C e n t r a l Pe n n s y lva n i a C o n v e n t i o n & v i s i to r s Bu r e au

annual rePortF i s C a l y e a r 2 0 1 1 - 2 0 1 2

2011-2012 CPCVB Annual Report

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L E T T E R F R O M T H E B O A R d P R E s i d E n T A n d E X E C U T i V E d i R E C T O R

We are pleased to provide you the Central Pennsylvania Convention and Visitors Bureau

Annual Report which showcases our accomplishments and progress in tourism during Fiscal Year

2011-2012. Your CVB is committed to fulfilling its mission to bring leisure tourists, conventions

and sporting events to the Central Pennsylvania region. Our dedication continues through these

challenging times and we will not waiver in our efforts.

Some highlights of our fiscal year include:

• Requests for Visitor Guides from our regional and national advertising were up 3%

• Meeting/Convention/Sports Events Bookings were up 1.5%

• New and improved website launched in June 2012

The hospitality industry is a critical economic driver for Pennsylvania. There is no question that

travel and tourism is part of the solution to our state’s budget problems because it generates

tax revenues and creates jobs. Please join us in continuing to reach out to our elected officials

to remind them about the importance of the travel and tourism industry to Pennsylvania’s

economic well-being.

Your CVB has continued an aggressive marketing program to keep our destination competitive and

Top of Mind with consumers. We salute the dedication and commitment of our industry partners

and we look forward to continuing to work with you to provide greater value and service to our

visitor’s travel experience.

On behalf of your Board of Directors, we are proud to share with you our Annual Report for

FY 2011-2012. We pledge to continue our goal to brand and promote Centre County and

Central Pennsylvania as a premier leisure, sports and business destination.

Sincerely,

Dottie Yukish Betsey Howell

CPCVB Board President Executive Director

C en T R A l Pen n s Y lVA n i A C O n V en T i O n & V i s i TO R s B u R e Au • A n n uA l R eP O R T • F i s C A l Y e A R 2011-201 2

Central PAVISITORSGUIDE

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2012 Visitors Guide Visitors Guide ad sales totaled $99,000.00 for 2012, a 4% increase. This is the highest ad sales total ever for the Central PA Visitors Guide.

Advertising Campaign Leads • The requests for Visitors Guides from ads in publications and online were up 3.04%

• Co-op Advertising increased 37% ; Where and When, The PA Travel Guide & Pursuits showed the most considerable increase for co-op.

24-7/travelguidesfree.com

America’s Best Vacations

Association News

Audubon

Better Homes & Gardens

Centre Daily Times

Destination PA

Family Circle & online

goPSUsports.com

Great Vacation Getaways

Guest Quest & online

Ladies Home Journal

Meetings East Focus

PA Travel Guide

PA Visitors Network

People

Pursuits

Readers Digest

Recreation News

RedBook

Southern Living

Small Market Meetings

Sports Events Magazine

Town & Gown

USA Weekend

VisitPA.com

Where & When

Google.com

Yahoo.com

Advertising placed online and in Mid-Atlantic sections of the following publications:

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Marketing YOU!

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Bing Travel Blog

Recreation news

Sports Travel Magazine

Altoona Mirror

Small Market Meetings

DRAFT Magazine

Tuscaloosa News

Central PA Live

Washington Post

Omaha World Herald

Williamsport Sun Gazette

Group Tour Media

The News Gazette

Public Opinion

Meetings East

Bicycling Magazine

Dirt Rag Magazine

Liberty Sports

SingleTrack.com/Velonews

The Daily Collegian

Allentown Morning Call

Time Magazine

thedailyreview.com

Where & When

Penn State Live

Pittsburgh Tribune Review

Sports Events Magazine

Audubon

Yahoo Finance

Herald Online

Pittsburgh Business Times

Philadelphia Business Journal

Lancaster Intelligencer Journal

Mid-Atlantic Events Magazine

Meetings Focus

StateCollege.com

WTAJ-TV

WJAC-TV

Outside Online

PR News Wire

Digital Journal

Streetinsider.com

istockanalyst.com

Bradenton.com/ Bradenton Herald

KPHO.com

Market Watch

Bus Tours Magazine

Gadling.com

Site Selection Magazine

Media / Public Relations• 10% increase in pitched and published stories from 2011.

• Staff is also active in the Mid-Atlantic Travel and Tourism Public Relations Alliance, Pennsylvania PR initiatives, The Alleghenies PR Council and the PATT Professional Development Committee.

Travel articles appeared in the following publications and online sources:

C en T R A l Pen n s Y lVA n i A C O n V en T i O n & V i s i TO R s B u R e Au • A n n uA l R eP O R T • F i s C A l Y e A R 2011-201 2

Marketing YOU!

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Social Media

The new website launched at the end of June 2012. The home page now features articles about what is currently happening in the area, a more fluid design and fewer click through steps are needed to get to events, booking links and request pages.

Visit Penn state Facebook page likes and conversations continue to increase with FB users not only on the Visit Penn state page, but also on other business pages, gaining quality likes and rankings. Web and social media advertising campaigns launched beginning of FY 2012-2013, in conjunction with the launch of the new website.

Launching the new VisitPennState.org

C en T R A l Pen n s Y lVA n i A C O n V en T i O n & V i s i TO R s B u R e Au • A n n uA l R eP O R T • F i s C A l Y e A R 2011-201 2

Marketing YOU!

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The current Fun Pass is now available via a mobile application via Cardagin as well as in print.

Developed an ad campaign for the leisure market and then carried the theme through to sports and meeting ad campaigns.

THERE’S NO BETTER PLACEFOR YOUR FACE-TO-FACE.

ATTN! MEETING PLANNERS:Beyond the breathtaking beauty, seasonal tranquility and legendary hospitality of Central Pennsylvania

lies a thriving business and convention infrastructure that’s second to none!• 3400 guest rooms• 180,000 square feet of meeting space• incentive programs• easy travel and scheduling

See for yourself at:visitpennstate.org/meeting-sports-planners

CVB Meeting Planner Full Page Bleed_Layout 1 2/15/12 2:25 PM Page 1

2012-2013 Fun Pass

Ad campaigns

C en T R A l Pen n s Y lVA n i A C O n V en T i O n & V i s i TO R s B u R e Au • A n n uA l R eP O R T • F i s C A l Y e A R 2011-201 2

Marketing YOU!

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Developed a year-round online research product in cooperation with Penn state that is based on real time information captured from the visitor/potential visitor.

Developed an online Meeting & Convention Guide section on VisitPennstate.org; a link to the guide can now be emailed directly to the meeting planner.

Conversion Studies

Meeting and Convention

C en T R A l Pen n s Y lVA n i A C O n V en T i O n & V i s i TO R s B u R e Au • A n n uA l R eP O R T • F i s C A l Y e A R 2011-201 2

Marketing YOU!

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Marketing YOU!2012-2013 ToURiSM GRANTS APPLiCAnTs GRAnT AMOUnT PURPOsE

American Philatelic Society $5,000.00 Marketing

Art Alliance $2,500.00 Marketing

Bellefonte American Legion Baseball/Bellefonte Baseball Inc. $2,000.00 Capital Improvement

Central PA 4th Fest $12,000.00 Marketing

Central PA Festival of the Arts $35,000.00 Marketing

Centre County Grange Encampment & Fair $20,000.00 Capital Improvement

Centre County Grange Encampment & Fair $10,000.00 Marketing

Centre County Historical Society $15,000.00 Marketing

Centre County Library & Historical Museum $8,500.00 Capital Improvement

Centre Regional Recreation Authority / Millbrook Marsh $4,000.00 Capital Improvement

Clearwater Conservancy $3,500.00 Capital Improvement

Cold Stream Recreation / Philipsburg Boro $3,500.00 Capital Improvement

Discovery Space of Central PA $20,000.00 Capital Improvement

Downtown Improvement District $5,000.00 Marketing

First Night State College $3,500.00 Marketing

Friends of the PA Military Museum $4,000.00 Marketing

Historic Bellefonte Inc. $40,000.00 Marketing

Jazz PA $3,000.00 Marketing

Lemont Village Association $7,000.00 Capital Improvement

Lemont Village Association $4,000.00 Marketing

Mount Nittany Conservancy $2,000.00 Marketing

Mountain Top Swimming Pool Association $19,138.00 Capital Improvement

Nittany Valley Symphony $10,000.00 Marketing

Penn State Center for the Performing Arts $10,000.00 Marketing

Penn State Centre Stage $7,500.00 Marketing

Penn State School of Music – Music at Penns Woods $1,500.00 Marketing

Pennsylvania Centre Orchestra $4,000.00 Marketing

Philipsburg Revitalization Corp. $10,000.00 Marketing

Special Olympics / Beaver Stadium 5k Run/Walk $3,500.00 Marketing

State College Community Theatre $3,500.00 Marketing

TOTAL AMOUNT AWARDED: $278,638.00

TOTAL GRANT AWARDS TO DATE: $2,239,852.00

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2011-2012 Fiscal Year Sales outcomesMeeting/Convention/Sports/Group Tour Business

Conv / Sports Sales Leads 83

Tour & Travel Leads 56

Total Leads 139

Conv / Sports Sales Lead Room Nights 32,923

Tour & Travel Lead Room Nights 2,036

Total Lead Room Nights 34,959

Conv / Sports Sales Bookings 47

Tour & Travel Bookings 53

Total Bookings 100

Conv / Sports Sales Booked Room Nights 30,132

Tour & Travel Booked Room Nights 1,418

Total Booked Room Nights 31,550

Total Picked Up Room Nights 18,539

C en T R A l Pen n s Y lVA n i A C O n V en T i O n & V i s i TO R s B u R e Au • A n n uA l R eP O R T • F i s C A l Y e A R 2011-201 2

CPCVB Sales

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Trade Shows and Sales Missions** Co-op with Regional or Local Partners

Destination Showcase PASAE **

MPi – Meeting Planners int’l. PBA – PA Bus Association**

MASE – Mid-Atlantic Assoc. of Society Exec.** USoC Sports Link**

ASA – Amateur Softball Union ** TEAMS (Sports) **

Heartland Travel ** NASC (Sports) **

USSSA (Sports) ** NCAA (Sports) **

Sales Missions/Direct SalesColorado Springs, Co / indianapolis, iN / Philadelphia **Allentown-Bethlehem-Harrisburg-Hershey-York-Lancaster

Special Lunches & Dinners (iNViTATioN oNLY)AAA oFFiCES – Harrisburg & Hershey – Breakfast & Luncheon **County Commissioners Assoc. of PA – Breakfast & Luncheon (2 Locations)

CPCVB Sales

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423 Members and Member Businesses

Membership Networking opportunities:• Welcome luncheon for Penn state Football Coach Bill O’Brien was held

at Toftrees Golf Resort and Conference Center; 155 people attended

• Annual Membership luncheon was held at Hoag’s Celebration Hall, 107 members attended. Guest speakers included Ron Woodhead from Centre Region Parks & Rec and Dennis Ditmer from the YMCA

• Quarterly Membership Refresher and new Member Orientations

• Member to Member eblasts

C en T R A l Pen n s Y lVA n i A C O n V en T i O n & V i s i TO R s B u R e Au • A n n uA l R eP O R T • F i s C A l Y e A R 2011-201 2

CPCVB Membership

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Centre County / Penn state Visitor Center – University Park Campus

Hours of operation: *8:00am-6:00pm Monday through Friday9:00am-6:00pm Saturday and Sunday

Winter Hours (December 1-March 31)8:00am-5:00pm Monday through Friday9:00am-5:00pm Saturday and Sunday

• information Specialists at the Visitor Center Front Desk

• old State Clothing Gift Shop

• interactive Exhibit Area with Complimentary Wi-Fi and Touch-Screen Kiosks

• Penn State Parking Permits

• Conference rooms and Auditorium Rentals

• ATM

• Keurig Coffee and Vending Machines

• Restrooms

• Local Business Gift Certificates available for purchase

• Maps and Brochures

• Pet Friendly

2011-2012 Visitor Center Count: 75,394

Amenities:

Visitor Centers

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satellite Visitor Center –Train Station, Bellefonte2011-2012 Satellite Visitor Center Count: 7,580

Hours of operation: *8:00am-5:00pm Monday through Friday9:00am- 4:00pm Saturday

Community outreach

•Staff served on the committee for the Youth Service Bureau’s On The Green Golf Tournament

•information Specialists from the Front Desk participate in one tour of an area member business per month

•Community-sponsored events brought 1,800 guests into the Centre County/Penn State Visitor Center

* Both Visitor Centers are closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and Easter Sunday.

Visitor Centers

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CENTRAL PENNSYLVANiA CoNVENTioN & ViSiToRS BUREAU

BoARD oF DiRECToRS 2012-2013Dottie Yukish, President Boalsburg Village Conservancy

steve Morgan, Vice President Hampton Inn State College

Peter sorensen, Past President Penn State Hospitality Services

sue BakerElk Creek Café & Aleworks

Darlene Confer Centre County Grange Fair

steve Dershem Centre County Commissioner

Gary Hoover BIACC

Deb Kerstetter Penn State RPTM

erin O’leary Old State Clothing Company

Gene “Jinx” Proch Mount Nittany Vineyard & Winery

Fred Reed (Marketing Chair) Ford Motor Company (retired)

William Rockey Jersey Shore State Bank

Mike szczesnyHFL Hotels

scott WalkerState College Spikes

Betsey Howell, Executive Director

Christie Black, Director of Marketing

Shirley Smith, Director of Sales

Lori Miller, Director of Visitor and Member Services

Brenda Hall, Sales Manager

Kevin Breon, Finance/Housing Bureau Manager

Sara Hoy, Technology Manager

Judy Maurer, Reception/Fulfillment

Corena Breon

Renee Brown

Esther del Rosso

Kate Kawulich

Joyce Matis

Lisa Schreffler

Katrina Shope

Susan Hoover

Toni Paterino

Ben Pelipesky

VOLUnTEERPatsy Cullen

CPCVB sTAFF 2012-2013ViSiToR CENTER iNFoRMATioN SPECiALiSTS:

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AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTFiscal Year: JulY 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012agency: centre county lion country Visitors and convention Bureau, inc. dba central Pennsylvania cVB REVENUES AND GAINS county Hotel room tax $ 1,570,251 cooperative advertising $ 229,544 county Brochure $ 107,046 Membership Dues $ 87,978 event revenue and sponsorship $ 30,463 investment income $ 13,577 retail space $ 7,500 Web enhancement Fees $ 975 commonwealth of Pennsylvania Grants $ -

Total Revenues $ 2,047,334

Unrealized Gain on Investments $ -

Total Revenues and Gains $ 2,047,334

EXPENSES AND LOSSES

Promotional: advertising $ 543,974 Promotion $ 189,487 Grants to other organizations $ 171,329 salaries and Wages $ 99,039 Postage $ 34,930 employee Benefits $ 20,948 regional $ 14,312 research $ 10,000 travel and entertainment $ 7,106 Printing $ 3,363

Total Promotional: $ 1,094,488

General and Administrative: salaries and Wages $ 415,966 occupancy $ 235,346 employee Benefits $ 81,769 Grants to other organizations $ 77,398 Depreciation $ 40,824 special events $ 24,213 office supplies $ 10,491 Professional Fees $ 8,600 loss on Disposal of Fixed assets $ -

Total General and Administrative $ 894,607

Total Promotional & General and Administrative Expenses $ 1,989,095

Unrealized Loss on Investments $ 800

Realized Loss on Sales of Investments $ -

Total Expenses and Losses $ 1,989,895

INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS $ 57,439

800 East Park Avenue

State College, PA 16803

800.358.5466

www.visitpennstate.org