Getting the Point Across

The Economic Report to the Governor was presented to Governor Gary Hebert on January 7th 2010. Juliette Tennert, Chief Economist with the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget, said the state would begin to see signs of recovery from the historic recession this past year.

“Our economy has been through a very difficult time, but we can’t forget Utah’s inherent strength and economic durability,” Tennert said.

Governor Herbert said the state needs to be patient, because the recovery will be slow and his first priority is to rehabilitate the economy by expanding business opportunities.

“We have an opportunity here to be kind of an island of tranquility in a sea of chaos that I see out there across this great land,” Herbert said. “And we ought to take advantage of the opportunity we have to show people that you want to come to Utah, we understand business and we’re going to create some jobs and give everybody an opportunity in a free market to become successful.”

Utah’s travel and tourism industry, like the rest of the economy weakened in 2009 but there were silver linings. The Utah ski industry experienced the third best season on record and visitation increased for the third year in a row at national parks. The number of visitors at Utah’s five national parks increased 5.4%.

Unfortunately tourism arrivals slipped an estimated 4.4% in 2009 from 20.3 million in 2008. Domestic and international travel was down an estimated 4.6% and 6.8%, respectively. In 2009, the estimated number of passengers at Salt Lake International Airport declined 3.4% though the direct flight from Paris, France to Salt Lake City continues to be very successful. The direct flight from Tokyo, Japan to Salt Lake City was suspended in 2009 due to the H1N1 virus but there are plans to resume in Spring 2010. The implementation of the visa waver program between the U.S and South Korea and a growing number of mainland Chinese tourists should increase visitors from Asia to our state.

The outlook for 2010 is optimistic and Utah tourism is expected to show a modest increase in travel. Slow but steady growth in in-state and domestic leisure travel should occur.                                                       

2009 in Summary	2008	2009e
Total Spending by Traveler and Tourists (millions)	$6,925	$6,232
Total Number of Foreign and Domestic Visits (millions)	20.3	19.4
Total Traffic Count at Interstate Borders (millions)	20.7	20.0
Total National Park Recreation Visits (millions)	5.6	5.9
Total Skier Visits (millions)	4.2	3.9
Total State Park Visits (millions)	4.5	4.7
Hotel/Motel Occupancy Rates	63.7%	59.8%

Source: 2010 Economic Report to the Governor

Make a Point of It

The 2010 General Legislative Session opened January 25th and runs through March 11th. Bills and actions important to the travel and tourism industry include:

Tourism Marketing Performance Fund (TMPF) – The Governor’s 2011 Budget recommendations for the TMPF suggest remaining at $7 million – the same as FY 2010. First release of the Legislative Budget (January) maintains the $7 million TMPF.

S.B. 15 Utah Scenic Byway Amendments – Sponsor Senator Dennis E. Stowell

HB 223 – Representative Gage Froerer – this Bill modified the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act to repeal the restriction on the number of restaurant liquor licenses that may be issued

HB 48 – Sponsor Representative Craig Frank – Restaurant Tax/TRCC

It is important as an industry that we stay active and do not just sit back and wait for things to happen. If you have an opinion it’s important to voice it, it could make all the difference. Here are two ways you can make a difference:

The Utah Tourism Industry Coalition (UTIC) will host its annual Tourism Day on the Hill on Wednesday February 10th and this is one of the most important advocacy activities that they undertake. This event allows you to speak with your legislators and tell them what tourism means to you. Please make plans to attend this event. For more information visit www.utahtourism.org.

The Utah Hotel & Lodging Association will host its annual Legislative Dinner at the Red Lion Hotel, Salt Lake City on Wednesday February 24th. This event allows members to meet with and talk to Legislators. Again this would be a great event for you to attend, talk with your representative and tell them just how important tourism is in Utah. For more information visit www.uhla.org.

Pointing You in the Right Direction

Throughout 2010 we will be focusing on various topics in an effort to educate and to help you make your business more successful. Topics will include social media, green issues, customer service, front desk etiquette, email marketing and website development. We are always interested in hearing what topics you would like to know more about so please send your suggestions to hello@2thepoint.com.

This newsletter is emailed to over 1,500 people in our industry and it’s a great way of getting your message out there. If you have any news or information that you would like us to include in the newsletter please email it to hello@2thepoint.com. Please note all information included in the newsletter is at the discretion of the editor. If you have any comments about the newsletter please email them to hello@2thepoint.com.

The first topic that we want to talk about in 2010 is the telephone and answering services. What would we do without the telephone? This is one of the greatest inventions of our time but as an organization we have noticed over the past few years that people use the phone differently than in the past when it was the main tool of communication.

The telephone – is it now an excuse not to talk?

By Marina Schwimmer

I like to talk! That is why marketing was the ideal profession for me, I get to talk all day, I’m always being asked my opinion which I like to give and even when not asked I still like to give it. In my career I speak to people from all over the world, people that I would never get the chance to meet otherwise. Well, that’s how it used to be! Now I get to talk to answering machines all day. Gone are the days of finding out about people, listening to interesting accents, making new acquaintances and even friends, and hearing a friendly voice at the end of the line. Now my friend is “Mr. Answer Machine” and his little sidekick “Beep.”

Growing up I was always told that even a white lie was not okay and now I listen to “strange stories” on the end of the line every day. I am referring to our personal greetings, the messages we record in the event we miss a call. If I had a dollar for every time I heard “I will return your call,” “I’ll be sure to contact you,” and “I do want to speak to you” and didn’t hear from that person I would be rich.

After spending day after day conversing with machines it becomes a problem and starts to wear you down. We all complain about call centers and selecting a million different options before we can speak to a real person but here we are recording these messages and not thinking twice about not returning the call. It would seem that we are reinforcing the thing we complain about, lack of personal contact.

Has it come to the point where we don’t want to talk to anyone unless they are pre-approved? Do we even listen to our messages or just delete them without listening and when caught we say, “I’m sorry I didn’t get your message” or “I haven’t checked my voicemail yet.”

When we say, “your call is very important to me,” it should be important. We need to pick up the phone and call back! Modern technology has made it very easy to stop talking to and avoiding people. It should be easy to pick up the phone and say hello, that’s what Alexander Graham Bell hoped for when he invented it. Do you really know what the person on the other end wanted to talk about? They may be your next customer or have something of value that could make your bottom line much better. Even when it is a sales call, and you don’t require the service they are offering, this person may be so impressed by you and the way you handle the call they could end up becoming your customer.

It isn’t always convenient to talk as our days are filled with more and more tasks but it only takes a few seconds to return or take a call. Is it fair to fill anyone with hope, that they will get a return call and that you think they are important enough to deserve it? No one likes to be ignored so the chances are the caller will try to reach you again, and again, and again. This is completely frustrating and wastes time for both parties involved. Just answer the phone, or return the call and say “thank you for the information, we may not use it but thank you for thinking of us.” Wouldn’t it be a great feeling to think you made someone’s day just that little bit better? Then when your people make calls maybe the people they are calling will have the same respect towards your company.

I think email is great, it’s made my life a lot easier but communication with real people is always more satisfying. How many times do we see something in our inbox and delete it without even reading it? We pre-approve our emails based on our own personal preferences we monitor our phone calls - we make the call as too whether it is important or not. Maybe now is the time to open up our lines of communication and really get to know those that can help us or how we can help them.

As a consultant and marketer I spend hours developing strategies for clients to create positive images for companies and brands. Here is a quick tip for you … one of the easiest things an organization can do to create a positive image is return phone calls. Be aware of what’s out there and who is taking the time to contact your organization. Being polite is a good, strong basis for any business and it will prove beneficial to you.

I am looking forward to talking to you – thank you!