one-on-one meetings . My peers and I went to Dover every day from May 30 to June 30 .
The one amazing , feel-good thing through all this was how our members , partners and industry friends rallied . Within Delaware , we were supported by many chambers of commerce , big and small businesses , the Delaware Hotel Lodging Association and the Delaware Restaurant Association . The governor was very supportive , as were our county executive and the mayor of Wilmington .
NTA and ABA were right there when we asked for support , and AAA came out very strong for us , too . Tour operators , meeting planners and travel writers all stepped up and described the need for the CVBs , explaining that tourism business would go elsewhere .
From the copies of letters and emails I received , I can say with confidence that more than 500 letters of support were sent .
Courier : What was the resolution ? Willoughby : The state budget was to be balanced on June 30 , but it took until July 3 . In the early hours of that Monday , one move led to another , and then my phone lit up . I got word that our allocation of the public accommodations tax was restored 100 percent . It felt great , but it wasn ’ t a total celebration . Those in our nonprofit community , which comprise many of our members , received a 20 percent cut . And the scariest part of it all is that nothing was fixed in the budget .
Pictured above are some of the name tags Sarah Willoughby collected from her daily visits to the Delaware state capitol last June .
Courier : What lessons can you offer other DMOs ? Willoughby : We are so thankful that we have a lobbyist ! We heard many times from legislators and others in the process that our offices are included in legislation for a reason , and we should make sure we explain our role in economic development .
So I would tell any DMO colleague to communicate with legislators to describe what you are doing . We have always sent legislators our annual visitor guide , but now we are sending them our monthly consumer e-newsletter — with a tracking report of opens and clicks . We ’ re also inviting state legislators to more of our events . And very important : We are getting to know more legislative aides .
The biggest take-away is that I never want to be back in this situation again ; it ’ s the worst House-of-Cards feeling . But in reality , we very well could be back on the chopping block again .
Sarah Willoughby , CTP , is executive director of the Greater Wilmington CVB ; her email address is swilloughby @ visit wilmingtonde . com . For information about visiting the area , contact Jennifer Arrigo , the bureau ’ s tourism sales manager , at jarrigo @ visitwilmingtonde . com .
Support from NTA
When Jennifer Arrigo , tourism sales manager of the Greater Wilmington CVB , asked NTA President Pam Inman for support in the DMO ’ s battle for funding , Inman responded immediately with a letter to Delaware ’ s Joint Finance Committee . Below are excerpts from that June letter ( bullets added ):
• You should know that while the travel and tourism industry is thriving , destinations are faced with unprecedented competition for visitors .
• Even though Delaware is facing financial challenges , you cannot expect to fill your budgetary bucket by turning off the revenue spigot .
• Tourists — and the dollars and tax revenues they bring — will not simply wander into your state . They must be enticed by marketing experts who can also nurture relationships with tour operators and other travel planners .
• For Wilmington to stand out and draw visitors to Delaware , the city needs a team of professionals who can promote the city and the state to the traveling public as well as to tour operators and meeting planners .
• You might not know the language of the travel industry , but your Wilmington CVB staff does , and their voices are ones that travel planners trust .
• When Wilmington no longer connects with NTA tour operators , those operators — and the busloads of travelers they represent — will no longer connect with Wilmington .
NTAonline . com 19