1999-02-04CITY OF ENCINITAS
ACTION MINUTES OF REGULAR COMMITTEE MEETING
TOURISM & MARKETING COMMITTEE
February 4, 1999
Present: S Cameron, D Holz, S Holder, B Nelson, R Gossard, B Kennedy, P Davis, J Clark, G Taylor, K Kuest, I Hibert, M Trimmins, L Simons,
P Norby, D Hare, R Mance, I Duval, L Harris, C Marvin, K Richter, V Willis, S Anderson, M Hayes, I Strick, R Rauch, L Love, L Ismore,
S Aceti, J Cunningham, C Wells, J Stocks, R Griffith, D Cook, B Miller, M Davis, K Anderson, I Brooks, J Eckdahl, M Andreen
DIRECTION /ACTION
ISSUE
ITEM # 1
Approve Minutes of January 21, 1999
ITEM #2
Guest Speaker: Steve Link, Executive Director of the
Carlsbad Convention and Visitors Bureau
Approved.
Carlsbad ConVis opened in May, 1985. Each city is unique and has to decide its own
way to attract tourists.
When Steve Link was at the Visitor's Center in Merced, they received $200,000
annually from the City, two- thirds of which supported the visitor's center which was
open 7 days a week, and one -third funded brochures. There were no members. Funds
were raised privately. Hotel /motel owners became marketing partners and supported
the Visitors Center with $9.86 per room per year, which has now increased to $11 per
room. Two - thousand leads per month were processed and brochures mailed. Mailing
labels were provided to the hotel /motel owners twice a month. Reader response cards
were inserted in magazine ads. Through cooperative marketing, the cost of travel
show booths were shared.
Carlsbad Visitors Center has 3 full -time and 4 part-time staff members, with 30
volunteers. They are open 7 days a week. Hotels provide $30 to $35,000 per year.
Community Enhancement Funds contribute $10,000 per year. The City of Carlsbad
gives $210,00 per year. Last year, a total of $276,000 was received. One -third of the
budget is for marketing, travel shows, conducting tours, local events and publishing
literature. There is a 15- member Board of Directors and 8 of the 15 members are
hotel owners.
The following statistics apply to Carlsbad visitors. Hotel rates range from $40 to
$300 per night. More than half of Carlsbad visitors travel under 500 miles and stay
for shorter visits. Some visitors coming from Canada stay for six weeks during
winter. Travelers from overseas spend more money, 3 to 4% are travel agents.
Carlsbad ConVis advertises in the Palm Springs Desert Sun 4 to 5 times per year,
offering free hotel rooms, free meals and tickets to the Zoo or Wild Animal Park.
ITEM #2 (Continued)
Guest Speaker: Steve Link, Executive Director of the
Carlsbad Convention and Visitors Bureau
Last year's budget breakdown was as follows:
$ 62,000
Advertising
$ 28,000
Travel Shows
$ 15,000
Brochures — Literature
$ 9,000
Events
1,000
Video
$115,000
$161,000
Salaries & Overhead
$276,000
Total
It took $10,000 to $11,000 and one year to produce an 8 minute video telling reasons
why to visit Carlsbad. A 16 -page brochure costs $5,000 per year. There is a waiting
list of advertisers to be included in the brochure.
The Beach Train Brochure was produced at a cost of $24,000 for 400,000 copies.
Solana Beach, Encinitas, Carlsbad, Oceanside and NCTD contributed to the cost.
Dining Guides, including 145 restaurants, are updated every 9 months. There are
55,000 copies printed for the 3,000 to 4,000 people who frequent Carlsbad
restaurants per day.
A Marketing Committee meets once a month to analyze the effectiveness of their
efforts. There is a Brochure Committee also.
The percentage of TOT Tax given to the Visitor's Center is 4 to 5% of $5.8 million,
or $271,000.
Volunteers are trained twice a month to conduct tours of Legoland and the Oceanside
Mission as well as being knowledgeable about local hotels. There are three phone
lines that are busy all the time, plus an 800 number.
Steve Aceti noted that the loss of sand on the beaches is costing $100,000 a year for
hotel owners.
The Visitors Center website gets 18,000 hits per week.
The City of Carlsbad judges the visitors center's effectiveness by hotel room
occupancy.
ITEM #3
Carried forward to a future meeting.
Discuss Banners for the Highway 101 Corridor from
Leucadia to Cardiff
ITEM #4
Sandy Holder reported the Old Encinitas sign was in place in the 1920's, then
Discuss Restoration of Encinitas Street Sign
removed sometime in the 1930's when the street was widened. The old sign is gone
now. It was 20 feet long, with letters 15 feet high. It had blue lettering that turned red
at night.
The cost to refabricate a neon sign is estimated between $25,000 to $40,000. The
sign would be place between two poles, with a span of 76 feet from curb to curb.
Some concerns were expressed regarding exposed neon tubing. A face would be
needed to protect from vandalism.
An artist from Temecula, Bob Morris, works with metal. The Mayor was invited to
see the success of the signs he has created.
Sandy Holder stated that $50,000 has been placed in the Capital Improvement
Program. An ad -hoc committee is needed to ensure that the sign will be in sync with
the Streetscape Plan.
Bob Nelson, Public Works Director, has concerns regarding sign maintenance in a
beach environment. A cable mounted sign would be affected by a 75 MPH gust of
wind. The sign should be anchored with poles.
Bob Halliday has volunteered to be the head of the ad -hoc committee and to raise
funds for the project.
ITEM #5
Steve Aceti , representing the California Coastal Commission, reported on his trip to
Oral Communications
Sacramento and the creation of AB64 — the San Replenishment Fund. Denise Ducheny is
the Chair and at this point there are 4 co- authors and it is gaining momentum. Copies of
the agenda were distributed.
ITEM 96
a) Capital Improvement Projects for 101 Corridor
Agenda Items for Future Meeting:
b) Discussion regarding Downtown Parking
c) Review and Consideration of a New Promotional Brochure
d) Discussion/Set -up Ad Hoc committees — set direction and priorities.
e) Discuss Banners for the Highway 101 Corridor from Leucadia to Cardiff
Tour of L land — O Opening Da March 20th
� p g Y
Wednesday, March 3, 1999 at 8 a.m.
ITEM #7
Next Meeting:
Adjournment
Adjourned at 9:15 a.m.
Prepared by: Ruth Gossard