BOARD REPORT MARCH 2019

The March Board Report is a summary of performance activity from December 2018 through February 2019. It also looks ahead to future programs for the Greater Palm Springs CVB in the coming months.

President's Summary
The CVB is working on a new initiative: Destination NEXT. Destination NEXT will conduct a follow-up survey to our 2016 Destination Development Plan. The online tool is designed to assist the CVB with an objective self-assessment that can help us determine if our priorities and strategies are moving in the right direction. The tool presents a framework we can use to critically assess the destination. It also helps to start a conversation and provide focus on what needs to be done in the future. The tool is based on 20 variables related to destination strength, community support and engagement. Within each variable, a series of metrics is also identified that offers the opportunity for the CVB to gather data and provide a more in-depth look at the variables.

The online diagnostic tool is built upon two key inputs, measured by respondents indicating the level of agreement to a statement for each variable:
• An assessment of how important each variable is to the destination
• An assessment of the destination’s perceived performance across each variable

The local community will receive one survey that dives deeper into both the destination and the CVB. The external client will have a shorter survey that removes questions not relevant to their position. The results will be analyzed with a scenario plot and segmented to show response patterns of the different groups of individuals. A detailed diagnostics report will be provided.

Destination NEXT will present the findings at our June Board meeting. Because we expect the Destination NEXT presentation to take most of our time, the CVB will not present our usual in-depth update on our work by department. We will conduct a second Destination NEXT presentation later that same day for anyone in the community who could not attend the Board meeting. In addition, Destination NEXT will also share a Futures Study that will be finished in May/June, providing us with valuable insight on tourism trends and forecasts.

The Certified Tourism Ambassador program has launched, and we recently completed our third session at the CVB. As we fine-tune the program, the goal is to take the CTA training on the road to local hotels and businesses. For more information, please contact Davis Meyer or Bob Thibault.

The Brand team is in production mode for new Partner co-op television commercials. We are currently filming for the Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism; The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage; Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Golf Resort Palm Springs; Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage; and Greater Palm Spring Restaurant Week.

The CVB has entered into an agreement with the City of Indian Wells. The city will fund a full-time person dedicated to their tourism goals and objectives. The individual will be an employee of the CVB but funded 100% by the city. The new position will be a liaison between the city, hotels and CVB to ensure overall tourism strategies are aligned to maximize effectiveness. This is a new program and a beta test for the CVB and the City of Indian Wells. We will keep you posted on our progress and future opportunities for additional cities to participate in a similar agreement.

Air Service continues to be a priority for the CVB. We are in discussions with the airlines about starting the Fall service earlier (September) and extending into June in 2020. The new Boston and Atlanta flights are performing well. Bob will be attending JumpStart in June. This annual conference brings together all of the major domestic airlines, providing us with opportunities to meet and discuss our goals and objectives.

The Convention Sales department recently concluded a FAM during the BNP Paribas with 13 clients, many of whom have never been to the destination. During the FAM, another 9 clients who happened to be here for site inspections joined us. All indications point to strong interest and opportunities for the valley. In addition, the CVB will begin the process to form a Client Advisory Board. The new advisory board will consist of resort clientele and convention center clients. We will target both existing and potential business. We will keep you posted on the timing of this new initiative.

We sincerely appreciate your support and look forward to working with you to grow our economy.

Sincerely,

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