he tourism industry, especially the trends of travelers themselves, is constantly changing. One year, something is "in," and the next year, it's not. Nevertheless, it's important to recognize that first, the trends change all the time, and secondly, that being aware of the trends can be a great way to open your own business model and reach an entirely new audience. Southern Living Magazine, with the help of fellow travel bloggers put together a list titled, "These Top 10 Travel Trends will be Huge for 2018." While trends often differ for each destination, it's important to know, from a national or even a global scale, of what's happening in travel. Knowing who is traveling and what they are looking for is crucial for marketing your business to travelers. As you'll see in the list below, there are many trends relevant to what Adams County, Pa., can offer its visitors. >> Top 10 Travel Trends for 2018
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Destination Gettysburg is kicking off its spring marketing campaign with new advertisements, new blog posts, social media and story pitches to national media. The spring marketing campaign runs from March through mid-June, and will target a variety of themes including historical travel, couples adventures, recreation and rejuvenation, and food and beverage. As always, Destination Gettysburg's marketing will include a combination of paid advertising, social media, public relations, group sales and other content on our website, app and blog. Print ads through the spring season include Harrisburg Magazine, Recreation News, Baltimore Magazine, AAA World, Homeschool Guide, Whirl and South Jersey Magazine. Digital advertising will be placed with Washington.org and TripAdvisor. Radio advertising includes iHeart Radio, WASH-FM, WMZQ-FM, IASH-FM, WPOC-FM, all part of the Washington DC-Baltimore region. Our communications team will be pitching stories on golf, hiking, springtime rejuvenation, as well as highlighting new events this season. >> Check Out the Spring Advertisements Whenever a business invests money into upgrading their product, it is a testament to not only their personal success, but the success of the local tourism community as a whole. There are a number of businesses in Adams County which are renovating their buildings, meeting spaces and storefronts, including Adams County Winery. The current tasting room at the home winery in Orrtanna has been completely redone to include new counters with repurposed barn wood counter tops, floors and artwork- namely a new sign where the mural used to be. The merchandising space has also been recreated allowing for an enhanced tasting room experience while retaining the rustic charm of the historic barn. “We have recently updated our brand to reflect a more fun, bright and approachable wine,” says Public Relations Director Melissa Brown. “And now we have completed aligning our tasting room with that brand as well.” This latest renovation is just one in a series owners Katherine Bigler and John Kramb have done since purchasing the winery in 1998. In the almost 20 years the winery has been under their ownership, the tasting room and an additional event venue were added onto the barn, landscaping features such as the stone pavilion and garden terrace were constructed and a wood-fired pizza oven was built to create the Terrace Bistro among many other visual and practical renovations. “It’s always been our priority [to enhance the customers’ experience],” said Katherine. “Times have certainly changed, but we will never change our priorities.” For more pictures and video of the updated space, visit Adams County Winery’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/adamscountywinery. The Gettysburg Borough Council recently approved a master plan for the revitalization of Gettysburg's Baltimore Street, from the southern edge of town on Cemetery Ridge to Lincoln Square. The project includes new infrastructure, parking measures, beautification, pedestrian and bicycle amenities, improved safety measures and historic features. Main Street Gettysburg, an organization which has facilitated the project, has outlined three phases through the recently approved master plan, which now allows the non-profit organization to seek more than $11 million in grant funding. Most notable, perhaps, about the project is the addition of traffic lights at the intersections with both South and Lefever streets, as well as new lights, sidewalks and crosswalks - all in an effort to make the Baltimore Street corridor more pedestrian friendly and better link the downtown with recently revitalized Steinwehr Avenue. Destination Gettysburg has already contributed $5,000 toward Baltimore revitalization and is among 10 community organizations who have partnered in support of the project. Destination Gettysburg's President, Norris Flowers, also sits on the Baltimore Street Community committee. >> Read the Master Plan Earlier this month, the popular women's lifestyle magazine/website Redbook featured Gettysburg in an article titled "Sixteen summer vacation ideas your whole family will love." The article suggested activities such as touring Gettysburg National Military Park as well as visiting the Lincoln Train Museum. Redbook has a magazine subscriber base of over 2 million and an additional online audience reach of 2 million. Shortly after the story was published on Redbook.com, the article was picked up by MSN.com and featured in the lifestyle section. >> Read the Article Spending by international visitors in 2017 topped $1.58 million, according to VisaVue, a report that calculates spending by foreign travelers who use the Visa credit card. This spending, of course, marks a portion of the overall international spending as credit cards used by foreign visitors varies considerably. While international spending in 2017 dipped slightly, as compared to the previous years, the report gives Destination Gettysburg a glimpse into the impact its marketing has on the foreign market and helps staff identify the top countries of which Adams County attracts visitors. Canada, the United Kingdom, China, Germany and Australia have consistently topped the list of spending, as identified through VisaVue. These countries align with those that Destination Gettysburg targets for international sales and marketing. This week, Group Sales Manager Nicole Absher will meet with international receptive tour operators who handle inbound group travel. And later this spring, Nicole and Director of Communications Carl Whitehill will travel to Denver, Colo., for IPW - the largest U.S.-based tradeshow for international travel. There, Nicole and Carl will meet with international tour operators and foreign journalists, respectively. >> International Spending by Country Lodging revenue in Adams County, Pa., surpassed $52 million in 2017, setting a record in sales for overnight stays in hotels/motels, bed and breakfasts, guest houses and campground cottages. The total rentals in 2017, according to the Adams County Office of Treasurer, tallied $52,004,343 - breaking the previous high set in 2013, the year that Gettysburg commemorated the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg and Gettysburg Address. The lodging revenue for Adams County in 2013 was slightly more than $50 million. "Tourism is strong in Adams County," said Norris Flowers, President of Destination Gettysburg, the county's official destination management organization. "Overnight stays are an important barometer for the strength of tourism - and the revenue collected for lodging positively impacts spending by visitors in other areas such as shopping, dining and entertainment." In Adams County, a 5-percent tax is collected on all overnight stays - with the exception of tent and RV site rentals at campgrounds. Last year, the revenue generated through the lodging tax totaled more than $2.63 million. >> Read More On Feb. 6, Destination Gettysburg hosted the annual "Build, Inspire, Innovate" Summit at the Gettysburg Hotel. There were 140 attendees from a variety of business's and non-profits in the area. Keynote speaker Kindra Hall started off the day discussing the importance of telling a business' story. She showed examples of how strategic storytelling will increase profits and the right and wrong way to go about it. Many were inspired to work on finding their own stories to tell customers. After the keynote, there were eight breakout sessions with topics ranging from professional image and development, to social media techniques, to crisis communications and how to talk to the media. The Summit was sponsored by Today Media and Premise Studio. >> Summit 2018 Slideshow Last week, more than 50 cider makers and cider enthusiasts took a short trip to Adams County, as part of a tour held in conjunction with CiderCon in Baltimore. The participants spent the day touring local cider operations, traveling through the apple orchards and meeting the cider makers with connections to Adams County, and of course, tasted the dozens of cider varieties. Cideries included in the tour were Ploughman Cider, Jack's Hard Cider, Reid's Orchard & Winery, Big Hill Ciderworks and Good Intent Cider. The tour was sponsored by Destination Gettysburg and presented a great opportunity to showcase the growing craft beverage industry of Adams County. CiderCon is an annual conference hosted by the United States Association of Cider Makers and attracts cider makers and cider enthusiasts from around the world. "I'm impressed by how fast the cider industry in this area seems to have developed. It seems to be working really well here," U.S. Association of Cider Makers board member Dan Wilson told the Gettysburg Times. "This area draws national attention to the cider industry." >> Read More from the Gettysburg Times Nicole Absher, Group Sales Manager with Destination Gettysburg, was awarded with a graduation certificate from American Bus Association's Certified Travel Industry Specialist (CTIS) program. The CTIS program certifies professionals in the tourism industry through a series of courses - specific to the motorcoach and group travel industry - to introduce them to new concepts in the industry and expand professional and personal skills. "I am excited to have been given the opportunity to advance my education in the tourism industry," Nicole said. "This program has helped enhance my knowledge in all aspects of tourism beyond the group tour market." Through a partnership with Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, ABA's CTIS program is the first industry university-sponsored certification program. Nicole received her certification at ABA's Annual Marketplace in Charlotte, N.C., this week. Pictured is Nicole with ABA President Pete Pantuso. >> More about CTIS |
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