Town of Provincetown
Visitor Services Board
Wednesday September 20, 2006
Judge Welsh Meeting Room
Chairman Lynne Davies convened the meeting at 10:03 AM noting the following
attendees:
Members Present: Lynne
Davies, Chairman; Kathleen Fitzgerald;
Laurel Guadazno; Michael Peregon; and Mick Rudd
Excused Absence: Peter Bez and Hersh Schwartz
Other attendees: Bill Schneider, Administrative Director of
Tourism; David Gardner, Administrative Assistant II.
Steve Tait, President, Provincetown
Business Guild; Don Knuuttila, Executive Director, Provincetown Business Guild;
and Candice Collins Bodin, Executive Director, Chamber of Commerce, were also
present in the audience.
TOURISM
OFFICE LEAD REQUEST PACKAGE
The
ADT explained the process of responding to requests for information received by
the Tourism Office, highlighting the importance of a prompt and comprehensive
response to lead requests.
Representatives from both the Chamber of Commerce and PBG indicated that
they are pressed to provide additional brochures this year because their
supplies are critically low. There was
discussion regarding the brochures being produced earlier than April to ensure
that current and relevant information is forwarded during the peak trade show
season (November – April). Both the
Chamber and the PBG indicated that it would be very difficult to produce their
brochures any earlier than they are now scheduled.
The
VSB discussed the possibility of creating a third brochure by the Tourism
Office, which will serve to complement the two existing marketing programs of
the Chamber and PBG, which are both membership driven.
On September 11th the ADT met with FOCUS
Communications to discuss distribution of the VNR, which will be completed by
October 1st. Discussions
continued regarding the production of another VNR as well as the media strategy
for the next several months. One
proposal regarding the creation of a second VNR focuses on showcasing
Provincetown in the fall shoulder season with an added component of the
lighting of the Pilgrim Monument. Other
possible components include ecotourism, history and shopping/dining.
The consensus from the
Board is to focus on Provincetown's rich and steeped history, telling the story
through vignettes featuring still photos, images of landmarks, and the use of
narration by the storytellers (including Laurel Guadazno, Mick Rudd, Richard
Olson and others).
Some of the landmarks to be
featured include the following: The
Pilgrim Monument, Rose Dorothea replica and Lipton Cup trophy in the
Provincetown Library, Pilgrim's First Landing Park and the Provincetown
Theatre. Topics could include "One
Book, One Town" (featuring the book The Mayflower), the history of
theatre in Provincetown, the Town's diversity and representation of GLBT life.
Due to the
overwhelming cooperation of the Provincetown business community, the entire
50-minute segment for Let’s Shop will be dedicated entirely to Provincetown. Originally the segment was going to feature
both Boston and Provincetown, but thanks to the dedicated efforts of FOCUS
Communications and participation of so many Town businesses, the footage for
this segment helped the producers realize how compelling Provincetown artisans
are. The airdate will be sometime in
November and the ADT will obtain a copy of the segment.
The ADT has been working on cross-promotional
efforts with Amtrak for a pilot program that offers Provincetown-bound
passengers who purchase a ticket on a regional train from either New York,
Philadelphia and Washington to purchase a companion ticket for half price. Discussions are underway with both ferry
companies and Cape Air to see if they will match this incentive. This program will be publicized through a
variety of mediums, including media advertising and collateral advertising at
seven trade shows scheduled for 2007.
The ADT is continuing discussions with Air Canada, American Airlines and Jet
Blue to help cross promote Provincetown at trade shows scheduled in Toronto
(November 3-5, 2006), Long Beach (February 10-11, 2007) and Washington, DC
(March 3-4, 2007).
During the period form August 19, 2006 through
September 17, 2006, the PTO’s web banner ad on the CapeCodTravel.com website
(in collaboration with our advertising contract with Best Read
Guide)
had 25,950 ad views, resulting in 87 pass-through hits.
A
new ad has been prepared for Best Read Guide (October issue).
Chuck
Anzalone is scheduling a photo shoot to feature restaurants and the fall/winter
shopping season to help expand our photo library.
The
contract with Concierge Magazine
expires with the publication of the December 2006 issue. Concierge Magazine (part
of the Boston Magazine Publications family) is distributed to over 10,000 hotel
rooms and at concierge desks throughout Boston’s premiere and luxury
hotels. In addition, the publication is
distributed to luxury residences and newsstands through Boston, Cambridge and
Logan International Airport. The
proposed contract includes a directory listing and will feature the added value
of including Provincetown events in the “Coming Up” section of the publication.
MOTION: Move to
approve the purchase of four one-third page four-color advertisement insertions
in Concierge Magazine scheduled for December 2006, March, June and September
2007 at the rate of $1,500 per insertion and additional production fees at the
rate of $40 per insertion for a total of $6,160 to be paid from the FY07
marketing budget.
MOTION: Laurel Guadazno; Seconded:
Michael Peregon; Yea: 5; Nay: 0; Abstain: 0
In
lieu of participating at this year’s ITB in Berlin, an advertising opportunity
exists with eTurboNews for their ITB 2007 print/CD and online edition,
which will reach 230,000 travel industry readers and 9,000 journalists.
MOTION:
Move
to approve the purchase of one one-half page advertisement including a 100-word
fact sheet, press release and banner advertisement for a total of $1,750 to be
paid from the FY07 marketing budget.
MOTION: Michael Peregon; Seconded: Mick Rudd; Yea: 5;
Nay: 0; Abstain: 0
The
ADT has implemented policies and procedures to take over the scheduling use of
Former Fire House No. 3 from the Police Department, which was approved by the
Town Manager last week and went into effect on September 19th.
At
the suggestion of Rex McKinsey, Provincetown’s Harbor Master, the ADT is in
discussions with the American Canadian Caribbean Line regarding adding
Provincetown as a port of call to their itineraries. This cruise line operates 100-passenger luxury Blount boats
through the northeast and Canada.
The
ADT has been informed the Provincetown Harbor Lights event, scheduled for
September 9th, did not occur.
The grant amount awarded for this event was $1,000.
Earlier
this summer the ADT was contacted by representatives from The Commonwealth
School, a private Boston-based school, in search of a site for their annual
spring break. Following a site
inspection in July, the headmaster has approved the request for the day-long visit,
which will include over 200 students, faculty and staff, who will arrive on
Wednesday, May 23rd via a Bay State Cruise Company charter.
The
Town of Provincetown Visitor’s Survey for Spring 2006 was completed by the
University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth and will be available on the Town’s
website. This initiative is one of
three surveys prepared for the MCC Adams Grant Task Force and PEDC (funded
through a grant from the MCC).
Plans
are underway for the 8th Annual Tour Guide Appreciation day, which
is scheduled for Friday, October 27th.
FIVE-YEAR
FINANCIAL PLAN
A discussion ensued regarding the municipal portion
of the proposed budget. Chair Davies
expressed her concerns regarding the Town taking responsibility for the
maintenance of the infrastructure within the budget process. The discussion continued regarding the
funding for third barrel pickup, landscape maintenance and bathroom
maintenance.
Various members of the VSB discussed the importance
of the Tourism Fund investment into the Town’s infrastructure to improve the
overall visitor experience. Funds could
be invested into improvements, including the waterfront park, customer service
training, new or additional bathrooms available, art installations and beach
cleanup.
The VSB requested comment and support from the
Chamber and PBG, and both organizations provided support of the proposed VSB
plan. It was agreed that the ADT would
invite the DPW to attend the next VSB meeting to continue this discussion.
NEW
BUSINESS
Don
Knuuttila, Executive Director of the PBG presented a revised Marketing Plan for
the Meet Your Man Event (scheduled for November 2-5). The PBG is seeking input from the VSB regarding a sponsorship for
this event by the Internet site www.manhunt.net. The marketing plan exceeds the minimum amount of advertising to
qualify for the grant as approved, and therefore no amendment or approval by
the VSB is required.
Motion: Move
to approve the minutes of the September 5, 2006 VSB meeting as submitted
Motion: Kathleen Fitzgerald; Seconded: Michael Peregon; Yea:
4; Nay: 0; Abstain: 1 LG.
The
meeting was adjourned at 12:20 PM.