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Dear Friends of Visit Evansville
It feels like just yesterday that I was greeting you at the start of a new year, embarking on a new position with Visit Evansville. I was excited, I was hopeful and I was anxious to connect with all of you personally. While I couldn’t make the full rounds in 2022, I was privileged to meet with many members of our hospitality and tourism community, along with local leaders and those from around the region and throughout the state. For anyone I didn’t get to in 2022, I look forward to the opportunity to connect in 2023.
So, what exactly happened at Visit Evansville during this year that flew by? We were busy! I’m excited to share some of our 2022 achievements.
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We Met Our Sales Goals!
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Our sales team started the year with a goal to sell 43,000 hotel room nights. Target achieved! We are closing out the year approaching 48,000 room nights booked with an estimated total economic impact of over $29 million. Congratulations to (the award-winning) Megan Heronemus and her team for their hard work this year.
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Included in those new and returning events is the Jehovah’s Witness Conference. A perennial partner to Evansville, this event had observed an interruption in meetings due to the pandemic. We are excited to welcome them back in 2023.
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We reactivated riverboats on our shoreline! Making use of the former LST dock at Inland Marina, we were able to secure six riverboat stops in 2022 and look forward to adding more in 2023. We continue to work towards attracting a permanent riverboat to call Evansville home so that we can offer daytime and nighttime excursions throughout the year.
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Finally, I am excited to announce that Evansville will play host to the Indiana Society of Association Executives in 2023 and the Indiana Tourism Association in 2024. These are significant events for Visit Evansville to earn because they will showcase our destination to the most influential meeting planners and tourism officials in the state. Over the next two years, ISAE and ITA will afford Evansville an incredible opportunity to increase our visibility and status across Indiana’s hospitality landscape.
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We Completed Projects Small & Large!
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Most notably, we completed $3 million in renovations at Deaconess Sports Park this past April, including new turf infields, improved drainage and the flexibility to set bases at alternating distances. Visit Evansville also acquired just over 32 acres adjacent to the sports park for possible future expansion.
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To gain an edge in advertising and promotions, we worked in partnership with our friends at Old National Events Plaza to launch an extensive digital marketing campaign. Aimed at meetings, sports and leisure audiences, this effort has already garnered 1.5 million impressions since October! It has also provided valuable analytics to help inform future campaigns and identify potential new target markets.
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Working with local film industry professionals, we relaunched the “Film Evansville†website aimed at attracting production companies to our area. Visit Evansville staff and partners conducted location scouts with film producers, which was wonderfully educational and terribly fun! We continue to build and refine our assets and collateral to increase this part of our business.
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What is the state of tourism in 2023?
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Evansville will continue its recovery, but it may remain a slower recovery for our leisure and hospitality sector. While the number of visitors increased over the past year, and our hotels performed better in occupancy and daily rates, these gains were steady as compared to similar markets. The number of jobs in the leisure market locally still lags behind 2019, while nationally this sector is one of the strongest to rebound. These statistics shouldn’t raise alarms, however, because in many cases other destinations had further to climb post-pandemic. What it does inform for Visit Evansville, and should inform for all of us, is that we must be intentional in making decisions and taking action that is transformational. How do we plan to do that?
In Q1 of 2023, Visit Evansville will launch a new visual identity designed to reintroduce ourselves to our community and our customers. This new “brand†will coincide with the unveiling of a new website that will have increased functionality for our partners and clients.
We will be heavily involved in the planning for Eclipse 2024. We are looking for the right full-time candidate to help lead this project and ensure we have effective planning and communication leading up to this once-in-a-lifetime event for our region.
Visit Evansville will continue to assess community investment opportunities and funding strategies. Which projects will be transformational for Evansville tourism and Southwest Indiana at large?
Finally, we will be data-driven and respond to changes in the market and industry. Through new software solutions, we now know who our visitors are, where they came from, what they spent in the market and what they said about us after. We will use this information to execute a dynamic marketing strategy and business plan designed to enhance and transform this exciting destination.
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In conclusion…
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I know I’ve thrown a lot at you, and if you’ve made it this far, I commend you! As I’ve said throughout the year, consider us at Visit Evansville the community’s concierge. We are here at your service, open to your feedback and looking to be successful partners. As 2022 winds down, on behalf of our team, we thank you sincerely for your support and enthusiasm this past year, and we wish you a Happy Holiday and a collaborative New Year!
Warm Regards,
Alexis
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Fairfield Inn West Renovations
The Fairfield Inn West, located off Lloyd Expressway, has completed its long-awaited renovation project. This property features an indoor pool, meeting space, and a free breakfast buffet.
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Evansville Regional Airport Accessibility Programs
Evansville Regional Airport (EVV) has launched a new collection of accessibility programs to make the airport more accommodating For EVVeryone, including individuals with hidden disabilities. The global Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Program offers free accessories to airport guests, which discreetly indicate the wearer may need extra time or assistance while traveling through EVV. The Sunflower Program allows travelers to self-identify that they may require additional support while passing through the airport. Sunflower Program accessories such as lanyards, pins or bracelets may be picked up at the airport’s Information Desk pre-security or requested in the airline gate areas post-security. Along with the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Program, EVV also announced two additional programs designed to bring comfort and calm to travelers – CAMSE Kit Sensory Tool Kits that are now available at various customer touch points throughout the airport and a new airport therapy dog partnership with Therapy Dogs International to commence in early 2023.
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Megan Heronemus Receives Statewide Award
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Megan Heronemus, Director of Sales with Visit Evansville, was named the 2022 Individual Supplier of the Year by the Indiana Society of Association Executives (ISAE) at its annual STAR Awards on Thursday, December 8.
Selected among nominations from across the state, The Individual Supplier of the Year award recognizes a person that has provided outstanding customer service to ISAE member associations and has made a significant contribution towards strengthening the local association industry.
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Follow Us To Evansville
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The Evansville Thunderbolts and Visit Evansville collaborated to introduce an exciting new look for the team’s bus that carries players and staff from Evansville to their opponent’s destination. Given the distance that the team travels by coach and the variety of destinations they play in, officials from the hockey team and local tourism bureau saw an opportunity to utilize the exterior of the bus as an advertising tool for Evansville. Highlighting local attractions and events, the images and messaging will invite onlookers to “Follow us to Evansville†as the Thunderbolts travel between cities.
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Leadership Workshop Opportunity
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The Extend Group will be offering leadership training courses for young professionals. The monthly workshops are designed to be a learning system mixed with practical tools to help individuals and their leaders achieve higher levels of performance, self-awareness, and practical solutions to real-world issues. This program is utilized by several large companies such as Nike, Google and Chick-Fil-A.
Classes will be available on January 6th. For more information about this program and the Extend Group, click here!
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Exciting Recent Bookings
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Visit Evansville is thrilled to announce several exciting conventions, tournaments and events coming to our area!
Jehovah’s Witness Ministry Convention
June 2-4, 2023 and June 9-11, 2023
Combined Weekend’s Estimated Direct Economic Impact: $3.8m
Combined Weekend’s Estimated Total Room Nights: 12,000
National Elite Level Sporting Event to be held at the Ford Center
June 25-29, 2024
Estimated Direct Economic Impact: $2.4m
Estimated Total Room Nights: 3,250
Indiana Criminal Justice Association
October 8-11, 2024 and October 5-8, 2027
Combined Year’s Estimated Direct Economic Impact: $426k
Combined Year’s Estimated Total Room Nights: 490
National Fishing Lure Collectors Club Convention
July 10-12, 2025 and July 8-10, 2027
Combined Year’s Estimated Direct Economic Impact: $488k
Combined Year’s Estimated Total Room Nights: 1,400
Indiana Society of Association Executives
July 24-26, 2023
Estimated Direct Economic Impact: $115k
Estimated Total Room Nights: 175
Indiana Tourism Association Convention
March 11-13, 2023
Estimated Direct Economic Impact: $78k
Estimated Total Room Nights: 200
Indiana Society of Professional Land Surveyors Annual Convention
January 15-17, 2025
Estimated Direct Economic Impact: $357k
Estimated Total Room Nights: 520
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Please help and preserve the last area of grassy serenity in the inner city and by opposing the massive, noisy, 24 court pickleball project in our beloved Wesselman Park. The Deaconess Sports Park would be an “ideal” location for this project. It will ruin Wesselman Park. The tennis community tried to expand in Wesselman Park in 2011 and it was stopped. Lets stop it expansion again. Its an inner park, not a sports complex. Deaconess is a Sports Complex.
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