Community News

Grand Canyon Chamber Monthly Newsletter

December 8, 2017

 

Message From The General Manager

Laura Chastain

The weather has been beautiful and I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving Holiday. NPS is showing a 2.18% increase in visitation for October this year compared to last and 2.23% increase year to date(October). Click here for the link to the current NPS Reports.

 

The commenting period has been extended until December 22nd for the proposed NPS Commercial Use fee changes and visitor fee changes.  These changes will have a significant impact on your business and your voice needs to be heard through the official channel

 

We have created an on-line survey and would like to include your feedback in our comments.  Please consider completing our survey by December 15th.  Feedback we have been receiving indicates a 650% increase in fees for CUA's - we are very concerned about the amount of this increase. 

 

We are also concerned about the proposed high season entrance fees for visitors.  This would be a 133% increase for visitors. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has spoken out and is also greatly concerned.  Please take the time to comment and share with everyone.

 

Our Grand Canyon Visitor's Guides are a huge hit.  We went live  last year in April and now we are almost out. We are going to be starting our marketing campaign now so we can have new ones by mid February to assist in marketing in Phoenix Market.  You will be hearing from Joel and Jamie from Arizona Exposure in the upcoming weeks.  We are looking to print 200,000 for this next year last year we printed 150,000.

 

Membership renewal has gone out and will be due by mid-January to ensure all Chamber Members are captured in next years Visitor Guide.  Please let me know if you have any concerns.

  

Our VR project continues to make headlines.  We are now semi-finalist in South by Southwest Film Festival.

 

Board Election

Each Full Member (business is physically located in the Grand Canyon) was sent one ballot.  Please complete the ballot and return by December 12th.

 

 

November Recap

 

FAM Tours and TV

Thank you all that supported a number of FAM Tours that came through this month....who was here you ask?

 

November 4th Bon Voyage Travel

November 9th Family Travel with Colleen Kelly 

November 15th Mexico American Airlines/Tour Operators

November 18th - German Condor Trade/Media

November 30th - Canadian Photo Worthy AZ

 

AOT Regional Data Report

Thank you Colleen Floyd and Kari Roberg for coming to the Grand Canyon to review the 2016 Year-End Data.  Thank you Big E Steakhouse for hosting the meeting and all of you that attended.

 

In 2016 our Northern Region accounted for $1.73 Billion in direct spending with 8.1 million overnight visitors.  Coconino County showed Direct Spending was up 6%, Jobs 5%, earnings 6.6% and State and Local taxes 7.9%.  When they looked at spending by type of accommodation Hotel/Motel had 72% followed by day travel at 18%. When they looked at interest in the Grand Canyon - Grand Canyon is among the top 20 most desired American destinations.  International Visa spending by country shows France with 16%, China with 13%, Canada with 12%, Germany with 11% and the UK with 6%.  China however shows the largest increase in spending in recent years.  The 2016 regional visitor is 66% non-resident and 34% resident.  When talking about food AOT determined the word Unique vs Authentic was preferred.  For the complete presentation click here

 

Current Marketing efforts

Facebook - November Recap

23 posts, reach 13,729 with 304 engagements.  

 

Winter Marketing campaign with Madden showing great results!

Reach up 125% with 39,646 people reached

Page Followers up 636% with 162 more followers

Post Engagements up 48% with 3,055 engagements

 

On YouTube Our Experience the Winter Majesty: Grand Canyon South Rim has had 10K views since we first launched 5 months ago.

 

Facebook / Instagram - Dec plan

Daily Posts Facebook

Madden Media Campaign - canvas ads, carousal ads, VR video promotion 

USA Today Banner Ads have begun

 

We will be rapping up our sweepstakes campaign on December 12th.  Winner will be drawn at our board meeting on December 14th.  We will then shift from sweepstakes to a general winter campaign.

 

AOT Rural Marketing Plan

Quantcast Banner Ads: Nov and January

USA Today Geo-Targeted Banners: Dec, Jan, Feb

Video Distribution: Sep - Feb

AdWord Campaign - Oct, Nov, Dec

Facebook Ads - Sept - May

Discover Arizona: Canadian insert Oct/Nov

Via Arizona: Winter

AOT State Map listing

AZ State Visitor Guide 1/2 page color

Experience AZ Fall/Winter Full page 

Grand Canyon Journal November Issue 1/2 page color

Play Ball Jan-Feb 1/2 page color

 

Additional Advertising:

DriveGuide 1/2 page each issue

Northern AZ Exposure Map

Experience Sedona

Canadian Guide to AZ

Canadian Explore

 

Current Print Advertising in circulation:

Winter Drive Guide – circulation 200,000
1/6 page ad in Experience Sedona guide – circulation 275,000
1/3 panel Northern Arizona Exposure Map – 275,000 circulation

1/4 panel Grand Canyon South Rim, Tusayan, & Northern AZ
Plus our Visitor's Guide I40 corridor certified racks

 

National Park Service News

  National Park Service CUA program

Dear Tourism Industry Partner,

Today(Oct 24) the National Park Service (NPS) is releasing proposals to establish seasonal pricing on entry fees at 17 national parks, to standardize commercial use authorization fee requirements, and to increase the price commercial operators pay for park entrance. Revenue increases from these proposals would be used to improve visitor services with an emphasis on a growing backlog of maintenance projects. These important proposals are open for review and comment at the links below, and I hope you will take the time to study them and provide feedback. Additional information is also available via press release.

 

In 2016, the National Park Service commemorated our 100th birthday, and the tourism industry celebrated with us. We counted a record 331 million recreation visits as Americans and international travelers explored the most treasured and inspiring natural places and historical and cultural sites in the United States.

 

Celebration aside, the National Park Service faces challenges in maintaining the quality and integrity of visitor centers, trails, campgrounds, and other facilities. Our maintenance backlog has grown to nearly $12 billion, and you have seen that aging facilities paired with increasing visitation can result in a less-than-ideal visitor experience. This situation also prevents the National Park Service from making significant investments in the types of modern facilities and services travelers expect.

 

After careful consideration of a range of options, and with the support of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, the National Park Service is proposing to adjust visitor park entry fees by adopting seasonal pricing at a select group of parks beginning in 2018. Complete details of the proposal can be found at our public comment website. The deadline for submitting comments is December 22, 2017.

 

The National Park Service is also proposing several changes for commercial tour operators. First, the commercial tour entry fee schedule would increase for the first time since implementation in 1998. Secondly, commercial tour entry fees would seasonally increase at the same select group of parks. Finally, application requirements and management fees for commercial use authorizations (CUAs) for road-based commercial tours would be standardized at all parks. All fee changes for commercial tour operators, with the exception of a CUA application fee, would come into effect following an implementation period in order to allow time for pricing adjustments. Complete details of the proposal can be found at our public comment website as well, and the deadline for submitting comments is November 23, 2017.

 

The travel and tourism industry plays a critical role in connecting travelers to the parks and delivering high-quality experiences, creating memories that last a lifetime. I want to again encourage you to review and comment on these proposals and to share this information with your members and affiliates.

 

Thank you for your engagement and support as we work together to welcome park visitors while conserving these special places for future generations.

 

Donald Leadbetter

Tourism Program Manager

National Park Service

Public comments on the proposed seasonal entry fees for visitors will be accepted October 24, 2017 to December 22, 2017 on the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) website at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/proposedpeakseasonfeerates.

Public comments on the proposed CUA requirements, CUA fees, and commercial entrance fees will be accepted October 24, 2017 to November 23, 2017 on the NPS PEPC website at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/commercialtourrequirements.

Written comments for both proposals may be mailed to: National Park Service, Recreation Fee Program, 1849 C Street NW, Mail Stop 2346, Washington, DC 20240

 

Chamber Partner Opportunities

Grand Canyon Chamber Advertising

We have two display ad space opportunities available in the Chamber office.  For $598 you can have a 17X11 full color Ad in our office for the year.  Please call Laura if you are interested 928-638-2901.

 

Take your business listing to the next level! Banner Ads on our website.  Arizona Exposure Marketing will be contacting you about banner ad spaces available on our website.  

 

  Chimani has some Partnership Opportunities

 

Here's your chance to participate in Chimani Perks - a discount saving club for national park travelers. This is a first-of-its-kind program which will be build directly into our mobile apps and will be rolled out nationally on April 19th. We currently have over 150 businesses enrolled in the program so far.

As a national park related business, you can participate in this program for free. In exchange for a discount (10-15%) to a small number of our paying members of the Chimani Perks program, you get free advertising in our National Parks by Chimani and Grand Canyon National Park by Chimani mobile apps - which is a combined audience of 750,000 users.

You can view a two-page guide here.

To sign-up it only takes two minutes:  http://www.chimani.co/signup

If you have any questions, free free to contact: partners@chimani.com 

 

Media Requests

We are starting to see a number of media requests.  I have updated our media room page and added a Google form for media to fill out.  I will receive the requester’s information via email and in a pdf form which I will then share with those on my media list.  If you’re not on my media list please make sure your company has completed our contact information form.