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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTourism & Fair Committee - Minutes - 1/24/2013K:\(T&R Committee)\2013\Meeting materials\01 24\01 24 13 meeting min.docx Minutes of the TOURISM & RECREATION COMMITTEE OF THE BAYFIELD COUNTY BOARD Thursday, January 24, 2013, 2:00 p.m. County Board Room, Bayfield County Courthouse, Washburn, WI Members Present: Brett Rondeau, Bucky Jardine, Rusty Williams, John Bennett, Neil Schultz (via phone) Members Absent: none Others Present: Mary Motiff, Mark Abeles-Allison, Art Roebken, Karen Roebken, James Bolen, David Eades, Tim Kane I. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 2:10 p.m. by Rondeau. II. Motion Regarding December 11, 2012 Meeting Minutes: Motion (?,?) to approve the minutes from the December 11, 2012 committee meeting. Motion Carried. III. Public Comment: Art Roebken (see attached) IV. Review of Stakeholder Meeting Results: A summary of results was briefly discussed. V. Presentation by James Bolen - Executive Director, Cable Area Chamber of Commerce: (see attached) VI. Discussion and Possible Action on Tourism Department’s Mission & Goals: Kane led the committee through the process of updating the mission & goals of the department. Mission: Each committee member answered the question, “What do you think the purpose (mission) of the BC Tourism & Recreation Department should be?” Answers were as follows: Schultz: to encourage people from outside of the county to come to Bayfield County. Williams: tourists, trails & advertising. Bennett: Promote Bayfield County. Jardine: Marketing. Rondeau: Help develop, promote & market tourism in Bayfield County as a whole. The consensus of the committee (4 out of 5) was to change the mission to “Promote Bayfield County as a visitor destination”. Goals: 1. Increase level of visitor spending in Bayfield County  Go through a branding process to define a clear brand for the county as a destination  Utilize the resources provided by the Dept. of Tourism to promote Bayfield County 2. Increase coordination and collaboration (with other tourism entities in the region)  increase the flow of information via reciprocal links  increase website visitation  increase FB “likes”  develop integrated mapping  develop integrated calendar of events K:\(T&R Committee)\2013\Meeting materials\01 24\01 24 13 meeting min.docx VII. Discussion Regarding Possible Restructuring of Tourism Department: Abeles-Allison was asked what the process would be for a restructuring of the department to meet the revised mission. He stated that the full county board would have to approve any plan for restructuring the department. Rondeau would like Abeles-Allison, Bodine and Motiff to come up with a recommendation for the possible restructuring of the department and present that to the committee in February. VIII. Suggestions for Agenda Items for Next Committee Meeting: The next committee meeting will be at 3:00 pm on February 13. Agenda item: Recommendations for possible restructuring. Williams left the meeting at 3:55. IX. Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 4:02 p.m. Respectfully submitted by: Mary Motiff Tourism & Recreation Director By Art Roebken for presentation to the Bayfield County Board, Tourism and Recreation Committee January 24, 2013, 2:00 p.m. County Board Room, Courthouse, Washburn, Wisconsin in Support of Mary Motiff and her Tourism Department It is my understanding that the Bayfield County Tourism Department is being reviewed for realignment, consolidation and perhaps elimination. Without much background on the subject I can only assume the review is driven by financial considerations. Bayfield County, like all others in the State is under pressure to reduce costs and look for ways to improve efficiencies. It is not unusual for processes, procedures, policies to be reviewed with a focus on maximizing the use of available dollars while improving the quality and level of customer satisfaction. The Tourism Department at both the State and County level supports an important “product” This product has considerable revenue impact in all geographic areas of the state. Below are some interesting comments that Stephanie made in a recent interview: Tourism spending increased 7.6 percent in Wisconsin in 2011, but the industry created few new jobs and some of the state’s most popular northern destinations saw decreases in spending. According to results of the study conducted by Longwoods International and Tourism Economics, tourism spending was $9.8 billion in 2011, up from $9.2 billion in 2010. Tourism had a $16 billion economic impact to the state, an increase of 8 percent from the $14.8 billion in 2010. Spending in Bayfield County, home to the Apostle Islands was down 1.13 percent. Sawyer County, known for its fishing culture and Hayward, saw a decrease of 1.39 percent. Oneida County (think Minocqua and Rhinelander) fell 1.7 percent. Door County was up 1.6 percent. “I think that our top 15 counties are putting in a lot of money for their own marketing. Tourism is extremely competitive,” Klett said. “There are so many options with 72 counties.” Organization structure is an important element in marketing ones product. I assume that the State sets the overall strategic direction and following their lead, your strategies, goals and objectives are complimentary to theirs. Both plans then cascade down in support of the local chambers, business associations and any other group that deals with the marketing of the tourism product. While multiple organization structural levels at times create inefficiencies I think in this product environment the current structure is appropriate. Anyone who has worked with Mary recognizes her dedication, leadership skills and professionalism in representing the Bayfield County tourism initiative. I think it would be a grave mistake to diminish her role and that of the tourism department. To the contrary I would recommend consideration be given to providing her with additional resources and allow her to focus on developing and increasing this important revenue stream. Thanks you.