2016 Sales & Marketing Plan - Amazon S3...sales and marketing plan. 2015 was a tremendous year for...
Transcript of 2016 Sales & Marketing Plan - Amazon S3...sales and marketing plan. 2015 was a tremendous year for...
2016 Sales & Marketing Plan
2016E x p l o r E G w i n n E t t. o r G | G w i n n E t t S p o r t S C o m m i S S i o n . C o m 2
Small town heart. Big city soul.
Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau (D.B.A. Explore Gwinnett), is Gwinnett
County’s official tourism organization and is dedicated to strengthening
Gwinnett County’s economy by marketing the county as a destination for
conventions, sporting events, meetings and leisure travel through sales,
marketing and promotion. The GCVB Board of Directors oversees the
management and marketing of Infinite Energy Center.
The mission of the Gwinnett Sports Commission (GSC) is to foster economic
development through coordinating and developing Gwinnett’s role as a leading
site for sports events involving youth, collegiate, amateur and professional
organizations.
our mission
2016E x p l o r E G w i n n E t t. o r G | G w i n n E t t S p o r t S C o m m i S S i o n . C o m 3
Small town heart. Big city soul.
Welcome to Explore Gwinnett
and the Gwinnett Sports
Commission’s 2016 integrated
sales and marketing plan. 2015
was a tremendous year for
our hospitality industry, with
Gwinnett recording its strongest
ever hotel occupancies and
rates.However, in the words of
Edmund Burke, “you can never
plan the future by the past.” Thus,
we start anew in 2016, a year
that promises to be a year full of
opportunity, development and challenges.
Looking forward, we’re proud to present a plan that has
been thoughtfully researched and assembled, with the
goal of gaining an even greater marketing voice, driving
new visitors to our destination and facilities, and driving
the tourism economic engine to create economic value
for Gwinnett County. A new, responsive, socially savvy
website, integrated marketing campaigns, strong social
media focus and a diverse sales effort are just a few of the
innovations planned for 2016.
We can’t wait to get started!
Lisa Anders, Executive Director
Explore Gwinnett
While sports have always been
a favorite pastime for most of
us, the business of sports goes
well beyond the activity on the
court or on the field. The noise
in the arena is so exciting but it
is often the noise that most of us
never hear, behind the scenes,
that allows us to continue to
enjoy the wonderful sports
opportunities we have; all right
here in our back yard.
The Gwinnett Sports Commission is always positioning
itself to promote Gwinnett as a premier sports destination
for all types of sporting events. Whether it is traditional,
extreme, or a trending sport, we have the facilities and
knowledge that allows us to put on the very best events
possible.
With the many options, on all levels of sports that we have
available, Gwinnett stands out as a place where the word
“PLAY” has real meaing in the “live, work and play” mantra
that we all strive for.
Go Gwinnett!
Stan L. Hall, Executive Director
Gwinnett Sports Commission
Lisa Anders Stan L. Hall
Lisa AndersExecutive Director
Explore Gwinnett
Stan L. HallExecutive Director
Gwinnett Sports Commission
leadership
2016E x p l o r E G w i n n E t t. o r G | G w i n n E t t S p o r t S C o m m i S S i o n . C o m 4
Small town heart. Big city soul.
tourism in georgia
5Tourism is Georgia’s
5th largest industry
Tourism represents
$57.1 Billionin economic impact
Over $3 billion in taxes generated
= 10,000 jobs
= $2 billion
= $100 million
#5
supported by tourism 425,000 jobs
2016E x p l o r E G w i n n E t t. o r G | G w i n n E t t S p o r t S C o m m i S S i o n . C o m 5
Small town heart. Big city soul.
tourism in gwinnettGwinnett’s hospitality industry had its strongest year ever in 2015.
Without tourism,each resident would
have to pay an additional
$249.50in taxes to make up for lost tax revenue
11,892 jobsdirectly related to tourism
$1.20 billionin visitor expenditures
$44.4 millionin state tax revenue generated
from tourism
$34.5 millionin local tax revenue generated
from tourism
TAXES
Tourism is leading the rise in the economic index in Gwinnett
2016E x p l o r E G w i n n E t t. o r G | G w i n n E t t S p o r t S C o m m i S S i o n . C o m 6
Small town heart. Big city soul.
1500 HOURS30
54,500 3,25035% 22%
Gwinnett Tourism
Awareness sessions
GTAP offered programs
in conjunction with 40
community partners
Explore Gwinnett Ambassadors
clocked in over 1,500 volunteer
hours in the community.
72.3%2015 highest reported hotel occupancy
in the county’s history!
Record-Breaking Hotel Occupancy
2015 highlights
total room nights
booked
increase in wedding bookings
increase in international
bookings
room nightsBooked by
Passion Conference
2016E x p l o r E G w i n n E t t. o r G | G w i n n E t t S p o r t S C o m m i S S i o n . C o m 7
Small town heart. Big city soul.
The mission of the four-person Explore Gwinnett sales staff is to attract
overnight group stays to Gwinnett County’s hotels and facilities, including
the Infinite Energy Center complex. The sales and marketing departments
work closely to create not only group stay options, but to enhance Gwinnett’s
overall destination appeal to groups across all markets.
In 2016, the focus will continue on maintaining the strong niche markets
including faith-based and sports, while concentrating on increasing market
share in the international (typically corporate and association groups) market.
For 2016, the group sales goal is three-fold: generating new group business for
Gwinnett, supporting and growing returning groups and servicing the groups
to enhance the group visitor experience.
sales department
2015 Definite RoomNights by Market:
Sports
25%
Faith-Based
42%Weddings
10%
Corporate
6%Reunion
8%
Tour & Travel
4%Association
5%
2016 group sales market goal: 40,000 room nights
2016E x p l o r E G w i n n E t t. o r G | G w i n n E t t S p o r t S C o m m i S S i o n . C o m 8
Small town heart. Big city soul.
faith-based OBJECTIVE: Leverage Gwinnett County’s reputation and
accolades as one of the Southeast’s “Most Ministry Minded
Cities” to generate new, ongoing mid-to-large meetings/
conventions. Our additional focus will be on reviving
bookings of faith-based groups that have met in Gwinnett
previously and not re-booked.
STRATEGIES: • Revive and Rebook Masters Conference using Meetings
Grant Incentives
• Attend at least 2 Existing Faith Conferences with
expectations of bringing that event to Gwinnett
• Host 2 Faith FAM trips during Orange and Catalyst for
prospective Faith Planners
• Utilize Meetings Grant and Sales Meeting Grant to incent
new meetings to hotels, Infinite Energy Center and other
facilities
OBJECTIVE: Develop new partnerships with
international faith-based facilities and new developments
to draw in a new range of meetings.
STRATEGIES: • Co-host promotional
seminar on attracting
people and events to
Gwinnett with John
Maxwell and Equipp
Institutes
• Identify Korean
Presbyterian and Baptist
Church events for co-
ops with EG
• Concentrate on using
new Korean-American
Society of Atlanta conference center as a destination
• Continue to enhance positive relationship with the BAPS
Mandir for new events
international
Gwinnett County has been recognized as the Southeast’s
most diverse county, with many of the new corporate
relocations moving from overseas. The addition of a
full-time, Mandarin-fluent sales manager with strong
connections across multiple international markets will
drive this growing market in 2016.
OBJECTIVE: Build awareness of Gwinnett County as
Atlanta’s most diverse meeting destination.
STRATEGIES: • Develop stronger partnerships and specific itineraries
in conjuction with the Atlanta Convention and Visitors
Bureau
• Identify and meet with five (5) Asian inbound tour
operators
• Attend three (3) international tradeshows or conferences
• Partner with the Korean and Chinese community centers
to book 4 new hotel meetings
OBJECTIVE: Showcase Gwinnett’s international food
offerings to help draw new meetings/events to Gwinnett
County
STRATEGIES: • Host two (2) Familiarization tours with international tour
operators
• Continue to partner with the GDeCD China Tourism
Office for China operator FAMS
• Create a ‘dine-around’ plan in conjunction with the
marketing department for new hotel groups
2016E x p l o r E G w i n n E t t. o r G | G w i n n E t t S p o r t S C o m m i S S i o n . C o m 9
Small town heart. Big city soul.
wedding market Gwinnett has more than 40 special events facilities,
ranging from simple to four-star. In 2015, our strategies
of creating partnerships with key receptive facilities,
aggressive marketing, and an enhanced partnership
with Proof of the Pudding paid off. The wedding market
showed a 35% increase in bookings, showing the largest
single market increase.
OBJECTIVE: to have our wedding market specialist
become known as the regional specialist for both
domestic and international weddings and will continue
to create and enhance strong partnerships with receptive
event facilities.
STRATEGIES: • Partner with 4 venues to Join Explore Gwinnett at bridal
shows
• Seek cross marketing opportunities with venues such as
guest blogging, vendor spotlight, and providing wedding
postcards to be displayed at venues
• Attend 2 wedding education seminars
• Work with 3 Special Event facilities to become their
exclusive housing bureau for them
• Attract more ethnic wedding groups, booking 2 by year
end
reunion marketOBJECTIVE: Gwinnett has a strong reputation for the
family reunion planner, in part due to our excellent Parks
and Recreation facilities. New developments across metro
Atlanta may draw interest to other areas, so our primary
objective will be to create stronger partnerships with
Atlanta-based attractions, while still keeping Gwinnett as
the top overnight destination for the reunions.
STRATEGIES: • Host 2 reunion workshops at new locations that will
attract more reunion planners
• Create new, personalized reunion planner guide
• Plan first ever Reunion Planner FAM tour throughout
Gwinnett/Atlanta
• Increase overall attendance for reunion workshop over
2015 by 10%
2016E x p l o r E G w i n n E t t. o r G | G w i n n E t t S p o r t S C o m m i S S i o n . C o m 10
Small town heart. Big city soul.
association/corporateOBJECTIVE: To grow the state association and corporate
markets for the Infinite Energy Center-based meetings by
utilizing the new Embassy Suites as a headquarters hotel;
to utilize our international staff/expertise to generate
new international business and to leverage our marketing
assets to showcase Gwinnett.
STRATEGIES: • Attend 2-3 Georgia State Association Conventions to
solicit hosting their meetings in Gwinnett
• Attend National Asian-American Association conference
in effort to build on our relationships with the Asian-
American Associations across the US
• Use the Meetings Grant to as an incentive to book 2 new
association conferences
• Entertain four new Georgia State Association planners at
Gwinnett events
• Work with marketing and convention services to
enhance the destination appeal for groups including
nightlife options, group discounts, transportation
support, etc.
OBJECTIVE: Develop stronger local and regional
awareness of Explore Gwinnett Services, and Gwinnett
County offerings for corporate meetings, events and
banquets.
STRATEGIES: • Work with Partnership Gwinnett to educate the
new Corporations in Gwinnett on the benefits of EG
partnerships, book 2 new hotel meetings
• Host 2 Corporate FAM Events
• Present the benefits and service Explore Gwinnett offers
to 10 corporate meeting planners
• Entertain 10 new prospective corporate meeting
planners at Gwinnett events, such as Mitsubishi Electric
Classic or high-profile Arena events
tour and travelOBJECTIVE: To develop and incorporate of Gwinnett-
based opportunities to tie into local and regional tour
packages.
STRATEGIES: • Create three (3) new tour itineraries for motor coach
groups
• Visit or conference call with four (4) regional
destinations to provide insight on what packages have
been successful in penetrating the group tour market
• Work with regional partners in Georgia (Atlanta, Macon,
Savannah, etc.) to become part of an overall “hub and
spoke” tour package
2016E x p l o r E G w i n n E t t. o r G | G w i n n E t t S p o r t S C o m m i S S i o n . C o m 11
Small town heart. Big city soul.
convention services OBJECTIVE: To provide value-added services to meeting
planners, hotels and the Convention Center to generate
positive awareness, and enhance the client experience,
while here. also leads community engagement efforts
through community partnerships, ambassadors and local
event participation.
STRATEGIES: • Quarterly visits to full-service hotels to educate
hoteliers/increase number of groups using convention/
meeting services assistance
• Host a welcome and/or information group for a
mimimum 12 groups
• Further develop convention services offerings by
researching other CVB’s best practices
• Oversee post-event surveys of planners; goal of
receiving 75% response rate
• Increase number of active ambassadors to 20
• Increase the number of ambassador opportunities
offered by 15% (from 65-75)
CITY NAME OF CONVENTION CENTER EXHIBIT SPACE # ROOMS IN CC PROXIMITY
Gwinnett County, GA Infinite Energy Center 50,000 sf 700 rooms
Athens, GA The Classic Center 104,500 sf 1,500 rooms walking distance
Cobb County, GA Cobb Galleria Centre 144,000 sf 800 rooms connected
College Park, GA GA International Convention Center 150,000 sf 9,000 rooms with 2 miles
Chattanooga, TN Chattanooga Convention Center 100,000 sf 2,000 rooms within walking distance
Birmingham, AL Birmingham Convention Center 220,000 sf 770 rooms attached
Alpharetta, GA* Alpharetta Conference Center 65,000 sf 1,500 rooms within 3 miles
COMPETITIVE AND COMPARABLE DESTINATIONS:
*Coming soon
2016E x p l o r E G w i n n E t t. o r G | G w i n n E t t S p o r t S C o m m i S S i o n . C o m 12
Small town heart. Big city soul.
Gwinnett Sports Commission was founded in 2003 and serves as Gwinnett
County’s official sports marketing organization. In 2015, the GSC worked with
several partners to bring in new and unique sporting events to the county,
including the Yong-In Presidential Cup (Tae Kwon Do), a state gymnastics
meet, cycling events, and more.
GSC continues to work closely with local sports venues such as the Infinite
Energy Center, Suwanee Sports Academy, Gwinnett County Parks and
Recreation, EPIC Tennis Center and Gwinnett County Public Schools.
2016 promises to be an exciting year for the Gwinnett Sports Commission
with a new title sponsor for the Mitsubishi Electric Classic, several large youth
tournaments already confirmed and the addition of the Georgia Swarm.
With a new title sponsor, the Mitsubishi Electric Classic is sure to exceed last
year’s boost in economic impact, with even more hotel room night generation,
local and national media impressions and positive affect on local businesses.
gwinnett sports commission (gsc)
15,000+
51
ROOM NIGHTS BOOKEDFOR SPORTS
SPORTING EVENTSASSISTED BY GSC
2016E x p l o r E G w i n n E t t. o r G | G w i n n E t t S p o r t S C o m m i S S i o n . C o m 13
Small town heart. Big city soul.
Perfect GameNike Memorial
Day ClassicNorcross Generation
Adidas Cup
Atlanta Legacy Softball Showcase
Greater Gwinnett Championship
Adidas Girls National Championship
Yong-InPresidential Cup
Adidas Invitational
room nights
room nights
room nights
room nights
room nights
room nights
room nights
room nights
3762
515
765
500+
604
486
569
333
GOALS: • To identify and finalize four foundational/cornerstone
events that the GSC will build around
• To implement plans and design process for a Gwinnett
County Parks and Recreation Department facility,
that would cater events specific to regional/national
tournaments and travel sports categories
• To increase brand exposure for the Gwinnett Sports
Commission, in turn creating more business for the
county
LARGEST NEW SPORTING EVENTS IN 2015:
gwinnett sports commission (gsc)
30% increase in followers 50% increase in followers 28% increase in followers
95% of our clients are uninsured.83% are at or below poverty line67% are homeless47% female
100% ARE CARED FOR
For 30 years, Mercy Care has played a critical role in Atlanta’s healthcare safety net as a medical home for the poor and marginalized.
THE INTERSECTION OF HOPE AND HEALING
Visit us at mercyatlanta.org Mercy Care, Atlanta@mercyatlanta
95% of our clients are uninsured.83% are at or below poverty line67% are homeless47% female
100% ARE CARED FOR
For 30 years, Mercy Care has played a critical role in Atlanta’s healthcare safety net as a medical home for the poor and marginalized.
THE INTERSECTION OF HOPE AND HEALING
Visit us at mercyatlanta.org Mercy Care, Atlanta@mercyatlanta
Yong-InPresidential
Cup
2016E x p l o r E G w i n n E t t. o r G | G w i n n E t t S p o r t S C o m m i S S i o n . C o m 14
Small town heart. Big city soul.
marketing communications
korean dining initiativeOBJECTIVE: In 2016, we will continue to brand
Gwinnett’s Asian dining scene as Seoul of the South. In
2015, we generated great media coverage in USA Today,
national & local websites and other publications for our
Asian dining district for Duluth and Suwanee’s restaurants.
STRATEGIES: • Complete Asian dining focused tour for the media and
front desk staff
• Complete general Asian Dining Guide as resource for
Gwinnett Place hotels
• Obtain at least one additional Asian restaurant for
Gwinnett Restaurant Week
• Cover Seoul of the South in the 2nd edition of Explore
Gwinnett Magazine
• Add Seoul of the South blog to the new website with
bi-weekly written and amateur video pieces on local
restaurants, spas, events or trends
websiteOBJECTIVE: In first quarter 2016, our new website will
be launched. We will strategize, with Paramore, ways to
monitor and increase visitation, increase usability and
maintain fresh content and ideas.
STRATEGIES: • Maximize the use of “The Latest” blog on
ExploreGwinnett.org to aid in SEO, increase return
website visitors, provide additional social media content
and recommendations to visitors by adding 2 blog posts
per week
• Incorporate new website features for Phase 2. Options
include “Ask Button” feature, video content, use of user
generated content from social media
• Maximize features of Localist calendar of events
including encouraging users to share via Facebook,
RSVP for events and sign up for accounts
• Highlight trending events on social media to drive traffic
to calendar
• Incorporate #exploregwinnett into the hashtag field of
event listings to further the hashtags reach on social
media
2016E x p l o r E G w i n n E t t. o r G | G w i n n E t t S p o r t S C o m m i S S i o n . C o m 15
Small town heart. Big city soul.
marketing communicationsexplore gwinnett magazine & overall marketing /collateral brandingOBJECTIVE: Our magazine debuted in 2015 with
substantial advertising participation and numerous
positive comments. In 2016, the second edition will be
published. We are also working with digital marketing
agency Paramore to get all EG collateral to be more
consistent, uniform and streamlined.
STRATEGIES: • Create thorough distribution plan to include local
events, prominent businesses, hotels and regional
visitors centers
• Regularly review and compare competitors magazines
and collateral to be sure that Explore Gwinnett’s look
remains comparable in quality and messaging
• Continue to share interesting “stories” from the
magazine on social media throughout the year and
encourage people to request a magazine
• Strongly encourage people who are featured to share
the magazine on their social media feeds, websites and
e-newsletters
• Regularly check-in with advertisers and cities to
replenish their magazines
• Share the magazine via GTEP classes
• Work on gaining at least 3 new strategic distribution
partners such as Gwinnett Technical College, Gwinnett
Parks and Recreation, or Georgia Gwinnett College
• Create an advertising calendar that can be used by EG
Marketing Department and Paramore to create ads, and
profile sheets in a more efficient manner
public relationsOBJECTIVE: In 2016, the addition of a full-time
marketing communications professional with an
extensive background in public relations will be key to our
enhanced and improved PR efforts
STRATEGIES: • Regular media outreach to travel bloggers including
offering exclusive travel packages and discounts
• Attend PRSA Travel and Tourism Conference to obtain
new ideas on what travel media is seeking in destinations
• Regular press releases in relation to EG
accomplishments and news
• Create a regularly updated photo bank that media can
use via third party service
• Continue to seek out awards that EG staff and the
organization can be nominated for (GACVB Awards,
Marketing Awards, etc.)
2016E x p l o r E G w i n n E t t. o r G | G w i n n E t t S p o r t S C o m m i S S i o n . C o m 16
Small town heart. Big city soul.
arts & entertainmentWe offer robust event marketing for our arts, culture and
entertainment options throughout the year. We serve
as the “Camera Ready” contact for the Georgia film and
entertainment industry, and in 2016 we are planning an
arts-themed, monthly arts marketing event for the first
time. Having an appealing mix of arts and entertainment is
a key ingredient of a more desirable destination.
OBJECTIVE: Increase Gwinnett’s presence in the film &
TV industry, enhance Gwinnett’s strong reputation as a
“Camera Ready” community and partner with studios to
enhance our efforts
STRATEGIES: • Increase the number of images uploaded to Georgia’s
Reel Scout database by 50% or more.
• Complete additional drone video shooting to assist in
marketing Gwinnett County Parks & Recreation facilities
to the industry
• Complete quarterly updates to the Eagle Rock Studios
and OFS’ “Vendor Handbooks”
• Integrate the full “Gwinnett Film” microsite to the
exploregwinnett.org website; including links for permits,
access to Reel Scout, and imagery from various filming
• Continue to do regular speaking engagements on the
value and impact of the film industry to Georgia
• Work across our various partnerships to improve
communications and resources for our production
partners and location managers
OBJECTIVE: Increase our arts marketing efforts to assist
in destination marketing; choosing specific, targeted ef-
forts that support our city partners, as well as assist us in
drawing in new visitors
STRATEGIES: • Create “Artober Gwinnett” this fall, creating a month-
long celebration of the arts that will incorporate
existing programming, develop new arts activities (i.e.
buskers, street performers). This will allow us to broadly
market all of our city/county events and create new
partnerships
• Continue to support major arts organizations (i.e. Aurora
Theatre) through partnership agreements that allow us
to enhance our nightlife / entertainment opportunities
for our visitors
• Fully utilize all of “Localist,” our robust events calendar
to help us market arts events socially and through better
SEO. We will be incorporating a Paramore-developed
campaign to make local users more aware of our events
calendar, which is the most comprehensive available
• Support our arts events/organizations through
appropriate Public Relations opportunities, including
Cision Media lists, blog posts and more
2016E x p l o r E G w i n n E t t. o r G | G w i n n E t t S p o r t S C o m m i S S i o n . C o m 17
Small town heart. Big city soul.
social media & digital marketing2016 will be our first year of having a full-time digital
marketing agency, Paramore, as our partner in our
marketing efforts. The overall goals for our digital
marketing campaign are to increase website visitation
(trackable) and increase leads to our sales team. We also
plan to increase social media followers on Facebook to
20,000 followers (33% increase), on Instagram to 3,000
(50% increase), on Twitter to 2,700
(an increase of 500 followers).
• Use the new social media
aggregator to engage with more
social media users than ever
before. This will directly impact
our number of followers.
• Increase our social media
advertising efforts to include
Facebook, Instragram and Twitter
• Work with Paramore to create
contest campaigns across social media
platforms and our new website.
• Create a small desirable “prize with our logo” for
people whose photos we repost
• Social media features in our magazine will drive traffic to
our platforms
• The new social media aggregator will help our hashtag
grow exponentially. We will use this to engage with
more social media users and ultimately gain more
followers.
e-newsletterIn 2016 we will maximize the reach of
our e-newsletter through
• Aggressively increasing users to
6,500 (currently we have just over 5000 in the general
list) by requiring e-newsletter sign up for some contests,
making content better quality and by learning new
tactics at Marketing United (Emma e-Newsletter
conference)
other new items for 2016• Expand our marketing efforts with Country Living
Fair (annual festival which attracts largest number of
overnight visitors) to include overnight packages to
increase visitation
• Create a short official “welcome” video for Gwinnett
and let event organizers use it to promote their meeting
once Gwinnett is chosen as a destination
• Create a short general destination video for our sales
team to share during presentations
15,000 followers 4,900 followers 1,500 followers
95% of our clients are uninsured.83% are at or below poverty line67% are homeless47% female
100% ARE CARED FOR
For 30 years, Mercy Care has played a critical role in Atlanta’s healthcare safety net as a medical home for the poor and marginalized.
THE INTERSECTION OF HOPE AND HEALING
Visit us at mercyatlanta.org Mercy Care, Atlanta@mercyatlanta
95% of our clients are uninsured.83% are at or below poverty line67% are homeless47% female
100% ARE CARED FOR
For 30 years, Mercy Care has played a critical role in Atlanta’s healthcare safety net as a medical home for the poor and marginalized.
THE INTERSECTION OF HOPE AND HEALING
Visit us at mercyatlanta.org Mercy Care, Atlanta@mercyatlanta
Numbers as of 2/2016
2016 GOALS
20,000followers
6,000followers
3,000followers
Increase to Increase to Increase to
95% of our clients are uninsured.83% are at or below poverty line67% are homeless47% female
100% ARE CARED FOR
For 30 years, Mercy Care has played a critical role in Atlanta’s healthcare safety net as a medical home for the poor and marginalized.
THE INTERSECTION OF HOPE AND HEALING
Visit us at mercyatlanta.org Mercy Care, Atlanta@mercyatlanta
95% of our clients are uninsured.83% are at or below poverty line67% are homeless47% female
100% ARE CARED FOR
For 30 years, Mercy Care has played a critical role in Atlanta’s healthcare safety net as a medical home for the poor and marginalized.
THE INTERSECTION OF HOPE AND HEALING
Visit us at mercyatlanta.org Mercy Care, Atlanta@mercyatlanta
Increase e-newsletter followers to
6,500
2016E x p l o r E G w i n n E t t. o r G | G w i n n E t t S p o r t S C o m m i S S i o n . C o m 18
Small town heart. Big city soul.
OBJECTIVE: To attract industry staff and professionals
to attend the six-part certification program. The classes
include:
• Four two-hour sessions of classroom training on
Gwinnett’s attractions, shopping, sports, special
event facilities, historic downtowns, history, government,
parks and recreation
• A two-hour backstage tour of the Infinite Energy
Center; including the arena, convention center and
performing arts center
• All day familiarization tour of Gwinnett County
• Upon completion of the classroom training, Infinite
Energy Center tour and the familiarization tour; program
participants will receive certification as a GCTS –
“Gwinnett Certified Tourism Specialist.”
gwinnett tourism education program
OBJECTIVE: Expand our reach—create satellite
education seminars.
STRATEGIES:• Partnering with our hotels, facilities and parks and
recreation department to hold seminars/classes in
outlying areas to provide better accessibility and
opportunity for partners and attendees
• Create new partnerships with other non-profits to
enhance attendance for larger attendance, and more
prominent speakers
• Evolve our programming - Partnering with Gwinnett
Technical College to offer a condensed version of
the Gwinnett Tourism Awareness Program (similar
to “Glance Gwinnett”) in order to allow these time-
strapped hospitality students to attend GTAP, providing
assistance for networking and workforce development
• Starting an Explore Gwinnett Health Series – research
shows that healthier employees with a reasonable
work-life balance are more productive and efficient.
2016 programs will literally “explore” Gwinnett by taking
classes on a walking tour, as well as healthy workplace
habit seminars, work-life balance, and others
GTAP By the Numbers 2015 2016
Graduates 28 30
Sessions 30 35
Attendances 700 800
Community Partners 40 45
The Gwinnett Tourism Education Program (GTEP) is Explore Gwinnett’s award-winning hospitality education and
awareness program. The program is led by a full-time Tourism Education Director, whose role is to educate our
tourism and hospitality staff on everything that Gwinnett offers, creating “local experts” on the frontline of our hotels
and attractions. This type of knowledgeable, friendly and experienced staff has been shown to resonate with visitors,
creating a memorable experience and increasing the return visitor.
2016E x p l o r E G w i n n E t t. o r G | G w i n n E t t S p o r t S C o m m i S S i o n . C o m 19
Small town heart. Big city soul.
Richard TuckerChairman
Arlington Capital, LLC
Marcy AdamsVice-President
OperationsCrestline Hotels
Jace BrooksVice Chairman
District I CommissionerGwinnett County Board
of Commissioners
Bert Nasuti Secretary
Thompson O’Brien, Kemp& Nasuti, P.C.
BOARD MEMBERS
OFFICERS
Tommy HughesHughes Properties
Kevin HillGeneral Manager
Residence Inn Sugarloaf
Tom Martin CEO,
Gwinnett Community Bank
Dr. Daniel KaufmanCEO/President,
Gwinnett Chamber
David KohlaschGeneral Manager, Sonesta AtlantaGwinnett Place
Dr. Mark NewtonGwinnett Tech, Hospitality,
Restaurant and Tourism Program Director
Col. Art RillingEmeritus
Laura GramsAssistant Vice-President,
Leadership and Organizational Development
HCA Healthcare
Beth Hilscher City Council &
Mayor Pro-Tem, City of Suwanee
Lynette HowardDistrict II Commissioner, Gwinnett County Board
of Commissioners
Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau
board of directors
2016E x p l o r E G w i n n E t t. o r G | G w i n n E t t S p o r t S C o m m i S S i o n . C o m 20
Small town heart. Big city soul.
Maurice OdomsWedding/Reunion
Marketing SpecialistExplore Gwinnett
Lisa AndersExecutive Director
Explore Gwinnett
Stan L. HallExecutive Director
Gwinnett Sports Commission
Ross PowellDirector of Group Sales
Explore Gwinnett
Cricket Elliott-LeeperEducation Director
Explore Gwinnett
Leigh Hooten Sales Manager
Gwinnett Sports Commission
Leah StevensConvention Services
ManagerExplore Gwinnett
Victoria J. HawkinsMarketing Communications Director
Explore Gwinnett
Sondra Thomas-MooreOperations Manager
Explore Gwinnett
Preston WilliamsChief Executive Officer
Explore GwinnettInfinite Energy Center
Bianca AdamsMarketing CoordinatorGwinnett Sports Commission
Sarah ParkInternational Marketing
CoordinatorGwinnett Sports Commission
Explore Gwinnett
Anne ChenInternational/Association
Market SpecialistExplore Gwinnett
Jessica WhittingslowMarketing
Communications ManagerExplore Gwinnett
staffGwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau