Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-02-28 - PB TOc'7I OF ULYSSES P.L + NNINC BOARD MEETING FEBRUARY 28 , 1994 TOWN HALL P RESENT ; CHATRMI\ N : DAVID TYLER ; MEMBERS : KRYS CATL , GERRI KE .T. L , BUDD STOVER , PETER DEMJANF,K , GREGG HOFFMIRE , DAN SMITH ; SECRE 'T'ARY : ROXANNE SMITH GUEST SPEAKER : TOM KING , DIRECTOR OF THE CONVENTION VISITORS BUREAU OF THE TOMPKINS COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE INVITED GUESTS : RICK MEHLENBA HER , AACE LARSEN , KAREN THOMPSON , CATHERINE STOVER , RUTH KAHN AND TOM REITZ Chairman David Tyler called the meeting to order at 7 : 31 PM . H e introduced Torn King from the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce . Tom shared with the audience some background information nn the Convention Visitors Bureau which he directs . The new Visitors Center is located on E . Shore Drive , adjacent to the Youth Bureau . It is funded by a 3 % room tax levied on hotel, ronms , of which it receives 69 % . The estimated collections for this year, are expected to be $ 450 , 000 which would leave the Bureau approximately $ 311 , 000 . The Bureau also receives $ 59 , 000 from the State in the form of Hatch - ing Funds. The annual budget for 1994 is $ 385 , 000 which includes some other, miscellaneous sources of income . The remaining 31 from the room tax is allocated to the Finger Lakes Association who receive 8 % ( about $ 34 , 000 ) to support regional promotion ; the arts and cultural groups are able to receive around 13 % ( about $ 60 , 000 ) of which they are able to make application for in the form of grants under the definition of " tourism development • or promotion " . The remaining 10 % ( o ,r. $ 45 , 000 ) is held by the county to recover the costs of administering the various programs ., and to pay for a part time staff person to administer the work of the Advisory Board on Tourism Development . The Chamber Board of Directors has 30 members which oversee t he Bureau . The Convention and Visitors Bureau has one fundamental mission : to solicit and service conventions and other related group business and to engage in visitor promotions ( leisure visitor and group tour ) , which generate overnight stays for the area . In addition , the Bureau is responsible to the eleven member Tompkins County Advisory board an Tourism Development . Its member - ship is comprised of three members of the Board of Representatives , two members of the lodging or restaurant industry , two members from arts organizations , one representative from the business community , one member representing parks or outdoor, recreation , and one each from Ithaca College and Cornell . The travel industry is the state ' s second largest industry . In Tompkins County it is the third largest , preceded only by education and the manufacturing / service sectors . It is the third largest industry in the county . It employs almost 4500 people directly with an annual payroll of over $ 45 , 000 . In the county , travelLL ex - penditures by visitors annually exceeds $ 70 , 000m Of which , 6 million dollars come back in tax dollars . A typical tourist in Tompkins County will spend on the average $ 89 per person , per day ( of those spending an overnight ) . A " day t ripper. " ( who does not spend the night ) will spend on the average of $ 28 per person . The County is just completing a year long visitor survey which was contracted with Davison and Peterson ( based in York , Maine ) . Some preliminary findings are ; 575 -- 600 , 000 visit the county each year. . Of those , 150 - 160 , 494 are day trippers ; 80 -- 90 , 000 are visiting friends / relatives ; 345 - 350 , 000 stay in motels . The profile of a 491 TOWN OF ULYSSES 2 P LANNING BOARD MEETING FEBRUARY 28 , 1994 TOWN HALL ✓ isitor to the county is as follows : upscale , educated , no children u nder 18 at home . Most visitors are traveling specifically to Ithaca . They will stay overnight . The area is limited on camp grounds , and does not get a lot of business people . Few visitors have children . They are here for shopping , dining out and checking out the colleges . They tend to be repeat visitors . It is a place to get away from and not to find activity . Paid advertising targets New York Metro , Buffalo , Toronto , Rochester , Pittsburgh and Cleveland . Some of the secondary markets t he Bureau tries to attract are Philadelphia , Baltimore , Newark and Hartford . In 1993 , the response to the Bureau ' s 800 number ( 1 - 800 - 28 ITHACA ) was 5 , 521 . Their mail increased by 73 % with 5 , 826 written requests . For the year , the Bureau serviced 2. 3 , 468 in the Visitor ' s Center. ( up 19 % ) . The Bureau sends out a nice re - location packet ( small fee charged ) . They get about 45 requests a month . The Group Tour Market ( motor coach sales ) is relatively new in this area . The tour travelers themselves , spend about $ 50 per d ay , in addition to the $ 54 that tour operators spend on behalf o f each of their tour travelers in the form of meals and rooms . This $ 104 compares very favorably with the $ 89 spent daily by other leisure travelers . The pros are : 44 visitors at a time in about a vehicle 3 times the size of an auto . It makes it easier on the e nvironment and more lucrative . The con is where do you put a vehicle t hat size safely ? The third segment that the Bureau is interested in is convention marketing . The Bureau has a full time staff person whose sole respon - sibility is to market the county to meeting planners and conference d ecision makers . The primary target are the approximately 2 , 000 associations in the Albany area who possess the potential to hold t heir meeting or convention in Ithaca . These groups are marketed t hrough direct mail , industry advertising , and direct one -- nn - • one sales calls . This market can be the most lucrative market to attract to a community . They are more high profile whereby most of the attendees are housed in one or more hotels close in proximity to where the • meetings are held . They wear name badges , and their spending pat - terns are generally higher than leisure tourists or tour travelers . Through a recent survey by the International Association of Conven- t ion and Visitor Bureaus it was reported that the daily expenditure o f a convention delegate who attends a state or, local convention is $ 137 . The average length of stay per delegate is 2 . 2 days , the t otal expenditure of a convention delegate is a little over $ 301 . After sharing information about the Bureau Tom asked for ques - t ions / comments from the audience . He stated that the convention market is growing in Tompkins County . There are enough rooms but n ot enough large meeting areas . He thinks that the 1100 . 1200 rooms available need to be increased . A major attraction ( centerpiece ) o ther than the University is needed . The lake isn ' t enough . Though we think of ourselves as very cultural , other areas ( such as Rochester ) d on ' t see us that way . The metropolitan mecca is the visitor ' s back yard . Tompkins County has its attractors ( like the wine trails ) . There is only one winery in Tompkins County however . Aage Larsen mentioned the interest in bike trails . Tom said t hat the Bureau will be putting in a bike rack some day as they average 4 - 5 cyclists a day visiting the Bureau ( they ' re on the route ) . TOWN OF ULYSSES 3 P LANNING BOARD MEETING FEBRUARY 28 . 1994 TOWN HALL The Bureau has an in house produced map of routes that the cyclists should avoid . The Bureau is also looking into accomodations ( B & B ' s , inns ) that will service their needs . Ruth inquired whether they mention the youth hostel in Podunk , Torn was aware of it . Erys q ueried about the interest in antique stores . Tom said that the tourists are interested though they are not a main attraction . Also , there is really a very limited night Life available 5 nights a week . 'ram Reitz asked if the Bureau works with surrounding counties ( mainly Watkins Glen area and the race track ) . The Bureau does cooperate ; however , the hotels can pretty much dictate their prices as there is such a demand for available rooms during those ;beak t imes . At this point in the meeting Chris Mehlenbauher from New World Tour Company inquired about qualifications required to receive funding if the business brought tourists to the area but not to Tompkins County alone . Chris is developing an inbound operation to 'travel to the Finger Lakes wineries . At one time he sold wine wholesale . Tom told him to contact Jack Kidd of the Finger Lakes Association for possible available funding . G erri asked Tom King if anyone has been working an the needed " centerpiece " for passible development . This centerpiece theme came out of the survey that the Bureau jest received , he said . The Board will hopefully be addressing this soon . The lake is a great n atural resource but there are few available restaurants an it or facilities . Gerri asked if the convention center has been. looked in to . She thinks e meeting / retreat center for area businesses would be needed . he had mentioned a conference / cultural performing arts center . The center does not make money , it ' s not suppose to . It will generate income for the supporting businesses however . • r s asked about the expenditures of campers in the area . It e nds up being closer to $ 89 per day than the 128 of the day tripper , The conventions that came to the area are small ones that are .fit in between the college graduations , alumni weekend . The Dean o f the hotel school ( Cornell ) did an analysis of the down time , • between . Christmas break and when the school resumes . The University looses about 4 million dollars , as they have to keep the school u p and running for administrators , etc . If the school were to resume the week after New Year ' s they would effect the entire economic community . D avid asked about the Empire State Games and whether anything was learned . ( They will be back in ' 96 . ) The family restaurants h ave to stay open later as many of the events run until 9 . 00 PM . The average she of our visitors is over 45 . Most families are two income households that don ' t cec asarielly share the same vacations , People tend to take long weekend vacations . The lniversity plays such e predominant role in this area that it may never be overcome . Aage mentioned a local author ( who will be published by Acorn P ress ) who has a book coming net on cycling in this area . Tom expressed an interest in having it available at the visitor ' s center . Aage mentioned that Creek Peak will be opened for mountain bike races d uring the off season . Tom Reitz mentioned the Town of Ulysses ' s lack of water and sewer . Mr . King mentioned that it will prohibit major. development . Ile likened our area to Hemmondsport , a very quaint village with its awn green . Bed and breakfasts and inns mat be developed though . ,is TOWN OF ULYSSES 4 P LANNING BOARD MEETING FEBRUARY 28 , 1994 TOWN HALL The number of B & B ' s has dwindled from about 40 last year. to 28 t his year in the County . The survey Tom King mentioned will eventually be available to the Public . Tom handed out copies of the pamphlets and brochure t hat the Chamber has on hand . The Planning Board Members decided that they would meet at the Village Hall at 7 : 30 PM on Tuesday , March 8 , 1994 . It will ® be a joint meeting with the Master Plan Committee as there is a scarcity of available meeting dates . The meeting adjourned at 9 : 15PM . •