For decades, the Chattanooga Area Convention & Visitors Bureau has been a tireless champion of this city’s natural beauty and its complement of family oriented activities. Although tourism has long been an essential element of the local economy, never in its history has the city had so much to offer.
Ironically, the times are just as challenging as they are filled with promise. Competition is keen for the tourism dollar as its prime promoter makes every effort to spread the good word about Chattanooga as a destination. The grandeur of the Tennessee River and the surrounding mountains are second to none, while visionary civic leaders and investors have reinvigorated the riverfront with dazzling results. It is not surprising that the more visitors see of Chattanooga, the more they tend to come back.
“Tourism in this community is very healthy and is growing,” asserted Convention & Visitors Bureau President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Doak, who acknowledges two major influences on visitors during 2006. “We looked at last summer, and the Georgia Aquarium opened in Atlanta. It caused some numbers at our Tennessee Aquarium and overall visitation to decline as compared to the prior year. We knew that day was coming. It is over. It is behind us. The Georgia Aquarium was clearly something everybody wanted to go and see. The difference is that Chattanooga is a complete destination. After you see the Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga has positioned itself well to be a destination to many types of people, including young people, families, and empty nesters.”
The second factor which impacted 2006 tourism numbers for the area was the price of a gallon of gasoline, which soared above $3.00 per gallon. “I have never, ever been an advocate of trying to link fuel prices to tourism in Chattanooga,” Doak continued. “If you do the math, it is 120 miles to Atlanta, and an average car gets about 20 miles to the gallon. It is an insignificant increase, but what we found is that the sticker shock of the price per gallon made people concerned about the economy as a whole. Not only were they factoring in what it would cost to get to Chattanooga, but it was competing with the same dollar that bought gas to get them to work every day and put a dent in people’s disposable income.”
True enough, the one-two punch of rising fuel prices and the Georgia Aquarium created a difficult situation. However, it was short lived. As early as last fall, the numbers were on the rebound.
“We had a very good fall season, which told me there was some pent up demand,” reasoned Doak, now in his fifth year at the CVB helm. “Gas prices came back down a little bit, and the novelty of the Georgia Aquarium passed. The good thing also is that spring break, which can be a great barometer of what summer is going to look like, was very, very good. We are seeing a return of visitors from some of the zip codes we did not have last year. The numbers continue to go up, and hotel tax revenues continue to rise.”
One major boost to the CVB marketing campaign came in the form of a Hamilton County Commission vote in February to allocate 100 percent of hotel tax revenues to the bureau after the payment of statutory debt service. The added funds have facilitated participation in a co-op advertising campaign with the state of Tennessee, which places television ads about Chattanooga in 42 markets this year. Previously, such advertising was confined to five markets only -- Nashville, Knoxville, Birmingham, Huntsville and Atlanta.
“That now gives us the ability to continue to promote this community from the consumer side and the meeting side,” Doak said. “Interwoven through all of this is the thread of public relations, and public relations is so much more credible when you get a third party that comes to your city and says that they had a great time. These are freelance writers who submit articles to top publications, and we get incredible results from that on both the convention and consumer sides.”
Clearly, an assessment of what brings visitors to Chattanooga reveals that the Tennessee Aquarium is most prominent. However, a concerted effort to brand the entire city is seen as producing the best results over time.
“When you think about it, you may not be looking specifically for Fisherman’s Wharf when you go to San Francisco,” commented Bob. “You are rather saying that you want to go to San Francisco and just happen to want to go to Fisherman’s Wharf. People throw the word ‘brand’ out a little carelessly sometimes. We know our consumers say this is an incredible place surrounded by man-made and God-given attractions. Our new tagline that we launched recently is ‘Chattanooga -- A Great City By Nature.’ What we need to do as an organization is to promote this entire community.
“So, to think you are going to have prosperous tourism without having a destination is wrong,” he noted. “One of the points Mayor Littlefield stressed in talking to a group of Atlantans was, ‘You have an aquarium, but I want to see you build one of these rivers. I want to see you build some mountains in your community.’ Take the incredible outdoor opportunities and leverage those with the attractions, hotels, restaurants, and retail and you really create an experience. As far as I am concerned, it is second to none anywhere in this part of the country.”
A major component of tourism is the convention trade. In 2007, Chattanooga will host at least 28 conventions of 600 people or more with an economic impact of nearly $15 million. The 2003 expansion of the Convention Center allows the city to entertain larger and multiple events. Invariably, the first question meeting planners ask a prospective city’s marketing group is the size of its convention center and the availability of supporting hotel rooms within a reasonable distance. If those two hurdles are cleared, then the question becomes what Chattanooga has to offer that its competitors do not.
Additionally, incentives are routinely offered to planners for bringing their groups to a city. Once again, the County Commission’s vote to allocate available hotel tax revenues to the CVB looms large.
“In order for us to stay competitive, we have to offer incentives to meeting planners, and it truly is looking at a return on investment model,” said Doak. “Does it make sense to give a group X number of dollars to bring them to town? Now that we are armed with more dollars, we are able to bring in more groups. That is what it boils down to -- getting the community a return on its investment.”
Steve Genovesi, the CACVB’s vice president of sales and marketing, spends the majority of his time with his team working with potential convention and reunion groups. His role is one of acquainting these prospects with what Chattanooga has to offer and putting the right package together.
“As we go out of town to promote Chattanooga, we talk to many people,” Steve remarked. “Some say they have never been to Chattanooga, and we give them a clear picture of the city. We tell them that we border three states, so we have great access for people in the Southeast. Our air transportation is improved with flights to Dallas, Orlando, Houston, and Tampa/Clearwater. The Convention Center is one of the top ‘green’ centers in the country, which gets noticed quite a bit these days. Meeting planners that use convention centers around the country continually tell us that our convention center’s meeting space layout and service stands above the rest.”
Genovesi also promotes the affordability of Chattanooga. Groups can save significantly on meals and lodging in comparison to a larger city. The number of off-site venues for gatherings, such as the Tennessee Aquarium, the Hunter Museum of American Art, Rock City Gardens, the new Pier II, Lake Winnepesaukah and other locales, is also a selling point. Booking conventions during January, February, or August, traditionally slower periods, also helps to support strong tourist revenue.
Larry Denham, the owner of the Tennessee Academy of Gymnastics and the meet director for the 2006 and 2007 Tennessee Gymnastics State Championships, has been truly impressed with Chattanooga. “Typically, the Tennessee Gymnastics State Championships rotates around the state, with the women’s usually held in a school gymnasium and the men’s in a gymnastics facility,” he said. “However, with our beautiful, spacious Convention Center, so conveniently located so close to hotels, restaurants, and attractions, we were able to combine the men’s and women’s championships last year, making for a spectacular event.”
Chattanooga’s residents can also pitch in to attract convention business to the city. Chattanooga is a great location for a family or military reunion, bringing relatives and friends from around the country. Local people who are employed by firms with out-of-town locations or headquarters can suggest their hometown as the location for their next company or association gathering.
Max Bahner of the Chattanooga law firm Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel commented, “Encouraging your group or association to have their meeting in Chattanooga opens the door to people who do not know what our city has to offer, and the fact that it is filled with treasures, excellent activities from museums to outdoor recreation, great restaurants and hotels – all in the midst of stunning scenery. When my group, the Senior Lawyers Division Council of the American Bar Association, visited Chattanooga last fall, they were surprised to discover Chattanooga’s downtown and all that is available here. They want to come back again when they can spend more time.”
Valoria Armstrong, President of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, commented, “Chattanooga has a lot to offer to the minority community. And, in working with the CACVB, we were able to gain a broader understanding of what their duties and responsibilities are, and their representatives went above and beyond to make our convention a success.”
Genovesi added, “From the convention standpoint, we can be a one-stop shop. If you are on the board or a committee for your company, all we ask is that you get us in the door. You can be Chattanooga’s advocate.”
Simply stated, the broad mission of the Chattanooga Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is to bring people who do not live in the area to our city to spend at least one night and enjoy the local amenities. From an individual perspective, every convention attendee who comes to town spends an average of $180 per day. Annual tourism spending in Chattanooga tops $647 million, while generating more than $37 million in state sales tax collections and nearly $15 million in local sales tax revenue. The industry employs 7,430 local residents. While some may stress that many tourism-related jobs are entry level, the fact of the matter is that the industry is vital. Its impact on the local economy cannot be overemphasized.
“There are entry level positions in any industry,” commented Doak. “The great thing about tourism is that you can quickly get on the escalator for promotion. The industry itself is so significant that we have a $2 billion infrastructure for it in our town. Look at the jobs that were created to build that infrastructure, and remember that we, as locals, get to enjoy some incredible assets in this community that were paid for in part by tourist dollars. It really creates a great quality of life for us and will bring tourists here in the future as well.”
Chattanooga’s tourism future is one which is continually being evaluated. It is critical, says Doak, for the community to continue to improve its product, to excite repeat visitors, and to attract new visitors. He describes himself as an unabashed supporter of what Chattanooga has to offer -- not just because it is his job but because our city is something in which we can all take pride.
CHATTANOOGA TOURISM FACTS
· Hotel rooms downtown (surrounding the Chattanooga Convention Center) -- 2,000
· Additional hotel rooms within 15 minutes of downtown -- 7,000
· 40 percent of visitors say they will return to Chattanooga within one year
· 60 percent of visitors say they will recommend Chattanooga to friends and family
· 82 percent of meeting planners report that their group had its highest attendance while meeting in Chattanooga
· Convention and meeting bookings have increased 18 percent since 2004
· Military reunion bookings have increased 80 percent since 2004