The flagging economy and tough legislative budget wrangling have leveled out for many state tourism offices, which are back to the business of luring in visitors. And it is a big business: More than $810 billion is spent by travelers in the U.S. every year.Lately, many destination marketers are turning over more of their budgets to digital and social media both to save money and track effectiveness. For state tourism offices, accountability can mean the difference between getting funded or getting cut. Collectively, state destination marketers manage about $677 million in total yearly budgets, while city and specific destinations have more than $1.4 billion, according to the Destination Marketing Association International and U.S. Travel Organizations.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Tourism Offices Attempt at Piece Of $810B Ind
http://adage.com/article/news/1-billion-ways-visit/236439/
The flagging economy and tough legislative budget wrangling have leveled out for many state tourism offices, which are back to the business of luring in visitors. And it is a big business: More than $810 billion is spent by travelers in the U.S. every year.Lately, many destination marketers are turning over more of their budgets to digital and social media both to save money and track effectiveness. For state tourism offices, accountability can mean the difference between getting funded or getting cut. Collectively, state destination marketers manage about $677 million in total yearly budgets, while city and specific destinations have more than $1.4 billion, according to the Destination Marketing Association International and U.S. Travel Organizations.
The flagging economy and tough legislative budget wrangling have leveled out for many state tourism offices, which are back to the business of luring in visitors. And it is a big business: More than $810 billion is spent by travelers in the U.S. every year.Lately, many destination marketers are turning over more of their budgets to digital and social media both to save money and track effectiveness. For state tourism offices, accountability can mean the difference between getting funded or getting cut. Collectively, state destination marketers manage about $677 million in total yearly budgets, while city and specific destinations have more than $1.4 billion, according to the Destination Marketing Association International and U.S. Travel Organizations.
