ConVis to spend millions marketing the region as an affordable destination
By Johnny McDonald | Downtown News
Although the latest gas prices weigh heavily on tourism traffic, for some, San Diego continues to be economically reachable. The Convention and Visitors Bureau (ConVis) makes sure visitors know that the city’s attractions provide an affordable option.
From February through June of this year, ConVis intends to spend $6.2 million in advertising and promotional incentives to promote San Diego as a tourist destination, said Kerri Kapich, ConVis senior vice president of marketing. She said 62 percent of all overnight visitors come from California, Arizona and Nevada.
“We are definitely sensitive to all the situations: gas [prices], higher plane expense and the cruise ship decline,” said ConVis President and CEO Joe Terzi.
However, he said, despite similar gas concerns during the 2008 recession, San Diego did not feel the effects as much as other locations.
“We didn’t see a major impact for day-type traffic with our attractions,” he said of the 2008 gasoline-price spike. “Right now, people are rethinking what they’re doing and being more cautious, but I’m not sure $4.50-a-gallon gas will change people’s behavior significantly.”
Terzi said, “Overall analysis shows we’re a destination where people can get to fairly easy and that we’ll do better. Still, airline costs are kind of out of whack and might be a bigger concern.”
British Airways and Japan Airlines recently added direct flights to San Diego from the U.K. and Japan. San Diego is the 11th most visited city in the United States for overseas travelers.
“We do special promotions, mostly through the online travel agencies, that offer special values for price discounts,” Kapich said. “These promotions often target travelers researching popular fly destinations such as Hawaii and other key competitors. We give them an option.”
Saying the reason many come to San Diego is for the beauty and biodiversity, Kapich also listed Balboa Park, Coronado and the Gaslamp Quarter as popular tourist attractions.
Kapich said a total of 153,000 San Diegans are employed in travel- and tourism-related jobs, including large-scale destinations like the San Diego Zoo and Sea World. “We’re running a major partnership with Sea World, sharing media expenses,” she said. As additional incentives, Kapich said hotels sometimes offer a package deal, which sometimes includes a pre-paid gas card.
ConVis received three 2012 Excellence in Tourism Marketing awards at the Visit California Outlook Forum that took place February in Sacramento. ConVis was selected as Best in International Marketing, Broadcast Advertising and Integrated Marketing.
