in partnering with us, and today we have a very aggressive show schedule that works to promote all the county has to offer,” Wieland said.
Freeholder E. Marie Hayes, who oversees the operation of the Tourism Department, reported, “The Tourism Department will continue to promote all of Cape May County in their marketing efforts. The Travel Shows are just one part of the overall marketing plan. It is encouraging to see our partners coming together to support this valuable program and watch how it has grown over the years. No other county in New Jersey has been doing this for this long and the results speak from themselves. Cape May County leads the state in tourism revenue, with another record year in 2015.”
The Department of Tourism, under Tourism Representative Christine Ostrander, manages the schedule that includes booth registration, set up and logistics such as hotels, meals, manning the booth, determining the amount of collateral needed, loading in and out of the show, breakdown and transportation to and from the shows. This is a huge challenge but at the midway point in the schedule, the results have been overwhelming. The amount of literature put directly into the hands of potential visitors has exceeded other years. This week there are four teams heading in four different directions promoting the Jersey Cape.
“Vacations are a major decision for most people, travel planners are not only doing research online, but based on the number of people who pay to attend these shows and stop at our booth, they also want the information in their hands. The partners have the ability to work at the booth to connect with potential visitors, reconnect with return visitors, gain insights on what the visitors are looking for, and answer specific questions regarding their town. It is in our best interest to be there to tell our story and sell our destination. It is a win/win for all of us,” Hayes added.
The unfavorable exchange rate on the Canadian loonie and how it will impact visitors from Quebec was of great concern for the travel show partners, who agreed to expand the reach and added Boston, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh to the show schedule this year. The premise was to grow new markets and offset any decline in Canadian business. The show locations are based on several factors, including visitor data, driving distance and awareness of the destination. Many shows remain on the schedule each year based on past success.
“Determining our show schedule has come down to a science, we depend on our partners to collect data that allows us to map potential growth areas and new markets. We traditionally target a 300 mile radius, or the ‘tank of gas away’ visitor, we also look beyond that to attract potential pockets of travelers who are willing to drive farther and stay longer. Gas prices are another factor in the decision making process, lower fuel costs will benefit drive markets like Cape May County in two important ways; fewer dollars to fill the tank while driving to the destination, and the savings realized over the past year add to discretionary spending on things like vacations,” Wieland added.
The travel shows are supported with print, television, radio, billboards and digital advertising to reinforce the message.
“We start devising our marketing plan for the new year at the end of the summer season. We look at what worked and what didn’t work, we research emerging travel trends and determine how we fit. We can’t afford to take risks and we measure our results using occupancy tax collection, traffic counts and website traffic,” Wieland said.
2016 Cape May County Travel Show Schedule:
Sun, Ski Travel Expo – Hartford, Connecticut
New York Boat Show – Javits Center, NYC
Garden State Outdoor Show – Edison, NJ
Cincinnati Travel and Sports Show – Cincinnati, Ohio
NJ RV and Camping Show – Edison, NJ
Baltimore Boat Show – Baltimore, Md
Great American Outdoor Show – Harrisburg, Pa
Allegheny Sport, Travel & Outdoor Show – Pittsburgh, Pa
Montreal Sport and Outdoor Show – Montreal, Canada
Boston Globe Travel Show – Boston, Ma
Washington Travel and Adventure Show – Washington DC
Greater Philadelphia Outdoor Show – Oaks, Pa
Philadelphia Flower Show – Philadelphia, Pa
World Fishing and Outdoor Travel Show – Suffern, NY
Saltwater Fishing Expo – Somerset, NJ
Philadelphia Travel and Culinary Show – Philadelphia, Pa
NJ Military Base Shows – 3 military bases in NJ – TBA