Convention & Visitor's Bureaus
What is a Convention & Visitors Bureau?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Convention and visitor bureaus are not-for-profit organizations charged with representing a specific destination and helping the long-term development of communities through a travel and tourism strategy. Convention and visitor bureaus are usually membership organizations bringing together businesses that rely on tourism and meetings for revenue.
For visitors, CVBs are like a key to the city. As an unbiased resource, CVBs can serve as a broker or an official point of contact for convention and meeting planners, tour operators and visitors. They assist planners with meeting preparation and encourage business travelers and visitors alike to visit local historic, cultural and recreational sites.
Why is a Convention & Visitors Bureau valuable to a visitor, business traveler or a meeting planner?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CVBs offer unbiased information about a destination’s services and facilities
CVBs save visitors time and energy, as they are a one-stop shop for local tourism interests
CVBs can provide the full range of information about a destination
Most sercvices provided by CVBs cost nothing
If CVBs don't charge for their services, how do they make money?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For most services convention and visitor bureaus do not charge their clients — the visitor, the business traveler and the meeting planner. Instead, most CVBs are funded through a combination of hotel occupancy taxes and membership dues.
Why are meetings and tourism important?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Travel and tourism enhances the quality of life for a local community by providing jobs, bringing in tax dollars for improvement of services and infrastructure, and attracting facilities like restaurants, shops, festivals, and cultural and sporting venues that cater to both visitors and locals.
Travel and tourism is one of the world’s largest service exports and largest employers. In the United States, for example, travel and tourism is the third biggest retail sales sector. The industry contributes more than US$599.2 billion annually to the nation’s economy and generates US$99.4 billion in tax revenues (2004 figures from the Travel Industry Association). Indeed, travel and tourism is an economic engine and CVBs are the key drivers.
How do CVBs help meeting planners?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Convention and visitor bureaus make planning and implementing a meeting less time-consuming and more streamlined. They give meeting planners access to a range of services, packages and value-added extras. Before a meeting begins, CVB sales professionals can help locate meeting space, check hotel availability, and arrange for site inspections. CVBs can also link planners with the suppliers, from motorcoach companies and caterers to off-site entertainment venues, that can help meet the prerequisites of any event.
No matter the size of the meeting being organized, from 50 to 50,000, all planners are encouraged to use a bureau’s services. In fact, some larger bureaus even have staff members dedicated to small meetings.
Among the advantages of going through a CVB to plan a meeting:
CVBs can assist planners in all areas of meeting preparation and provide planners with detailed reference material
CVBs can establish room blocks at local hotels
CVBs will market the destination to attendees via promotional material, thereby encouraging attendance
CVBs can act as a liaison between the planner and community officials, thus clearing the way for special permits, street closures, et cetera
CVBs can obtain special letters of welcome from high-ranking government officials and in some cases, can bring officials to speak at a meeting
CVBs can offer suggestions about ways meeting attendees can maximize free time, along with helping to develop spouse programs and pre- and post-convention tours
What are some of the specific services CVBs can offer the meeting planner?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They can assist in the creation of collateral material
They can assist with on-site logistics and registration
They can provide housing bureau services
They can develop pre- and post-conference activities, spouse tours, and special events
They can assist with site inspections and familiarization tours, as well as site selection
They can provide speakers and local educational opportunities
They can help secure special venues
They can assist in the coordination of local transportation
What information do CVBs have on hotels?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Convention and visitor bureaus keep track of room counts, as well as other meetings coming to the area. In this way, they can help planners avoid conflicts with other events. Moreover, as CVBs have first-hand familiarity with the hotels and with meeting space in the area, they can help planners match properties to specific meeting requirements and budgets.
CONVENTION BUREAUS - VISITOR BUREAUS - CONVENTION AND VISITOR BUREAU
