City Advertising and Promotion Commission Sales Director Karen Pryor told commissioners last Wednesday that 115 groups of 20 or more attended the Great Passion Play during June and July, and responding lodging properties reported 51 coaches during those months. She expects nine more motor coaches to come to town for at least two nights this year as a result of her attendance at two trade shows. There are also upwards of 17 coaches from one tour operator with offices in New York, Pennsylvania and Missouri scheduled to visit during 2017. Her final show of the year will be a group travel event in Columbus, Ohio in October, which she said has provided a return on investment during the five years she has attended.
Public opinion sought, sort of
Commissioners agreed to pay for an upcoming internal operations audit by the Johanson Group by using reserves they can replenish at the end of the year. Chair Ken Ketelsen said Wednesday he had heard from a few citizens who wanted a chance for input as part of the audit. He suggested limiting the number of speakers and choosing them by a lottery.
Commissioner Terry McClung stated the Johanson Group are professionals and they should be allowed to do what they were hired to do. Commissioner James DeVito agreed and added there is a place on their agenda at every meeting for public comments. He did not want to complicate the audit, and commissioner Damon Henke mentioned the public could also send emails to commissioners.
Director’s report
Maloney told commissioners there are 462,000 daily impressions every day. The Bluegrass Festival, for instance, is generating interest. In addition, articles about Eureka Springs in various media from California to West Virginia were the equivalent of $70,000 in free public relations during the past month.
- “Your Autumn Escape” is the next campaign being developed with Rightmind Advertising, and besides autumn colors, mountain biking will be featured in ads from Dallas to Kansas City.
- The main focus for niche marketing during August will be the Bluegrass Festival, and September the focus is the Jazz Festival.
- The array of outdoor activities near Eureka Springs will be the pitch from the Eureka Springs contingent at the International Mountain Biking Association World Summit in Bentonville in November.
- Maloney announced there would be two movies coming to the Eureka Springs area within the next few months.
- McClung mentioned that the recent workshop with 121 Digital did not answer all his questions. He said the statistics sound good, but he was looking for a way to identify the results.
Commissioner Damon Henke agreed they were looking for “the conversions,” or how many clicked through to the website. He also wanted more time for questions, and the group agreed to have another workshop with 121 Digital with time for questions.
Henke reseated
Henke’s seat on the commission had expired and there was a vacant seat to fill. Commissioners voted to reseat Henke and approve Susan Harman to fill the vacant seat. Her term expires June 30, 2017.
Next workshop will be August 24, at 4 p.m., at the CAPC office. Next regular meeting will be Wednesday, Sept. 14, at 6 p.m.