IdeaLink - January 2012

PA Dutch CVB announces new board chair and members for 2012

The PA Dutch CVB is pleased to announce its new Board of Directors chair and members for 2012. The board is comprised of professional tourism partners that govern the organization and ensure it is consistently aligned with its mission to promote and grow visitation to Lancaster County.

Rick Stammel of Lebanon will serve as 2012 chair. Prior to his present position as general manager of the Dutch Wonderland Family Entertainment Complex in Lancaster, he spent 30+ years working for the Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company. Stammel is an active member of the Lancaster County Tourism Development Council and the advisory committee for the Route 30 Gateway Enhancement Plan. He is a graduate of Penn State University.

Appointed to a new three-year term on the board is:

• Michelle Rondinelli, of Lancaster and co-owner/president of Kitchen Kettle Foods, Inc. Rondinelli has grown up in the hospitality business as a third-generation owner/operator of Kitchen Kettle, and also is on the board of the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce & Industry. She has a bachelor’s in business management from York College.

Appointed to fill the final year of a current three-year term on the board is:

• Mark Moosic, of Furlong and general manager of the Lancaster County Convention Center and Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square. Moosic has 30+ years of experience in the lodging, conference, and convention industry with Interstate Hotels & Resorts.

New one-year At Large members of the board are:

• Michelle Gehman, of Lancaster and general manager of the Hilton Garden Inn Lancaster. Gehman has worked in the hospitality field for more than 20 years, and is the current president of the Greater Lancaster Hotel and Motel Association.
   
• Stephen Sikking, of Lancaster and managing partner – sales & marketing for the Best Western Premier Eden Resort & Suites, co-general partner of the Fulton Steamboat Inn, and partner with the Lancaster Hospitality Group. Sikking has worked in the hotel business for 25+ years, including with many different national brands. He is a graduate of Franklin & Marshall College, where he earned a bachelor’s in business.

In addition:

• Jan Garrabrandt, of Terre Hill and co-owner of The Artist’s Inn and Gallery bed & breakfast, was re-appointed to serve a second three-year term on the board.
   
• Scott Martin, of Lancaster and chairman of the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners, was re-appointed to serve a second one-year At Large term on the board.

We also want to take this opportunity to thank our outgoing board members for their commitment to this organization, its members, and this destination.

• Jennifer Buchter, director of sales for Miller's Smorgasbord / Plain & Fancy Farm Restaurant / AmishView Inn & Suites, served for four years.
• Kevin Molloy, Executive Director of the Lancaster County Convention Center Authority, served for 4 years.
• Randy Patterson, director of economic development & neighborhood revitalization for the City of Lancaster, served on the board for four years and contributed a wealth of insight.
• Chuck Simmons, served as chair in 2010 and recently served as past chair. He is the GM of the Tanger Outlet Center, Lancaster and the newly acquired Tanger Outlets Hershey.
• Vicki Kulina, senior director of resorts marketing & reservations at Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, served for three years.

View complete board list here.

Examining current industry trends

Dr. Suzanne Cook, U.S. Travel Association

As we begin the New Year, 2012 appears to bring positive momentum for the economy as well as the travel industry. While a sustained recovery is still not under way and uncertainty remains, most economists expect to see moderate growth throughout the year. Consumer confidence and spending showed strength over the holiday period, and employment numbers continued to improve. Airlines, however, face challenges such as weak demand and soaring fuel prices in 2012. Hotels are downshifting to slower growth, too, but business travel should continue to do well and drive recovery. More

Travel Trends
New surveys reveal that most leisure travelers expect to spend the same in 2012 as they did last year, but there are optimistic signs for growth in niche segments, including mystery trips, group tours and health, wellness & medical tourism. Affluent consumers are expected to spend significantly more on luxury travel in 2012, reporting that travel experiences bring happiness and satisfaction. More

Sign up today for upcoming Member Briefing & Member Mixer

• February 8 - Member Briefing at DoubleTree Resort by Hilton, Lancaster
  Join us to hear what industry experts have to say about the 2012 Tourism Forecast, and what we can anticipate at the local level. We’ll also update you on our marketing plans and the CVB’s funding status. RSVP!
   
• March 1 - Member Mixer at Lancaster County Career & Technology Center
  Please plan on joining us for food, fun and camaraderie at our next Member Mixer, hosted by the Lancaster County Career & Technology Center in Mount Joy.
  
  The Center is known throughout Pennsylvania as having one of the best facilities and equipped schools in the state. It is the fourth largest technical school operating in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and features state-of-the-art training technology and first class, training facilities.
  
  The Mixer will be held from 5-7pm. RSVP!

Visit our members’ microsite for information on all of our upcoming member meetings.

MLK Volleyball Tournament brings 9,000+ visitors to our destination

Lancaster County was host to 350+ team high school girls’ volleyball tournament over Martin Luther King weekend. This was their 18th year hosting this event in Pennsylvania; 4th year in Lancaster! More than 9000+ competitors, coaches and their families from the Mid-Atlantic states and beyond came to Lancaster for the three day tournament, filling in excess of 5,400 hotel room nights countywide.

The Lancaster County Convention Center was the primary venue for the event. There were a total of 15 sites which include: Franklin & Marshall College, JP McCaskey High School and East, Thaddeus Stevens College, First Methodist Church, Conestoga Valley, Overlook Sports Facility, Lancaster Bible College, Lancaster Mennonite High School, Lampeter YMCA, Lancaster Country Day, Calvary Church, Elizabethtown College, Millersville University, and the First Brethren Church in Christ. More than 45 courts were available throughout the weekend for tournament play.

The estimated economic impact of the volleyball tournament for Lancaster County was $6.5 to $7 million.

New international rate stamp uses image photographed in Lancaster County

The rolling, pastoral fields of Lancaster County will appear among new rate stamps for 2012, according to the U.S. Postal Service. The "Lancaster County, Pennsylvania" stamp will join the Scenic American Landscapes series as the new international rate stamp. The stamp features a photograph taken by artist James Amos of Chestertown, MD, and was designed by USPS art director Ethel Kessler. Its release date has not yet been announced. To preview the year's new stamps, visit www.beyondtheperf.com/2012-preview.

Lancaster County tourism in the news

Our communications staff works with our members to garner free publicity for Lancaster tourism in media outlets around the region, the country, and the globe. Below are just a few recent results of these efforts on behalf of our world-class travel destination.

Through the end of December 2011, the PA Dutch CVB has realized more than $14 million in domestic ad equivalency through our earned media (PR) efforts. Ad value is the amount it would cost to place an advertisement of equal size to the article in the publication.

• “Exploring Lancaster’s Upscale Side”
  Signature Brandywine (Brandywine Valley area near Philly), Dec. ‘11/Jan. ‘12
   
• “Pennsylvania Dutch region to host 2013 GOF Conference”
  Going On Faith, Dec. ‘11/Jan. ‘12
   
• “A moo-ving experience” (re: Turkey Hill Experience)
  Small Market Meetings, Jan. 2012
   
• “Art is at the heart of downtown Lancaster”
  Baltimore Sun (also nationally-syndicated via McClatchy-Tribune News Service), 1/8/12
   
• “Ten for the Road” (incl. Lancaster County mud sales)
  AAA World, Jan./Feb. 2012

New DCED Deputy Secretary – Impact on Tourism

DCED Secretary C. Alan Walker has announced that business owner and entrepreneur, Carolyn Boser Newhouse has accepted the appointment as Deputy Secretary of Innovation and Investment and will lead the commonwealth’s efforts to create family-sustaining jobs through advancing technology and innovation, supporting business growth and bolstering Pennsylvania’s robust tourism industry.

The new position was created through an opportunity to streamline three departments and have this newly created position oversee those departments: the Offices of Business Assistance, Technology Investment and Tourism, Marketing and Film.

Newhouse is stepping down as president and CEO of SuperUser Technologies in Bradford to take the new position, which started yesterday. More.

January board meeting recap

The PA Dutch CVB Board of Directors met on January 12. During the meeting, the board discussed the Lancaster County Convention Center’s debt situation and the steps needed to preserve both the convention center and the CVB. The board also reviewed the CVB’s current finances, industry reports and the hotel tax report. The December 2011 minutes are now available for viewing in the member section of our website. The January minutes will be available for viewing after they are approved by the board at the next meeting on February 9. Past board minutes are available on our members’ microsite.

Great reads

• For 2012, signs point to tepid consumer spending
  According to The New York Times, American consumers are running out of tricks. As the weak economy has trudged on, they have leaned on credit cards to pay for holiday gifts, dipped into savings to cover spikes in gas and food, and substituted domestic vacations for international trips. That leaves little room for a big increase in spending in 2012, economists say. More.
   
• Four reasons haters are good for your company
  Your company will always have haters—unhappy customers who go out of their way to trash your product, service or customer service at every opportunity. "They often find their way onto social media, thanks to the low barrier of entry and promise that any invisible comment can find its way onto the highly visible first page of Google results," writes Rohit Bhargava at the I. But they're actually good for your business. More.
   
• Ignore the human element of marketing at your own peril
  Forget Product Positioning, This is the Dawn of the Relationship Era Product positioning? Selling propositions? Talk-at-consumer promos? That's so 2011. This is about tapping into the Human Element. More.
   
• How to create a viral sweepstakes with social media
  Are you considering using a sweepstakes or contest for an upcoming social media marketing campaign? Ever wonder exactly how a social sweepstakes ties in with the idea of “viral” marketing? In this article, I’ll analyze the concepts affecting a social media “viral sweepstakes” and how marketers can and (potentially) should take advantage. More.

Industry newsmakers

We are saddened to share that one of our longtime members, Chris Herr, publisher of Intercourse News, passed away on December 18 at the age of 71. Born in Lancaster, he and his wife Beth Clayton Herr celebrated their 26th Anniversary last July.

For more than 30 years he wrote about, photographed and expounded on the virtues of Lancaster County to visitors via the Intercourse News. His obituary stated it nicely: “He cared that we wore our well-brushed suits and skirts, beamed 'Sunday Go To Meeting Smiles' so that everyone knew we were caring and loving and… his idea of… ideal of …his understanding of Lancaster County. Why? Because Chris was a Herr.”

He was a 42 year member of the Rotary Club of Lancaster where he had perfect attendance and was membership chair of the Lancaster Country Club where he was a Court Jester for more than 40 years. Chris was also founder of Homefields, Inc., for which he also served as president and treasurer.

Memorials may be made in Chris’ memory to The Rotary Club of Lancaster, PO Box 1387, Lancaster, PA 17608-1387 or Homefields, Inc., 150 Letort Road, PO Box 41, Millersville, PA 17551. Condolences may be posted online.

Please join us in welcoming these new members

• Days Inn Hershey
  Sarah Brenneman, 717-534-2162
  The only hotel in the heart of downtown Hershey offering complimentary shuttle service to Hersheypark© and Chocolate World©.
  www.daysinnhershey.com
   
• Forever Amish Made
  Duane Greenfield, 717-945-7927
  Offers authentic, Amish-made items from Lancaster, PA. They travel into the farms and small businesses that are deeply rooted in Lancaster County. They also offer a popular Personal Shopping Service!
  www.foreveramishmade.com
   
• ForknSpoon Café
  Beth Gallie, 717-435-9450
  Offers a cozy café with a diversified menu featuring weekly breakfast and lunch specials, gourmet soups, comfort food takeaway and catering services. Also offering boxed lunches for special events and meetings.
  www.forknspooncafe.com
   
• Lancaster Symphony Orchestra
  Ed Sabato, 717-291-6440
  The core purpose of the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra is to enrich, entertain and educate the South Central Pennsylvania community through unique, live musical performances and to provide community engagement opportunities for students of all ages. Opening its 64th season, the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra is a 70-member professional orchestra
  www.lancastersymphony.org
   
• The Back Page Restaurant & Lounge
  Rick Miller, 717-661-2577
  A casual dining, family friendly restaurant with a patio and game room. They feature fresh entrées, hundreds of sandwich combinations, tasty appetizers, a full bar, catering services, live entertainment, a casual and fun atmosphere – and so much more!
  www.backpagerestaurant.com

Questions or Comments?

Contact Janet Wall at jwall@padutchcountry.com, or 717-391-6005

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