It turned out to be a good discussion from the citizens side last night. It was, as predicted, a civil presentation by some very concerned citizens. What was interesting was the presentation by the town staff. It would be typical of anyone in any business to glorify their activities, that's just the reality. Nothing new there to think about. What was missing from that very lengthy discussion from the entire staff was the goals and objectives. They said what they did, but not what they were trying to accomplish. The citizens wished to hear what was being done to lengthen the season, bring more people here, changes in marketing practices to keep up with current marketing trends, etc. None of that was discussed. What was discussed was the town repeating practices they have embraced for over 15 years. Same magazine ads, same placement, same-old, same-old. Paul Fishman reported his findings that the practices the Town implements are not supported in today's world. In fact, they are outdated. This from the highly recognised Longwoods Visitor study.
There are clearly differences of opinion here and the bottom line may eventually be that the Town won't be in the marketing business. Not only is it illegal (against Statutory Law), but they aren't competent. They did point out that they have a staff requiring over $600,000 in salaries and benefits to place about $650,000 in ads, and visitations and sales tax dollars are down. They claim that is true throughout the country, but in fact that isn't true. It isn't even true in the state.
Isn't it interesting that Marsh and Pickering quote different numbers for differing circumstances. Last night they talk about $650K in ads, but on other occasions they say their budget is between $2.3 and $4 million. What is the truth and where does the money go?
One final word on busses. The marketing department said they were attracting bus tours. In talking to several resort owners it was discovered that the Town arranges for the tours to be housed at the YMCA, and out of town non tax paying business, and the bus drivers are asked to park off the Y property and stay in town. That isn't always the case, but more often that not. So much for treating the CVB Stakeholders better than out of town businesses.
