Destination Development

In March and April, the Destination Development team contracted DestinationNEXT to create a destination-specific survey for Greater Palm Springs with the goal of ensuring that the efforts of the CVB, our Partners and the nine cities are in alignment.

The team also continued to work on the promotion and rollout of Restaurant Week, gaining additional participating restaurants and sponsors; the summer launch of the Greater Palm Springs Tourism Foundation; and a new partnership with Friends of the Desert Mountains to create hiking content on the CVB website.

Research

Destination NEXT – Greater Palm Springs Destination Assessment
The CVB has contracted DestinationNEXT to survey our tourism, government, education and business Partners in Greater Palm Springs. The goal of the DestinationNEXT survey is to determine if there are any gaps, key issues and opportunities for potential products, amenities, education, programming and experiences that would benefit the Greater Palm Springs tourism industry and grow the local economy.

The study covers 20 topics in 5 sections with a max number of 184 questions per survey. The questions are specific to Greater Palm Springs as a destination as well as to each of the 9 cities.

Surveys have been sent to over 3,000 GPSCVB Partners, stakeholders and industry professionals. The survey will identify key demographic factors including respondents’ age, city and association with the GPSCVB.

The results of the study will be presented at the June 26 CVB Board Meeting.
dineGPS
Restaurant Week
A record number of restaurants – more than 120 – are participating this year; 25 of those are new to Restaurant Week. Other highlights:
- dineGPS Partners/Event Sponsors
  - So Cal Gas Company: As a new Supporting Partner, they will provide scholarships for the Greater Palm Springs Tourism Ambassador CTA® program to restaurants participating in Restaurant Week.
  - FIND Food Bank Promotion: Book a reservation for Restaurant Week on dineGPS.com, and dineGPS will donate $1 to FIND Food Bank which equals 5 meals.
- dineGPS Website
  - New - Diners can now “favorite” restaurants on the website by clicking a heart. Diners can curate a list of their favorite restaurants.
Promotion Updates
- New TREAT advertising campaign is underway in both the regional drive and local markets with print, digital, outdoor, radio and TV advertising.
- The Social Media team ran a sweepstake promotion in March & April and was able to acquire over 2,500 new email subscribers to the dineGPS newsletter.
- The Communications team hosted a media dinner in LA for 15 food and lifestyle media on May 1.
- New for 2019: Greater Palm Springs Restaurant Week will have promotional street pole banners down El Paseo a month prior to the event.
- The Restaurant Week kick-off event is scheduled for Wednesday, May 29 at The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage.
Greater Palm Springs Tourism Foundation

Progress continues on the Tourism Foundation. We are looking forward to a Summer launch. We have met with Simpleview to discuss options for implementing the Accounting protocols suggested by our industry advisors.
Outdoor Adventure

Hiking
In partnership with Friends of the Desert Mountains, we are currently working on creating descriptions and images for the 60+ hiking trails we will feature on the CVB website
Air Service

JumpStart
The CVB will have a presence at the JumpStart Air Service Development Conference with consultants from Ailevon Pacific, June 3-5, 2019. The event will be held in Nashville, TN.

Meetings have been set-up with JetSuiteX, American Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airlines, Delta Airlines, Air Canada, Flair Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Contour Airlines, WestJet and Alaska Airlines.

Ailevon Pacific is reviewing flight data to create an updated presentation for each airline.