Tourism marketing strategy a success

The Whitefish Convention and Visitor Bureau’s 2012 marketing program proved to be a huge success, thanks in large part to the filming of an episode of “The Bachelor” in Whitefish and a strategic plan to target geo-travelers.

Through paid advertising, public relations, TV shows, the Internet and skyscraper-sized billboards, Whitefish’s brand was broadcast to millions of people across the globe last year.

“The tourism industry in Whitefish has had a very successful year,” said WCVB chairman Nick Polumbus.

Resort tax collections were up 10 percent, bed tax collections were up 9 percent and Whitefish Mountain Resort reported a record winter for visitors this past season. Polumbus pointed to many factors that have helped boost numbers, including Canadian visitors and “targeted, effective marking of Whitefish.”

Paid advertising spots in magazines and online reached 4.9 million people last year. The city’s public relations program through print, radio, online and TV reached a 54 million people. About 45,000 people picked up WCVB travel guides and visitor maps, while another 175,000 visited the WCVB website www.explorewhitefish.com.

An episode of “The Bachelor” filmed in Whitefish in October proved to be a highlight of the year. The episode aired four times and reached about 35 million people, WCVB spokeswoman Lisa Jones reports.

“It showed our brand to women who make travel decisions,” she added.

The WCVB website had 5,000 visits the day after show aired and 4,000 next day. The Lodge at Whitefish Lake’s website crashed 11 times that week due to the enormous amount of traffic it received. The Whitefish Chamber of Commerce reported a 29 percent increase in calls in February and March.

“The show did impact businesses in Whitefish and helped build the brand,” Jones said.

The WCVB’s goals continue to be lofty for FY 2013.

They hope to grow traffic to their website by 20 percent and increase overall resort tax collection rates by 8 percent over the three-year average.

“It seemed like we were under-setting our goals,” Rhonda Fitzgerald said. “We felt we should move the bar up.”

Fitzgerald say the tourism industry is positioned to have another good year.

Their forecasts show non-resident visitors will increase by 2 percent and a new record will be set for total domestic visitors.