KANSAS CITY, Mo. — More than 250 business leaders from Missouri’s $13.4 billion tourism industry will convene at Kansas City’s Downtown Marriott Hotel this week for the 2008 Governor’s Conference on Tourism, following a strong summer season for Kansas City, the Show-Me State’s largest, most populous city. Through August, hotel occupancy in Kansas City was up 2.9 percent compared to the year-earlier period, according to the latest Smith Travel Research report.
Year-over-year hotel occupancy in Missouri was down 2.8 percent, although a late-summer surge at vacation hotspots such as Branson and the Lake of the Ozarks helped Missouri outperform rival states such as Illinois (hotel occupancy down 3.3 percent), Kentucky (down 3.2 percent) and Tennessee (down seven percent). Nationwide hotel occupancy is down 3.5 percent through the end of August.
The Governor’s Conference will feature sessions led by Bruce Turkel, author of Building Brand Value, and Spike Jones, founder of Brains on Fire, and the latest advertisements created by the Missouri Division of Tourism’s advertising agency, St. Louis-based Hoffman/Lewis.
The division’s “Close to Home. Far From Ordinary” advertising campaign achieved high scores among consumers, both for awareness and in influencing their desire to travel to Missouri, according to research conducted by Carmel, Ind.-based Strategic Marketing Research, Inc.
“Travel trends indicate that people are taking a greater number of shorter-duration vacations and spending less time planning in advance,” said R.B. “Bob” Smith, III, interim director, Missouri Division of Tourism. “Traditionally, Missouri has held its own during tough times due to our central location and diverse attractions.”
For more information on Missouri, go to www.VisitMO.com or call 800-519-4800 to order a free 2008 Official Missouri Vacation Planner.
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