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90-Day Report from FLTA’s New President
Cynthia Kimble, the former President of the Schuyler County Chamber of Commerce, was selected as FLTA’s President in November of 2007.
Kimble brings years of experience in marketing and financial management to her new post. She spent nearly 14 years at the Canandaigua Area Chamber of Commerce as Vice President, Financial Manager and BlueCross/Blue Shield Administrator. She also served as a Risk Management Supervisor for Paychex. Kimble holds a B.S. degree in Business Management from St. John Fisher College.
Kimble has an aggressive agenda for the Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance. See her “First Steps” below.
Strategic First Steps
- Update FLTA policies and procedures
- Develop Strategic Business Plan
- Develop procedures to measure partner ROI
- Establish committee structure for TPA’s and Board of Directors
Outreach
We want to know about your needs. And we want to hear your ideas. So we’re coming to you! FLTA will be scheduling site visits to its partners’ places of business so we can hear directly from you. We also want to reinvigorate and restructure our committee system to best serve your needs. So we plan to reactivate past committees and create new ones to best address the issues you face. We’re looking for partners to serve on the committees that interest them. Take a look at our committee listings and email the form to Michelle at micheller@fingerlakes.org to let her know you are interested.
Board of Directors
Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance operates with a nineteen member board. These board members represent each of our fourteen counties and are tourism business owners or operators. FLTA recently held a board orientation workshop to welcome new members. For a list of our current board members, please check our Board of Directors listing
FLTA Updates
Paychex
In the spirit of prioritizing our work efforts, it was decided that FLTA will outsource its health and dental insurance services to Paychex. For more information on this transition and a review of the opportunities that Paychex brings to our partners please check out the introductory letter from Paychex.
Tourism Institute VI
Every year, FLTA hosts a three day educational seminar for our industry. We bring in nationally known speakers and attendance grows every year!
This year’s FLTA Tourism Institute will be held on March 18 - 20 at the Holiday Inn in Waterloo.
- March 18th will focus a full day on customer service training - ideal for your front line staff.
- March 19th will feature Berkeley Young, from Randall Travel Marketing, who will discuss Tourism Trends.
- Thursday, March 20th will be a full day on packaging led by Caylin Saunders of Escapemaker.com.
The cost will be $139 per day, or $299 for all three days. Customer service training day will be only $35 for all frontline staff. Please check our website, www.fingerlakes.org for a registration form and more information.
2008 Travel Guide
The 2008 Finger Lakes Travel Guide has been printed and is available for distribution.
There have been some “tweaks” made to this year’s guide, including a new “Must See” section located right up front. We’ve also expanded on our “lure” section, with more partner listings and additional information. This is the second year that this publication was designed in-house, a definite cost-saving measure.
We’d like to thank our partners for editing and writing copy for this year’s guide. A big thanks to Michelle Benjamin, Jesse Kline, Cynthia Raj and Bruce Stoff. We’d also like to thank the travel guide committee members Lisa Burns, Suzi Munoz, Cynthia Raj, Meg Vanek, Christine Worth, and staff members Cynthia, Alison and Mary Lou. Special thanks go to Beulah Decker for proof reading the guide.
The 2008 guide will be available on-line, as is the 2007 Travel Guide. Our website www.fingerlakes.org averages 30,000 unique visitors per month and links directly to your business. Other outlets for guide distribution include group tour operators, consumer travel shows, AAA/CAA offices and direct mailings to consumers, international and national media.
FLTA Welcomes New Partners:
Adams Basin Inn, Adams Basin
Antique Inn, Penn Yan 315-536-6576
Bed & Breakfast Network of Central New York, Skaneateles
Bet the Farm, Aurora
The Clifton Pearl B&B, Clifton Springs
Cold Springs Pottery Studio, Trumansburg
Country Inn & Suites, Horseheads
Excel Limousine & Transportation, Rochester
Homewood Suites, Ithaca
Keuka Lake Coffee Roasters/JAVA-GOURMET, Penn Yan
The Links at Hiawatha Landing, Apalachin
Magnolia Place, Hector
New Vines B&B, Penn Yan
Peaceful Haven B&B, Clifton Springs
Seneca Clipper Inn, Watkins Glen
Suzanne Fine Regional Cuisine, Lodi
Warfield's Restaurant & Bakery, Clifton Springs
Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel, Watkins Glen
To learn more about how FLTA can help your business grow, please contact FLTA Sales Director Mary Lou Culver at marylouc@fingerlakes.org or call (800) 530-7488 ext. 19.
Marketing Opportunities
Annual Literature Exchange
Please mark your calendars for Wednesday, May 21, 2008, as we host our annual literature exchange,rain or shine, at Waterloo Premium Outlets. This regional exchange is a unique opportunity to showcase your business to 150+ industry partners and distribute your brochures.
It is recommended that two people per business attend; one person to collect brochures and the other to distribute. We also encourage you to bundle brochures in packets of 50 or 100 with a reorder card, and typically bring 5,000 brochures per business. We will also have large quantities of our 2008 Finger Lakes Travel Guide and Mini-Guide and Map available.
Please watch for complete Literature Exchange details and registration information to follow. Contact Marylou Culver at Marylouc@fingerlakes.org with any questions you may have.
NYS Thruway Brochure Distribution
Once again FLTA was awarded the contract for handling brochure distribution at the Pembroke and Warners Thruway Information Centers. Warners’ location is in the westbound lane near Syracuse, and it operates daily April – October. Pembroke’s location is in the eastbound lane between Pembroke and Batavia, and it operates daily, from May through October and weekends November -April. If you are interested in having your brochures available at these Thruway rest stops, please contact Mary Lou at marylouc@fingerlakes.org or print the Thruway participation form.
New Brochures for 2008?
If your new literature is ready, please make sure and send or deliver a supply of 50 brochures to our office. For more information, please contact FLTA Office Coordinator Michelle Radcliffe at micheller@fingerlakes.org.
E-Marketing
FLTA continues to build on their e-marketing initiatives. These approaches include creating a new "Facebook" page, a “Myspace” page. Check us out!
Send us a BLOG!
Care to share your ‘hidden Finger Lakes treasure’ with the rest of the world? Post your entry on one of the newest features of the FLTA website. To submit, please send to blogs@fingerlakes.org. We welcome dialog on any aspect of the Finger Lakes experience.
February Specials
If you have any February specials or lodging packages, please send them to alisonp@fingerlakes.org. Your packages will be posted to our website shortly after we recieve them. We would be glad to help promote your business.
Events
Please visit another new page on the FLTA website to see the region’s highlighted events. If you’d like more information on how to submit an event, please contact alisonp@fingerlakes.org.
AAA/CAA Program
Dan Belliveau travels to AAA/CAA offices all over the Northeast, providing agent training sessions on the Finger Lakes region. This is the only program like it in the country - other destinations are limited to just making sales calls.
Dan discusses attractions, lodging, ideas for vacations and possible routing. Although all partners have exposure to these agents by being listed in our travel guide, there is an additional opportunity. For only $850 a year, your company's brochure will be placed in the information package given to each agent. Dan has appointments with over 2000 agents a year. He also has a slide show that would visually highlight your location.
If you are looking to increase your presence in the AAA/CAA market, this is the most cost effective and innovative program in the region. For more information please contact Sally Berry at sallyb@fingerlakes.org.
Consumer Shows
Looking for a way to reach potential customers outside of the Finger Lakes Region? FLTA attends consumer travel shows all over the Northeast, to share information as well as distribute brochures and travel guides. For only $125 each show, your information could be distributed to key potential visitors to the Region including AAA members, women travelers and outdoor enthusiasts. Download our participation form, which gives you more information about the shows, or contact Michelle Radcliffe at micheller@fingerlakes.org.
Funding Announced for Round Two of “Explore NY” Grants
Governor Spitzer’s Administration has appropriated $1 million to fund the second round of Explore NY, the grant program designed to encourage integrated, thematic approached to tourism promotion. Empire State Development, (ESD), New York State’s economic development agency and manager of the I LOVE NEW YORK tourism campaign, will match $1 for every dollar incurred by applicants, up to $50,000. All applications must be received by EST no later than 5 pm on March 7th, 2008.
For the second round of Explore NY, applications must fall under one of the following three thematic campaigns:
- Scenic Outdoors and Recreation
- Arts and Local Culture
- Culinary and Agri-Tourism
For more information, to view the full program guidelines or to find more details on how to submit an application, visit “What’s New” at http://iloveny.com/ or email exploreny@empire.state.ny.us.
Got News ?
Please let us know so we can share it with your fellow FLTA partners in upcoming Partner Updates. Email your news to FLTA Office Coordinator Michelle Radcliffe at micheller@fingerlakes.org.
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