¥      Tourism Kick-Off Celebration Event: On May 14^th, VisitErie hosted an evening of fun, education and celebration for local front line employees.  Over 250 frontline employees of the tourism industry and service-related businesses that have direct contact with the traveling public attended (hotel clerks, wait staff, bus drivers, airport staff, store clerks, etc).  Area attractions exhibited and informed attendees on upcoming events, activities and programs.  The event also featured DJ music, snacks, beverages, door prizes and gift certificates. 

¥      New 2009-10 Visitors Guide: Designed and produced by VisitErie, in partnership with the Times Publishing Company, the 72-page, full color guide is VisitErie’s primary promotional fulfillment piece for visitor information.  275,000 copies have been produced this year.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh_-unvi-K0

Enjoy our latest creation to help spread the word about Pennsylvania's only Great Lakes Port City...Erie, PA!

Fun, Free and Affordable Family Activities in Erie

Yes it is really cold out and yes Erie has seen record snowfalls this winter but there are still plenty of cool things to do.  We thought up a few things for folks to do in the winter that are fun, free or very affordable.

1.  Explore Presque Isle State Park and the Tom Ridge Environmental Center.  Both offer free and/or very affordable programs such as craft workshops, family snow shoeing lessons, movies on The Big Green Screen and more!

2.  Visit Asbury Woods Nature Center and stroll their nature trails or stop inside the Center for workshops, educational lectures, crafts and to say hello to their turtles, bees and other creatures that call Asbury Woods Nature Center, home.

3.  Sledding at Frontier Park is always free.

4.  Ice skating at The Igloo or the JMC Ice Arena.

5.  The Erie Art Museum has family fun Fridays  from 10am-11am with special family deals.  Don't forget every Wednesday is free admission for everyone all day.

6.  Check out the Erie County Libraries.  Most of them, especially the main branch (Blasco Memorial Library) have special areas for families and children and offer special events such as Family Story Time and Drop in Crafts.

If you have other affordable or free fun suggestions for Erie, PA let us know!  You can email us at cvb1@visiterie.com

VisitErie Readies for Peak Tourism Season

 Erie, PA: VisitErie is gearing up for the busy peak tourism season with several initiatives/promotions:

Be a Tourist in Your Own Backyard:  To encourage residents to save on gas and promote local attractions, VisitErie is once again running the "Be a Tourist in Your Own Backyard" awareness campaign, encouraging the local community to take advantage of attractions, activities and events in their own backyard.  The multi- media campaign includes billboards, Radio and Television, Times News Showcase ads, online at www.VisitErie.com and on the backs of EMTA buses. The campaign runs through Labor Day.

Interstate Welcome Center Staffing: For the 6^th summer season, VisitErie is staffing two Interstate Welcome Centers from May through September seven days a week 10am-6pm with extended weekend hours Fridays and Saturdays June – August. The centers are I-90 westbound just west of the PA/OH border and I-79 Northbound just before the Edinboro Exit. The welcome center staff provides the traveling public with information on the Erie area (visitor guides and member brochures) and will also record and compile basic demographic information.

Tourism Kick-Off Celebration Event: On May 15^th, VisitErie hosted an evening of fun, education and celebration for local front line employees.  Over 250 frontline employees of the tourism industry and service-related businesses that have direct contact with the traveling public attended (hotel clerks, wait staff, taxi and bus drivers, airport staff, etc).  Area attractions exhibited and informed attendees on upcoming events, activities and programs.  The event also featured DJ music, snacks, beverages, door prizes and gift certificates. 

New 2008-09 Visitors Guide: Designed and produced by VisitErie, in partnership with the Times Publishing Company, the 80-page, full color guide is VisitErie's primary promotional fulfillment piece for visitor information.  280,000 copies have been produced this year.

VISITERIE UNVEILS NEW 08/09 ERIE VISITORS GUIDE

Well here they are, ready for public consumption....The 2008-2009 Erie All Seasons Visitors Guide is available and ready for distribution. Designed and produced by VisitErie, in partnership with the Times Publishing Company, the 80-page, full color guide is VisitErie’s primary promotional piece for visitor information.  Filled with numerous facts and fun information about the Erie area including:

.. Erie Highlights, Entertainment & Arts, Shopping/Dining, Outdoor Adventures and more!

.. User-friendly Visitor Services Directory (area accommodations, churches, businesses, schools, hospitals, etc) 

.. 2008 Major Event Calendar

.. Interesting facts on Presque Isle, Erie’s Waterfront, museums, nightlife, outdoor recreation, heritage and family-friendly activities.

.. Colorful, easy to read Maps of the Erie area, including a new downtown district map

 VisitErie increased the number of visitor guides produced this year from 275,000 to 280,000 copies.  The guides are distributed to anyone requesting Erie tourism information by phone, email, written request or walk-in traffic.  On March 22^nd a copy of the new Erie Visitors Guide was inserted into the Erie Saturday Times News.

The guide is the perfect resource for conferences, meetings and conventions, motorcoach tours, travel writers, sporting events, college recruiting, visiting relatives, fishermen, corporate businesses or travelers in general. 

 To obtain a free copy or to request a large quantity for your business/organization, stop by the VisitErie offices, phone 814-454-1000, email info@visiterie.com or visit www.VisitErie.com.

The following is a press release issued by VisitErie on Friday January 11, 2008.  After the release was made public and a few media outlets picked it up, we were asked if this was a complete listing of conventions booked for the area.  It is not. The list VisitErie has reported on are only those groups that have sought out our organization's assistance in bringing their group to Erie.  Several other conventions are planned to take place in Erie (G.E.'s annual meeting and a large beautician's convention) but they have not worked directly with VisitErie as of yet.

If you would like to bring your group or association's annual meeting or regional meeting to the Erie area and need some direction/assistance, please contact VisitErie at 814-454-1000 and ask to speak with Joe Holody, Director of Convention Sales and Services or check out our special meeting planner page online at www.visiterie.com/meetingplanner
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News Release

For Immediate Distribution                            

Friday, January 11, 2008

2008 Convention/Conferences Headed to Erie

Erie, PA: VisitErie announces the following groups have selected Erie as their destination city for their upcoming 2008 conventions and events*.  They are as follows:

..>..>..>..> ..> ..>

Name	Est. Attendance	Est. Room Nights	Estimated Econ. Impact	Date/Year	Host Facility
PA Jr. Wrestling 2008	5,000	5000	3,500,000	March 08	Citywide
PAMSS  (Pennsylvania Association of Medical Staff Services)	150	100	$65,625	April 2008	Courtyard Marriott/Ambassador
PA State Bowling Association	12,000	7,000	6,750,000	April-June 08	Citywide
Association of PA Municipal Management	250	240	200,000	May 2008	Sheraton Hotel/ Bayfront Convention Center (BCC)
PA State Rural Letter Carriers	300	400	$270,000	June 2008	Courtyard Marriott/Ambassador
Mid-west Tool Collectors Association	1,000	482	600,000	June 2008	Sheraton Hotel/BCC
PA District Attorney's Association	90	230	58,500	July 2008	Sheraton Hotel/BCC
Purple Martin Association	250	100	$50,000	August 2008	TBA
PA Industrial Resource Center	200	450	135,000	August 2008	Sheraton Hotel/BCC
TBF Mid-Atlantic Divisional Fishing Tournament	200	875	168,855	Sept 2008	Quality Inn & Suites
PA Young Professionals/ImPAct Conference	500	400	225,000	Sept 2008	Sheraton Hotel/BCC
PA State Baptist Convention 2008	1,000	790	1,050,000	Oct. 2008	Avalon Hotel
TOTALS	21,060	16,252	$13,120,980

*Although there are other groups coming to the Erie area, the above listed conferences are a direct result of VisitErie marketing efforts and responses to RFP's (requests for proposals).

 The recent bookings reflect strong marketing efforts by both VisitErie and their hospitality partners, including the Erie County Convention Center Authority.  To date 2008 is busy with five straight months of conventions scheduled for the Bayfront Convention Center and several events utilizing hotel rooms and meeting space city-wide.  From sporting events to state associations, Erie is starting to see an increase in booked conventions and conferences.   VisitErie president, John Oliver remarked, "Our continued presence in the Harrisburg/State Association market and various national/regional tradeshows is beginning to pay off.  Erie is getting more and more recognition as a meetings destination and has plenty to offer convention attendees.  With our wide variety of flexible meeting locations, a growing downtown entertainment district and thriving retail outlets, restaurants and attractions, Erie is definitely gaining positive recognition among Pennsylvania meeting destinations."

 Quotes from convention representatives coming to Erie in 2008:

"The Bass Federation (TBF) is excited to bring our Mid-Atlantic Division Championship to Erie Pennsylvania. The "local community" has rolled out the red carpet for the top anglers from 7 states that are coming in for the week-long event that along with the quality fishery like Lake Erie, will make for a great week to remember for all of our members on and off the water." – Michael Pierro, President, PA Bass Federation

"After a 15-year absence, the Erie District USBC Bowling Association is excited to host the 2008 Pennsylvania State Bowling Championships in Erie.  We are anticipating over 8,000 bowlers and their families to visit Erie from April 5 to June 22, 2008." – Brett Rearick, Erie District USBC Bowling Association

"2008 marks the first year the Pennsylvania Young Professionals 2008 ImPAct Conference visits Northwestern Pennsylvania.  The 2008 ImPAct Conference will provide Young Erie Professionals and the Erie community with a great opportunity to showcase everything that this region has to offer." - Matt Wiertel, ImPAct Conference Co-Chair and yep! Steering committee member.

VisitErie was recently asked to write a guest blog for ErieBlogs.com.  We thought it made sense to post our entry onto our own MySpace site as well.  It's a little refresher on our organization and why we do what we do.  It was written by Chris Pennsy, our VisitErie Communications Specialist. Enjoy.....

VisitErie – At a Glance

 I work for VisitErie, have now for almost seven years, and I absolutely without question love what I do.  How many of us can say that about our job?  Promoting Erie is an easy thing to do because I love just about everything about our city, minus the oddball politics and old-school mentality. I've lived here all my life and I made the choice to stay for the duration.  Erie is a great big small town with loads of potential and I want to be around to see what happens next and I'd like to believe that maybe I might even be able to be a small part of that.

 So, let me tell you a bit about the organization I work for.  VisitErie is the leader of economic development and marketing for tourism. We are the primary tourism promotion agency whose sole purpose is to increase, promote and support the tourism industry in Erie County.  VisitErie was previously called the Erie Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.  Our name change officially took effect on October 11 but we have been anticipating and preparing for this change for quite some time now.  About 6 months ago, our staff and a few of our board members sat down with a professional company (kudos to Don Moore and the folks over at Decision Associates) to lay the ground work for a comprehensive three year strategic plan for our organization.  The plan took some time to finalize and polish but the end result is one heck of a good plan if I do say so myself.  Part of that plan included a name change.

 For as long as I can remember, most of the people in the local community thought that the Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) was one in the same with the Chamber of Commerce.  Of course it didn't help that our offices are virtually right on top of each other at the Intermodal Transportation Center or that we shared the same phone number and receptionist.  Even though we had officially split from the Chamber back in July 2001 and became our own separate 501-c6 organization, the confusion remained.  There was also additional confusion with the construction of the Bayfront Convention Center.  Since our name had the word "convention" in it, the logical thought process was that we obviously have something to do with the convention center, be it running it, working out of it or just overall being in charge of it.  So when the CVB staff and a group of board members sat down to layout our strategic plan, the need to change our name was pretty strong.  VisitErie is a clear and definable name that without question, tells everyone what we do.  VisitErie is in the business for promoting Erie and bringing visitors and their money into our area.  Many CVB's are following this popular trend; to change from a bureau name to a more visitor friendly name, if you will.  Pittsburgh and Rochester are two cities that come to mind for they both changed from bureaus to "Visit" monikers and have had widely accepted success.  So far, the feedback we have received has been positive and the general consensus is we made the right move at the right time.  In addition, VisitErie has adopted a new phone number to further distance ourselves from other organizations.  (By the way, our new number is 814-454-1000)

 VisitErie developed a three-year strategic plan to help guide our organization in recognizing and increasing the growth of tourism for Erie and Erie County.  For that to happen and be successful, we also need to find additional funding.  A misconception is that since we are a "bureau" we are governmental and therefore receive plenty of funding from various sources.  Oh if that were only true.  Currently our annual budget is around $800,000.  To put things in perspective, that's pretty low compared to other cities.  Even Reading and Butler County PA have larger budgets than we do with only a fraction of assets compared to the Erie area. Most of our funding comes from the hotel tax.  Of the 5% collected tax, VisitErie receives 1% of that, last year that totaled about $452,000.  The Erie County Convention Center Authority receives the remaining 4%.  The rest of VisitErie's budget comes from the state matching fund grant program, membership fees and other smaller revenue streams.  However big or small our budget is, I think we are doing a good job of bringing visitors in whether its individuals, motorcoach groups or conventions/conferences.  But there is so much more we could be doing so this is where our strategic plan comes into play.   Identifying additional funding revenue streams and marketing options is crucial if we are ever going to grow as an organization in promoting Erie.  We have developed strategies and action steps to help us implement the plan and reach our goals.

 I was asked to write this entry in the hopes of clearing up confusion and providing some light on who we are and what we do.  I hope this has helped.  If anyone is interested in reading a copy of our strategic plan, please email me at cvb1@visiteriepa.com and I would be more than happy to share it with you. 

 Christine Pennsy, VisitErie Communications Specialist