AGENDA #1c

April 11, 2008

To:       Chapel Hill Town Council: Mayor Kevin Foy; Council members: Jim Ward; Bill Strom; Bill Thorpe; Sally Greene; Mark Kleinschmidt; Ed Harrison; Laurin Easthom and Matt Czajkowski

Cc:       Roger Stancil

Fr:        Laurie Paolicelli, Executive Director

Re:       2008/09 Increased Funding Request

The 2008 fiscal year has been a successful one for Visitors Bureau and tourism in general. The outlook for next year is a bright one as well, and so in an effort to keep up with the growth we foresee, we are asking that the Council consider increasing their contribution from the current $100,000 to $150,000.

Allow to me show you why.

This past year, during a tenuous economy, tourism was spectacular, with occupancy tax revenues jumping to a near $1.1 million in tax revenues for the town.  $137 million was spent by tourists here last year. 

The Orange County Commissioners recently voted to increase our occupancy tax 1%.  This additional revenue will go to year-round advertising, website promotions, and operations of our Franklin Street Visitors Center, staff, rent, and publications.

We are hopeful Chapel Hill Town Council will recognize and support our successes as well by increasing occupancy tax allocations to the Visitors Bureau.

Our Franklin Street Welcome Center greeted 21,000 visitors last year and we distributed 100,000 pieces of information (much of it out of state).   Visitors to our Chapel Hill Welcome Center even take time, post-visit, to send us a warm thank you.

We made parents aware of the areas offerings, updated Alumni on new amenities, and communicated to old and new audiences alike about our music, food and heritage scenes. 

We also set-up service booths at hotels and at the Friday Center to provide conference visitors with information about our town.  We gave web visitors new venues and booking options at www.visitchapelhill.org and we provided local hotels with Franklin Street materials.  We invested in markets that hold promise for the future, from the Gay Travel industry to younger Gen X travelers.

Specifically, the Visitors Bureau will use the additional funds for support with several key initiatives, including but not limited to:

The 2009 Chapel Hill Festival of the Book which will spotlight national authors, books, southern culture and is scheduled to take place in the heart of the campus.  The visitors’ bureau will assist in luring 20,000 festival goers and generating $1 million for Chapel Hill over a single weekend, September 10-12, 2009. 

The Visitors Bureau will market 5^th Quarter to a sixteen county region, inviting Tar Heel athletic fans to stay after the game.  The program was launched last year but requires marketing dollars to be successful.  The Visitors Bureau has a plan in place that will spread the word to tourists, increase spending and assisting with the economic activity of this event.

In short, we have more than just high hopes for the future: we have a plan.  I hope the Council will support it.

Thank you for your consideration.