Tuesday, March 4, 2008
James J. Hill Room
Department of Employment & Economic Development
Saint Paul, MN 55101

Present: Maureen Bausch, Rob Buntz, Bonnie Carlson, Gabe Castenada, Butch Eggen, Randy Gutzmann, Nancy Hanson, Deb Lloyd, Lisa Paxton, Ingrid Schneider, Dave Siegel, Kathy Silverthorn, Representative Dean Simpson, John Valliere

EMT Staff Present: John Edman, Leann Kispert, Peggy Lindquist, Michele Peters, Colleen Tollefson, Char Vaughan

Guests: Doug Killian, Maureen Scallen

Welcome and Introductions: Chair John Edman thanked the Council members and guests for attending. Attendees were asked to introduce themselves and provide an update on the winter season.

• Representative Simpson reports that the session is off to a fast pace. May 19 is the scheduled session end date. Heard bill last week on vacation home rentals. Need to be careful where we go with it. EMT should include additional projects they are taking on (i.e. Travel Green, Vacation Home Rentals) when proposing budgets. EMT will be called to do more projects.
• Bloomington hotels doing well. Figures are two months behind in reporting. Figure Skating competition held in Saint Paul in January was a boost. Economy is a concern. Smith Travel Research is predicting a good summer.
• Brainerd area saw more snow this winter than in the past eight years. Mixed results reported. Had some good events in the area. There is a concern of the perception of the economy. This summer, Brainerd will host an “Oxpedition” - similar to Peanuts characters located around Saint Paul, but Brainerd will have Babe statutes throughout the Brainerd Lakes region.
• The federal government recently announced travel restrictions. State government typically follows.
• Cross country skiing has been excellent this winter.
• Northeastern Minnesota saw great snow. Not a lot of motorized use, but skiing holds its own.
• Positive feedback from Golf Show. In April, an economic study of golf will be released.
• Travel in the North Shore area is up.
• Minnesota business air travel is flat; this is optimistic because most domestic travel is soft.
• Received many positive comments from visitors here for the U.S. Figure Skating Competition - metro area is clean and friendly. Hotel rates and occupancy rates are up. Republican National Convention will be coming this summer. There are a lot of preliminary meetings and site tours, which is also big business.
• Mall of America reports that January was slow, which is typical. February was good. Nickelodeon Universe opens March 15, this is a $30 million investment. Anticipate a lot of national and local media coverage. Prom time is also a big time for MOA. Looking for a good summer with RNC in town. International visitors continue at a strong pace.
• Tour Minnesota Association has seen a 400% increase in members updating their websites.
• Consumers will continue to save their money to spend at local celebrations.
• Red Wing area saw results from events in the Twin Cities over the winter. Treasure Island Casino has added an additional 250 hotel rooms. An air show is scheduled in Red Wing, as well as a hot air balloon rally this summer. Very optimistic for summer in Southern Minnesota.
• Does not feel as though the consumer will give up their vacation time in spite of the economy.
• Hospitality Minnesota reports that lodging is doing ok. Restaurants are being hit hard because of the economy

Minutes from December 4th Meeting: Rob Buntz motioned to approve the minutes as submitted. John Valliere seconded the motion. All council members in attendance voted to approve the minutes as submitted.

New Members: A special thank you to the following members for their service and dedication to the Council: Patricia Beckel, Rob Buntz, Gabe Castaneda, Sandy Lexvold, Tom Masloski and Greg Ortale.

The following new members were just appointed and will be invited to the June meeting:

• Ted Siefert, Goodhue County, representing counties
• Charles Skinner, Lutsen Eagle Ridge Resort, representing lodging
• Sam Thompson, Metro Connections, representing tour operators
• Chuck Dougherty, Water Street Inn, representing bed and breakfasts
• Mark Novotony, Congress of Minnesota Resorts, representing resorts
• Brad Jones, Rochester CVB, representing convention facilities

The following members have been reappointed:

• Fred Bobich, Ruttger’s Sugar Lake Lodge, representing chambers
• Nancy Hanson, MN Recreational Trail Users Assn., representing trails
• Julie Lunning, Saint Cloud CVB, representing MACVB
• Kathy Silverthorn, Red Wing CVB, representing Southern MN
• John Valliere, Explore Minnesota Golf Alliance, representing golf

Seasons of Fun - Leann Kispert: When the Council met in September, they suggested that EMT create some type of big promotion/partnership giveaway to drive leads, online and industry traffic, as well as continue awareness. The Seasons of Fun promotion is a result of that direction. This is the largest promotion EMT has undertaken.

There are three promotional periods:

• April 7 - June: Summer of Fun
• August & September: Autumn of Fun
• January & February 2009: Winter of Fun

There are weekly giveaways including destination and attraction prizes, as well as a Grand Prize of a two-year car lease for each season.

Partners include:

• Luther Auto Group
• Dairy Queen
• Arctic Cat
• Erik’s Bikes & Board
• Golf Galaxy

Partners provide approximately $800-900,000 in promotional and media value and prize support.

Television ads will begin to run after March 23 They are 30-second spots rotated with EMT branded campaign. Video banner ads will utilize 30-second television ads. A direct mail will be sent in early April. An E-mail blast will go in mid-April. Dairy Queen will tag their 30-second radio spots, as well as tray liners promoting campaign.

Additional marketing promotion:

Participated in a small promotion with KQRS radio in January. This promotion drove an additional 40,000 visitors to the web.

Legislative Update: EMT received a base budget increase last legislative session. This year, state budget proposal includes $1billion in state cuts. EMT has not yet been asked to submit budget cuts, but it is anticipated. There is a statewide hiring freeze; EMT submitted appeal to fill vacant positions through transfers. Minnesota Film Board requested legislation for $500,000 in carry forward money returned to them. There is a bill on vacation home rental, which is directed to EMT to research.

Colleen Tollefson attended a hearing on Labor Day school start. The resolution passed by this Council was presented to the Committee. One bill did not move forward; the other did but most likely will not continue. This topic can come up again at any point.

John Edman attended the National Council of State Tourism Directors (NCSTD) Spring Meeting in February. Approximately 32 other state tourism directors were in attendance. Of these states, approximately half of them have seen a decrease in funding. Approximately ¼ of the states have seen an increase - through dedicated funding, lodging tax, casino funds. The remaining ¼ budgets have remained the same. With the increase in EMT’s budget, Minnesota’s budget dropped to 30th.

Hospitality Minnesota is hosting Hospitality and Tourism Day at the Capitol on Tuesday, March 11.

There has been a bill introduced to increase the penalty a hotel property can charge patrons for smoking in a non-smoking room.

Hospitality Minnesota is working to seek exemptions for resorts and campgrounds in the change in plumbing codes for hotels.

Need to pay attention to discussions being held to add sales tax to clothing.

Minnesota ranks sixth highest in the nation for tourism tax. Minneapolis is the 8th highest tourism-taxed city.

SF 3087 has been introduced. This would take away the gas tax used for recreation. Tourism industry needs to pay attention to this bill.

Travel Promotion Act: Also presented at the NCSTD meeting was a “Resolution in Support of the Travel Promotion Act of 2008.” This Act would create a public/private partnership which will reinstate the United States as a leader in the international tourism marketplace by creating an umbrella agency for U.S tourism. The bill is currently going through Congress. Congressmen Oberstar and Coleman have signed on. Council members are asked to contact their congressional representatives to sign on to the bill.

Public/Policy Committee - Lisa Paxton: This committee consists of Council members. All are welcome and encouraged to participate in the meetings. When issues are presented to the full Council, if there is significant discussion, they will be referred back to the Public Policy Committee. If issues are consistently re-referred back to the committee, it will need to be determined the value of the committee vs. bringing all policy discussions to the full board.

A motion to approve the Public-Private Tourism Investment Resolution which states:

Whereas, tourism is a key sector of Minnesota’s economy, comparable to agriculture in its contribution to the gross state product;

Whereas, leisure and hospitality in Minnesota generates $10.2 billion in gross annual sales;

Whereas, it is important to continually attract more domestic and international visitors to Minnesota to increase state sales taxes to benefit all sectors of the economy;

Whereas, capital development is vital to enhance Minnesota’s image as a vacation destination for consumers planning their leisure spending;

Whereas, significant private-public investment is needed to improve Minnesota’s leisure and hospitality infrastructure to enhance the state’s tourism appeal;

Therefore, the Explore Minnesota Tourism Council supports:

Private-public investment in the tourism industry to increase visitors and tax revenue to benefit all sectors of Minnesota’s economy.

A motion was presented by Bonnie Carlson and seconded by John Vallerie. All participating members in favor of approval.

The Public Policy Committee was asked to consider the Legacy Act. This act would add a state sales tax to fund outdoor parks, hunting/fishing, arts, parks/trails and clean water. Randy Gutzmann motioned that this is not a role for the Explore Minnesota Tourism Council to pursue. Butch Eggen seconded the motion. All participating members in favor to not pursue any action on the Legacy Act.

Travel Green Report: In 2007, legislation was passed directing Explore Minnesota Tourism to develop a Minnesota travel green program to recognize tourism businesses that have made a commitment to reduce their environmental impact. A task force was created and has met several times over the past year. The committee did not recommend any type of certification program. The three main recommendations of the Task Force are:

1. Educate tourism businesses about “being green”
2. Create a self-reporting system to add “travel green” information to Explore Minnesota businesses and attraction listings, to allow consumers to search on the state travel Web site for businesses utilizing green practices
3. Communicate to consumers travel green business and attraction practices

The next meeting of the Task Force is March 10.

University of Minnesota Tourism Center is conducting the Sustainable Tourism Conference on April 15.

Web Research/Changes - Michele Peters: User group studies were held throughout the region over the past quarter. EMT received some valuable input into the usability of the website. The golf website was redesigned to include a mapping feature. This feature is being added to the exploreminnesota.com site. Another change is in the menu structure: drop down menus have been added. A blog has been added. From the lodging page, the consumer will go directly to the resort or hotel page. An archive of all EMT newsletters has been created. Scenic byways information is being pulled in to the site. Mapping and audio technology will be added to the scenic byways. The industry website is up and running. It is built on blog software. There is an events calendar on the industry website; this is a great place for the industry to keep tourism events on one site. A new feature on the site is the “press room.” This includes a photo gallery for the media, as well as RSS feeds. The My Favorite Minnesota piece is being restructured and will incorporate video.

Grants - Colleen Tollefson: The Innovation Grants began last year. There are some suggested changes for next year, including: Clearly state it is a “Marketing Expense Only” grant program. Staff expenses, administration etc. are not eligible; strengthen the question on available occupancy - ask for specific information on current occupancy rates.

Suggested changes for Organizational Partnerships include: Research component will no longer require three or more communities for funding; ABA and Pow Wow travel trade shows for 2010 will be included in eligibility for the 2009 grant cycle.

Suggested changes for Crisis Grants include: The 60/40 match requirement should be eliminated on some grants; higher cap for crisis grants.

It was suggested the new applicants be guided through the process by regional managers. In the case of Crisis Grants, EMT informs the community.

It was suggested that the changes be posted on the industry site for comments and revisions be addressed at the June Council meeting.

Regional Positioning: There have been many discussions of how to market the regions. It is agreed that to divide the state geographically makes the most sense. A research study was completed by a consultant that confirms this. Each region determined what is unique about their area through their own regional meeting. A new map addressing those regions has been created. The next step is to take the map back to the regions and then meet with the Council via conference call because a decision needs to be made before the end of April in order to get in to the 2009 publications and reconfigure the databases. This will also affect other organizations.

Naming the regions has not been determined.

Tourism Conference: EMT is planning to hold Listening Sessions around the state to look at long-range forecast for tourism. These sessions will be tied in to existing meetings scheduled throughout the year. Plan to use the information gathered to tie into the 2009 Tourism Conference. The Conference will be forward-thinking, with a long-range vision. It will be held in the Twin Cities. This Conference needs to bring the industry together. A meeting to further discuss is scheduled for March 12.

Other:

Family Motorcoach Association held its sport show in Ponomo, California. This group will be in Minnesota in mid-July. Minnesota needs to maximize this opportunity.

Cereal box and brochures are available.

A Council conference call on regional positioning will be scheduled when recommendations from the Task Force are in place, around the end of April.

Information on University of Minnesota Tourism Center distributed.

Tourism Caucuses are held the second Thursday of the month at 7:30 a.m. Call your local Representative and Senator and encourage them to attend.

Remaining 2008 meeting dates: June 11, September 10 and December 2.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Mall of America
Bloomington, MN

Present: Maureen Bausch, Bonnie Carlson, Gabe Castenada, Fred Bobich, Butch Eggen, Randy Gutzman, Sandy Lexvold, Deb Lloyd, Julie Lunning, Senator Mary Olson, Deanna Pekaar, Dave Siegel, Kathy Silverthorn, Hank Todd, John Valliere

EMT Staff Present: John Edman, Peggy Lindquist, Michele Peters, Pat Simmons, Colleen Tollefson, Char Vaughan

Guests: Doug Killian (Mall of America), Rob Rankin (Clarity Coverdale Fury), Maureen Scallen (Meet Minneapolis), Kathy Schroeder (Brainerd  Lakes Chamber)

Introductions: Chair John Edman asked members and guests to introduce themselves.

Mall of America Update: Maureen Bausch introduced the Council to Phase II of the Mall expansion. Effective March 2008, Nickelodeon will become the partner of the park area. Phase II will include 1.1 million square feet of retail and 1,600 hotel rooms. It will be geared towards older families. For every $1 spent at the Mall of America, tourists are spending $2-$3 outside MOA when traveling throughout the state. This expansion creates jobs within the tourism industry. Council members were provided speaking points for the expansion.

Explore Minnesota Tourism will continue providing Minnesota brochure distribution, increasing from one to two locations at the Mall.

Council Appointments: Half of the Council members’ terms expire in January 2008. Those interested need to reapply through the Secretary of State’s website.

Advertising Update - Rob Rankin, Clarity Coverdale Fury: The newest webisodes include activities such as night life, sporting activities, Main Street, outdoor/indoor activities and Minnesota’s national treasures.

A story ran in The New York Times featuring the author from the mashed potato webisode. That webisode has received over 500,000 hits on YouTube.

Pre and post awareness was measured by the agency. Approximately 800 consumers were interviewed. Of those 800, half are Minnesota residents. The objective of the research was to better understand the effect the campaign has on consumer awareness, perceptions and behavior. The post awareness tracking was conducted between October 8-19, 2007. In order to establish a baseline, pre-wave interviews were conducted in March of 2007.

Key findings include:

• Unaided gains are particularly strong in non-Minnesota markets
• Unaided ad awareness is up from 18% to 29%
• Advertising recall is strong for ads that depict tips from Minnesotans
• Nearly all (93%) of those who recalled a website being advertised recalled the name exploreminnesota.com, half of them with no aid
• “Exploreminnesota.com” is a highly recognized site, with half recalling the name of the site unaided
• The videos and My Favorite Minnesota appear to be important to perceptions of inspiration
• Unaided gains are particularly strong in non-Minnesota markets

This information will help Explore Minnesota Tourism set goals for the future and determine where we are and where we need to be.

Michele Peters will be in Chicago December 6 and 7 to observe user groups who will be navigating through exploreminnesota.com and a few other select state tourism web sites.

Public Policy Committee - Butch Eggen: The Public Policy Committee met November 26. Eleven people participated in the meeting. There were three ongoing resolutions that were discussed. This included: School year calendar, lodging tax and tourism funding.

The school year calendar language that was approved by the Public Policy Committee reads:

WHEREAS, Minnesota claims one of the highest levels of K-12 learning in the country;

WHEREAS, increasing classroom time does not have to compete with Minnesota tourism industry;

WHEREAS, learning benefits and outcomes are important to the tourism industry;

WHEREAS, school calendars can have an impact on both family vacation options and seasonal employment;

Therefore, the Explore Minnesota Tourism Council supports:
Quality education as a high priority for the state;

A school calendar that addresses the best learning outcomes available while preserving Minnesota’s heritage of summer, including preserving a post Labor Day School start date; and

Investigating other tools to increase learning outcomes before changing the start date or increasing the number of educational days in the school year.

The Lodging Tax language that was approved by the Public Policy Committee reads:

WHEREAS, local economies around the state utilize the local option lodging tax to attract visitors from outside of their area;

WHEREAS, the Minnesota lodging tax in M.S. 469.190 is to be used exclusively to market and promote tourism and convention destinations through a variety of methods;

WHEREAS, the ability to fund these promotion efforts to a level that is competitive in the marketplace is critical to a destination’s success;

WHEREAS, the ability to impose a local option lodging tax to secure funding for these promotional efforts is critical to the promotion of many of Minnesota’s tourism destinations.

Therefore, the Explore Minnesota Tourism Council supports:
The existing statute, M.S. 469.190, providing a local option lodging tax of up to three percent on the gross receipts from lodging and dedicating ninety-five percent of the gross proceeds only to marketing and promotion of tourism.

The Tourism funding resolution that was approved by the Public Policy committee reads:

WHEREAS, tourism is a key sector of Minnesota’s economy, comparable to agriculture in its contribution to the gross state product;

WHEREAS, leisure and hospitality in Minnesota generates $10.2 billion in gross annual sales;

WHEREAS, more than $628 million is generated annually in state sales taxes;

WHEREAS, Minnesota’s leisure and hospitality industry employs more than 242,000 workers;

WHEREAS, every $1 invested in state tourism marketing returns an estimated $4.60 in state and local taxes; $20.40 in wages and $53 in gross sales;

WHEREAS, Minnesota tourism has slipped from 25th to 29th in overall U.S. state tourism budgets;

WHEREAS, Minnesota is being severely outspent by many of our competitors;

Therefore, the Explore Minnesota Tourism Council supports:
Funding to market Minnesota tourism with a goal of $20 million per year by 2010.

Bonnie Carlson motioned to pass the Resolutions as submitted. Seconded by Dave Siegel.

Discussion on the resolutions:

• Public/Policy Committee should also address federal issues.
• Public/Policy Committee should address Phase II of Mall of America. This is Minnesota’s #1 attraction. It creates jobs, taxes and tourism for the state.
• Is it prohibitive to call out the lodging tax of up to 3%? Individual communities could also approach legislature for more.
• There are a number of competing regional projects. It is difficult to single out support to one specific project.
• As a group, should endorse those projects that help the growth of tourism.
• Encourage the Public/Policy Committee to schedule a meeting to address tourism projects that encourage tourism and economic development
• Must remain mindful of law; integrity of intent of law
• Add a line to include “as well as being open to local initiatives”
• These resolutions are a statement of support, focusing on existing law.
• Tourism is marketing and promotion, not infrastructure
• Should “of up to three percent” be removed? It was a major point of discussion for the Task Force.

Butch Eggen called a question on the resolutions motioned to pass by Bonnie Carlson and seconded by Dave Siegel. Hank Todd and Maureen Bausch opposed the resolution. All other Council members in attendance voted in favor.

The Public Policy Committee will schedule a meeting in early January.

Travel Green - Colleen Tollefson: Two meetings have been held on the Travel Green initiative. Draft report to be sent for review prior to December 11th meeting. Explore Minnesota Tourism has put forward a legislative initiative for funding to build its’ database to include Travel Green information for accommodations to provide to consumers.  Explore Minnesota Tourism will work to incorporate Travel Green information in it’s’ database - both via extranet and enhancements. The role of the Office is to educate businesses.

Explore Minnesota Tourism Audit - John Edman: The state auditors were at Explore Minnesota Tourism office throughout the summer, conducting an audit of Explore Minnesota Tourism. Information from fiscal years 2005, 2006 and 2007 were reviewed. This is the first complete audit since EMT became a separate entity. Report suggested some minor procedural changes that have already been addressed. The full report can be found at http://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/FAD/2007/fad07-28.htm

Innovative Partnership Grant Report - Colleen Tollefson: When analyzing the partnership program, the Council suggested that a grant should be available on a competitive basis, for innovative projects. Twenty-five preapplications were received; with 17 actual applications. The applications were evaluated by outside people and one Explore Minnesota Tourism staff person. Eight projects were funded, for a total of $170,000. Those projects are listed on the industry website. Some changes in the application process will be implemented next year.

Explore Minnesota Tourism 2008 Strategic Plan - John Edman: The Council met in September to provide input for the 2008 Strategic Plan. Several of the changes or additions to this plan are a direct result of the Council’s suggestions.

Fred Bobich motioned to approve the Explore Minnesota Tourism 2008 Strategic Plan as written. Kathy Silverthorn seconded the motion. All council members in attendance voted to approve the Strategic Plan.

Regional Positioning Study Report - Pat Simmons: A Request for Proposal was sent out for a regional positioning study. The study was awarded to Strategic Marketing & Research, Inc. (SMRI). Explore Minnesota currently markets the state as four geographic travel regions. These regions are a tool for marketing, but not always the best way for the consumer to find a location. Research also found that when planning travel, many plan based on an activity. Looking to the regions to help provide additional information for those who already know where the consumer wants to travel.  Many consumers are looking for a city and are unaware in which region it is located.

This information was presented at the November Quad Regional meeting

The next steps include how to market for the 2009 Minnesota Travel Guide. Will work with the Council member representing each region (Bonnie Carlson, Kathy Silverthorn, Butch Eggen and Lisa Paxton), as well as the four regional presidents.

The next Quad Regional meeting is scheduled in February and a plan will be presented at that time. The Council will review at the March meeting.

Revenue Department Results - John Edman: A cereal box will be produced again as a way to highlight tourism statistics. The theme of the 2008 box is Minnesota’s Sesquicentennial.

Website Developments -Michele Peters: Explore Minnesota Tourism is looking to form an IT advisory committee, consisting of three or four people to act as interactive support. The committee would be people who are experts in the field. The intent is to have this group named by early March. The committee would meet two or three time per year to review and guide in website development.

It was suggested that EMT discuss with Weber Shandwick, as they support this type of concept.
Other:
2008 Explore Minnesota Tourism Conference:
The 2008 Explore Minnesota Tourism Conference will be held January 22-24 at the Alltel Civic Center in Mankato. As in the past, Council members will be asked to moderate sessions and/or introduce speakers. The legislative hearing committee of the Senate Economic Development Budget Division & the House Heritage Finance Commitee will be held at the conference.

2008 Council Meeting Dates:
Proposed meeting dates for 2008 are: March 4, June 11, September 10 and December 2. These dates were previously e-mailed to Council members with no conflicts noted by members.

Guest: Maureen Scallen

EMT Staff: John Edman, Leann Kispert, Peggy Lindquist, Michele Peters, Pat Simmons, Colleen Tollefson, Char Vaughan

Welcome and Introductions: Chair John Edman thanked the members for their attendance and support.  There are currently five vacancies on the Council.  Governor’s Office is finalizing the paperwork for the new appointees and should be completed in the near future.

A Strategic Planning Session will be held with the Council on September 11 and 12.  Further information will be provided to members.

Members were asked to introduce themselves and their affiliation.  Members provided any updates and summer outlook for their industry sector.

Updates/Outlooks include:

• Brainerd summer season is starting well.  Lake levels are up.
• Minnesota Valley area is slow, but business      is picking up.
• Minnesota Recreational Trail Users Association recently received the President’s Volunteer Award.
• Tour Minnesota Association recently had a bus “wrapped” and will showcase it at the event at Valleyfair
• Saint Cloud has seen an increase in business, lodging and lodging tax collections
• Minneapolis is hosting several conventions. Business is good.  Revenue is      up over 9%.

Legislative Review - John Edman: EMT’s budget received an increase of $1 million to its base budget.  The Governor’s recommendation was for an additional $1 million in the first year of the biennium and another $2 million in the second year.  New funds will be used for marketing, grants and web/electronic marketing.

The Minnesota Film and TV Board will receive $325,000 per year from our budget.  The Snowbate Program is funded at $650,000 per year for the next two fiscal years.  The Snowbate Program received $1.7 million last year.  Of this, $150,000 has been used to date. Funding is available through June 30.  Mr. Todd motioned that Explore Minnesota Tourism ask the Attorney General’s Office for an opinion on any unspent funds relating to the Minnesota Film and TV Board if this is not authorized by the Department of Finance. Ms. Carlson seconded the motion.  All members in favor.

There is $150,000 allocated to the St. Louis County Heritage/Arts Center in the first fiscal year.

Minnesota Sesquicentennial received a separate appropriation of $750,000.

The legislative auditor is currently reviewing Explore Minnesota Tourism’s program.  This is a normal state process.

Travel Green Program - John Edman:

A “Travel Green” program was introduced in the 2007 legislative session.  This program directs EMT to coordinate an analysis of a Minnesota Travel Green program, in cooperation with a number of agencies, organizations and businesses.  The specific language can be found in Chapter 131, S.F. 1131.  This language was authored by Senator Satveer Chaudhary.  Council members feel further clarification is needed on EMT’s role prior to gathering all parties together.

Approximately three meetings are anticipated between now and the end of the year.  EMT Council representation is needed for this program.  The following members agreed to participate:  Fred Bobich, Randy Gutzmann, Senator Mary Olson and Hank Todd.

Minnesota Waste Wise is operated through the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and would be a good contact for this process.

Council members discussed how there are two different components to this program.  The first being the ecotourism/marketing promotion; the second being “best practices”/ways for hotels/resorts/restaurants, etc. to do better.  One way to promote the concept is to recognize leaders at the Tourism Conference.

Public Policy Committee Report - Lisa Paxton:

The Public Policy Committee developed an Outline for Council review.  The following changes to the document were recommended by the Council:

• Change title of document from “EMT Public Policy Committee Structure Outline” to “EMT Public Policy Committee Guidelines.”
• Remove the sentence “The Committee will not consider issues that benefit only one entity.”

Minutes from the May 7 meeting were distributed.  It has been determined that the Public Policy Committee can meet via telephone/conference call.  Voting can take place via conference call, but not via e-mail.

The legislative funding is headed in the right direction.  It is critical to have hearings in the legislature and have constituents contact their representatives.  Council should always think big.

Travel Leadership Summit - John Edman:

Last year, Minnesota sent eight delegates to the Travel Leadership Summit in Washington, DC.  This year’s Summit will be held September 26-27.  The Public Policy Committee recommends that Minnesota continue to participate and schedule appointments, however a dinner sponsorship was not recommended.  The following members expressed interest in attending this year:  Hank Todd, Bonnie Carlson, Rob Buntz, Senator Mary Olson, Greg Ortale (or a representative from Meet Minneapolis).  Additional information will be provided to Council.

Discover America Partnership - John Edman:

Discover America Partnership is an effort to coalesce the United States tourism industry into one voice and help national policy makers understand travel and tourism’s diplomatic and economic significance.  The ultimate strategic goals of this program are to have the tourism industry of the United States become a powerful and respected voice in national policy that may affect tourism and increase international visitation to the U.S.  The biggest issues include:  visa issues, homeland security and marketing the United States.
States have been asked to pledge to financially fund this umbrella organization.

Council members agree that a national tourist board is needed and Minnesota should support.  Suggested contribution from the State of Minnesota is $5,000.  No motion necessary.

Organizational Partnership Program - Colleen Tollefson: The Task Force has met to discuss the Organizational Partnership Program and a new innovative program.  Explore Minnesota Tourism went through regional associations to determine representation for this Task Force.  At a previous meeting, the Council recommended that the current partnership program continue, but another program be introduced.  The new program should be innovative.  The new Innovative Partnership Program was developed to offer eligible organizations an opportunity to try an innovative marketing approach to increase travel to their destinations.  Applicants must be Minnesota non-profit organizations formed for the primary purpose of tourism promotion or having tourism marketing as a major component of their programming.  The program covers projects conducted in the calendar year 2008.  The process will include a pre-application which will be due in September.  Actual application deadline is October 2.  Funding level of partnership will be a minimum of $10,000 and maximum of $30,000.  There will be no limit to the number of applications an organization can submit.  Awards will be based only on scoring.

Comments from the Council include:

• Needs to be clear on the legislative match incentive.
• Is 10 points enough to award the portion of fitting into EMT’s goals?
• Add measure to track effectiveness.
• Evaluation page needs to be changed to 6-10 projects.
• Need criteria for grading.
• Would it be worthwhile to add examples

A motion was carried to adopt the new Innovative Partnership Program.  The Council agreed that Explore Minnesota Tourism should try it for one year and evaluate it at the end of the year.  Upon completion of the evaluation, recommendations may be made to the Council.  Motion was made by Rob Buntz and seconded by Greg Ortale.  All members in favor.  Motion carried.

Pre-Marketing Awareness Research - Pat Simmons: Telephone interviews were conducted between March 7 - 17, prior to the launch of the media campaign.  Questions were asked to determine consumer awareness of Explore Minnesota Tourism and My Favorite Minnesota advertising; intended travel to Minnesota; perceptions of travel/activities associated with Minnesota; intended and actual website visits and website behavior.  The advertising objectives of this campaign are: to increase awareness of Explore Minnesota Tourism; drive traffic to the website; increase newsletter subscriptions; generate inquiries; and increase the number of resident and non-resident travel.  For comparison purposes, surveying will be done again in Fall 2007, Spring 2008, and then on an annual basis.

A Request for Proposals was sent out for a Regional Positioning Study.  The purpose is to determine how the state is being presented and marketed to the consumer.  A vendor has not yet been selected.  Project is scheduled to be completed by the end of October.

Marketing Update - Leann Kispert: Television is currently running in all Minnesota markets, Fargo, Sioux Falls, Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, LaCrosse, Eau Claire, Thunder  Bay and Winnipeg.  Madison television spots will be added July 1.  The spots are staggered and run through September.  Worked with Mall of America to air the TV spots on the new plasma screens throughout the Mall for six weeks.  Webisodes are online on YouTube, Yahoo Video and other video sites.  Receiving numerous media inquiries regarding the webisodes.

Half-page insertions continue in AAA and Midwest Living magazines.  Full-page ads were placed in the Sunday editions of the Star Tribune, Pioneer Press, Winnipeg Free Press, Des Moines Register and Sioux Falls Argus Leader.  Direct mail was sent to 275,000 recipients at the end of April.  One version promoted fishing, the other general family fun.  To date, nearly 33,000 reply cards were returned for the kits.  Paid online searches with Google and Yahoo have been extremely strong - averaging 3,000 hits per day.

Partnering with the Minnesota Zoo, in conjunction with the opening of their new Minnesota Trail scheduled to open in early July.  Numerous cross-promotional activities will be occurring throughout the summer.  Continue partnership with the Minnesota Twins.  This partnership provides radio exposure throughout most of Minnesota and in-stadium promotional opportunities.  Current agreement expires at the end of June, but may extend the agreement.

Minnesota hosted Active America in May.  This included 43 Japanese tour operators and 75 suppliers from throughout the country.

A Two Nations Familiarization Tour will take place the week of June 18.  Operators will be coming from nine different states.  Participation was capped at 40.

Website Update - Michele Peters: An updated version of the website will be released early next week.  The site will now include houseboats and outfitters.  A new host will be on board in the near future.  Web traffic has increased:  from April to May of 2006, a 2 % increase in traffic was noted; from April to May of 2007, a 30% increase in traffic occurred.  More than 100 consumers have added their lists to “My Favorite Minnesota.”  The first project of Phase II is to have mapping available.  The golf and scenic byways sites will be integrated onto exploreminnesota.com.  Will begin to explore reservation systems on the web.  All website advertising has been brought internal.

Explore Minnesota Tourism has been working on Travel Minutes.  This is a 60-second radio spot that airs each weekday.  If you have an event, destination or attraction, please provide content to Michele Peters.

Border Crossing Issues - John Edman: A planning session will be held in the fall to determine what is needed to cross the border.  Council members interested in attending should contact John Edman.

Organizational Assessment Survey - John Edman: A survey has been sent to approximately 3,000 lodging, camping, attractions and tourism industry representatives asking for their feedback on the services provided by Explore Minnesota Tourism.  This survey will be sent to the Council.

Strategic Planning Overview - John Edman: The session is scheduled to begin Tuesday, September 11 at 1 p.m. and will conclude at 12 noon on Wednesday, September 12.  Additional information will be sent to the Council.  May look at hiring an outside facilitator.

Present: Maureen Bausch, Rob Buntz, Gabe Castaneda, Randy Gutzmann, Nancy Hanson, Tom Maslowski, Greg Ortale, Lisa Paxton, Ingrid Schneider, Representative Dean Simpson, Representative John Ward

Guests: Kathy O’Connell (Great Clips IMAX), Maureen Scallen (Meet Minneapolis/MACVB)

Explore Minnesota Tourism Staff: John Edman, Leann Kispert, Peggy Lindquist, Michele Peters, Colleen Tollefson, Char Vaughan

Welcome and Introductions: Chair John Edman thanked the members for their attendance and support.  Members were asked to introduce themselves and their affiliation.

Half of the Council members’ terms expired in January 2007.  The following members have resigned as of January 2007:
• Wally Heise
• Shawn Radford
• Tom Whelan
• Shawn Mason

New appointments have not yet been announced.

Even if term has expired, the Council member remains on the Council until the vacancy is filled by the Governor’s Office.

The new legislative appointments are:  Senator Amy Koch, Senator Tom Saxhaug and Representative John Ward.  Representative Dean Simpson remains on the Council.

It was suggested by the Council that a two-term limit should be enforced.

Public Policy Meeting Report – Lisa Paxton: The Public Policy Committee met February 13.  Governor Pawlenty has included an increase in Tourism’s budget.  It is less than the recommendation of the Council.

The Public Policy Task Force addressed what issues they should be considering.  If the issue applies to two industry areas or is a statewide issues, they have agreed to consider.

John Edman presented to the agency overview committee in the Senate and will present to the Heritage Finance Committee meeting next week.

The Public Policy Committee presented the following resolution to the full Council to consider for a motion:

“Whereas it is in the best interests of the people of Minnesota to fund Tourism and thereby bring more tax revenue to the State by a factor of approximately 4.6 x $1 spent, the EMT Council supports the Governor’s Budget Initiative for funding for tourism and reaffirms their recommendation and their goal of $20 million per annum by 2010.”

The motion was made by Lisa Paxton and seconded by Rob Buntz.

Discussion by the Council included the following comments:
• Change “their recommendation” to its’ recommendation”
• Speak positive about any increase
• This is an opportunity for the Council to continue its’ visibility
• EMT cannot promote the $20 million by 2010 because it is not part of the Governor’s budget
• Is this a realistic goal, or is it a set up for failure?

The Resolution will be changed to reflect the requested change of “their recommendation” to “its recommendation.”  With this change, the Council passed the Resolution.

Another motion was presented by Lisa Paxton for the Council to consider motions on resort taxes, tourism loan program, shoreland management and post Labor Day school day starts.  Tom Maslowski seconded the motion.  All Council members agreed to consider the motions.

Discussion on Post Labor Day school start.  The following suggestions were made by the Council:
• School year could extend into June
• Extend the school day
• Eliminate some days off
• By adding 30 minutes per day, that amount is equal to 14 additional days per year

School officials state that it costs the state a minimum of $18 million to add ONE day to school year.

The Public Policy Task Force has agreed to check into other options for the school year in order to pursue the Post Labor Day School Start.

RESOLUTION:
Colleen Tollefson and Lisa Paxton will address the words of the resolution and share with entire Council at a future date.  *NOTE:  These resolutions can be found at the end of the full meeting notes.

The resolutions passed at this Council meeting will be addressed in a press release to legislators and Capitol Press, as well as announced in the EMT Express.

Marketing Campaign Update – Leann Kispert: The new marketing campaign was showcased at the Tourism Conference.  The new website will launch March 22.

The focus of advertising will be electronic and specific.

Television ads will begin on March 26 and run through September.  These spots will run in all Minnesota markets, as well as several other markets in the surrounding states.

Thirty-second radio spots will begin March 19 and run through late July.  These spots are in partnership with the Minnesota Broadcasters Association.

Also partnering with Minnesota Twins Network.  Preseason games are underway and two “live reads” occur during each game.  Once the regular season begins, EMT will have two :30 second ads, and two lives reads during each home game.  There will also be in-stadium advertising and an ad on scorecards.

Other advertising includes ½ page ads in Midwest Living and AAA.  An ad will also appear in Frommer’s Budget Travel.  Will also advertise in the May issue of Golf Digest.

Online advertising and banner ads will be done in cooperation with Minnesota Public Radio.

Two direct mails will be sent in late April.  The first will promote fishing; the second will promote summer fun.

Cooperative advertising will be done with the Chicago Sun Times and USA Today Weekend.  The USA Today Weekend piece will appear April 1 in the Midwest region.  The circulation is 1.9 million.

“My Favorite Minnesota” event is scheduled for March 15 from 6 – 9 pm.  This is a chance to introduce the media to the new EMT public relations plan.

Explore Minnesota Tourism will begin a special collaboration with the Minnesota News Network (a state-wide radio network of approximately 80 stations) on April 2.  This effort will provide EMT with one 60-second radio feature each weekday called the “Explore Minnesota Travel Minute.”

Minnesota will celebrate its Sesquicentennial in 2008.  The Governor held a press conference last week.  An Executive Director has been hired and a communications firm - Weber Shandwick – has volunteered to help.  A $2 million request has been submitted to the legislature for Sesquicentennial promotions.

Clarity Coverdale Fury has completed over one dozen webisodes.  The most recent ones are performing arts and romantic getaways.  Shot snowmobiling and snowboarding this past week.  Upon review of the webisodes, Maureen Bausch suggested that these videos be played at the Mall of America.  MOA will have 100 television screens throughout the Mall.  EMT would need to add “exploreminnesota.com” to display.

The webisodes will continue to be developed.  Working on a contest that would run in May for students to create a webisode.  The grand prize would be the opportunity for the student to star in the next commercial.

The Request for Proposal (RFP) for web hosting has been awarded.  Announcement will be made once proposal has been finalized and signed.

Web enhancement sales are being done internally by EMT staff.  Over $50,000 in enhancements have been sold so far.  A direct mail with more detailed information will be sent in early April.

Plans for Phase II of web development are already underway.  Plan for the golf microsite to be incorporated in to the rest of the site by June.  Other plans being looked at are: Ipod downloads, offering travel packages, more involved trip planner, customized web changes, reservation system.

Legislative Update – Dean Simpson: Committee deadline is April 2.  Went from 22 committees to 36.  There is a big appetite for spending this year.  A tourism increase is in the Governor’s proposal.   Legislators are becoming much more educated on the tourism issues.

There is a real push in the legislature to eliminate the Post Labor Day school start. All consumers and industry people affected by this need to contact their local legislators.

Partnership Grant Program – Colleen Tollefson: The Organizational Grant Partnership grants to non-profit tourism promotion organizations, including both statewide and local organizations, to promote and facilitate increased travel to and within the state of Minnesota.  The grants require that at least 60% of the total project cost be contributed by the organization with up to 40% of the costs paid through the partnership program.  Approximately 10% of the Explore Minnesota Tourism general fund budget is assigned to the Partnership program.  Funding was provided to 93 organizations in 2007.  To date, all 2007 applications have been fully funded.

Winter grant applications are due in May and are for projects that occur between October and March.  They do not need to be winter-related.
A separate Scenic Byways Partnership was also made available.  The scenic byways grants had a cap of $2,500.

Some of the questions that the Council needs to address are:
• Is the goal of increased travel to and within the State valid or should it be revised?
• Currently, the program establishes areas and organizational eligibility and funds those that fall within these categories.  Would it be better to have a competitive funding process (not all organizations are funded, others receive greater funding)?
• Should a funding priority be established for new or innovative programs/projects:

Comments from the Council include:
• Partnership program should not be an entitlement program
• A group of industry representatives who do not receive funding from this program should evaluate the entries
• When submitting consideration for funding, should also have to include projected economic impact
• Guidelines should have an element that inspires innovation
• Funding needs to roll forward if not used
• Requests should be made competitive
• Requests should tie in with EMT’s marketing approach
• These grants mean a lot to small, local groups
• It is a chance to get Minnesota out in the marketplace
• Process needs to be streamlined
• Program needs stronger quality control
• Partnerships should not be status quo.  They should challenge and push the industry.
• Is there an opportunity to produce an industry blog to assist and support each other

RESOLUTION:
“Explore Minnesota Tourism should consider raising its grant base to a higher level.  A two tier program should be explored.”  Greg Ortale motioned to pass this resolution.  Randy Gutzmann seconded the motion.  Resolution passed with all members in favor.

Regional Positioning – Colleen Tollefson: A Quad Regional meeting is scheduled on March 16.  Currently, regions are labeled “NorthCentral West,” “Northeastern” etc.  These labels have little impact to a traveler who does not know the state. Discussion will be held on how to best market the different areas/subregions in the state.  Council suggested that Clarity Coverdale Fury or Davidson Peterson do some type of research to address.

Davidson Peterson Studies – John Edman: Davidson Peterson completed a year-long study of economic impact and traveler profile.  Last year, the Council recommended that this year be skipped and do study every other year.   It is time to look for partners and prepare RFP.

Scenic Byways – Colleen Tollefson: There were eight recipients for the scenic byways grant program.

Scenic Byways site has geocoding functions.  This was funded through a federal grant.  It is the hope to use this feature in the future on the entire exploreminnesota.com website.

Current federal grant will be used for on-the-road technology.  This grant is for $50,000.  Submitted a new grant request for $90,000 to continue this project to develop podcasts on the byways.

New Scenic Byway brochures will be printed with a two-year distribution plan.

Working with MnDOT on new highway map.  The back panel will be used for scenic byway information.

Strategic Planning Discussion – John Edman: The Council is needed to address and focus on the overall strategic plan of the office.  The next full Council meeting will be held June 12 and 13.  Strategic plan is the agenda of this Council meeting.

Weather Implications on Tourism – Colleen Tollefson: A drought task force meeting was held recently.  The tourism effect on the drought is the potential of wildfires due to the low precipitation this winter.  There is a need to keep people informed, but must not let perception of the situation override the reality of the situation.

Meeting adjourned.

*At the March 9, 2007 Explore Minnesota Tourism Council meeting, the followings resolutions were passed:

• To recommend an increase in the values for the first tier of class 1c resorts to $1 million;

Rapid property value increases have a significant impact on the ability of small homestead resorts to remain viable.  The Legislature has responded to this by making a significant shift in property tax policy for homestead resorts.  The current system allows for reduced tax rates on the value of the homestead resort in three tiers.  Present efforts are to increase the amount of homestead resort value in the first tier from $500,000 to $1,000,000.  (H.F. 969/S.F. 1594)

• To support the preemption of local zoning to eliminate varied approaches to resort related shoreland management issues throughout the state, specifically to:
o Rebuild and maintain structures at the resort, including in the shore impact zone;
o Expand minimally (no closer to the lake) to meet code requirements; and,
o Clarify that a change of ownership does not constitute a change of “use” for zoning purposes.

Currently, zoning issues may be addressed at the municipal, township or county level, leading to varied responses to the same issue throughout the state.  Efforts to control shoreline have placed pressures on small resort properties to sell.  Some restrictions on resorts are so severe that a resort owner cannot repair storm, fire or other damage.  Code requirements, including ADA and Department of Health requirements, can be in conflict with existing zoning restrictions.  A consistent, statewide policy that allows resort properties to maintain, repair, replace and grow is needed.  (H.F. 849/S.F. 961)

• To support reinstatement of the tourism loan program if funds are available;

During 1990-2003, the Tourism Loan Program made 208 loans to 170 different customers.  The loan program has been a business asset to a great number of lodging properties.  In addition to the favorable interest rate, the program also includes business planning benefits.  The program is no longer capitalized and existing loan repayments are returned to the general fund.

• To continue to support the post Labor Day school start and explore other options to address educational needs:

Increased learning outcomes are compatible with Minnesota’s traditions of summer.  There are many reforms proposed for K-12 education; all day-every day kindergarten, longer school days, increasing the number of education days per year, and many more.  Reforms that compliment students, families and the many businesses that depend on the school calendar can be accomplished.  A change in current law regarding the start of the school year is not necessary to make progressive change in Minnesota’s educational outcomes.  (H.F. 482, H.F. 510/S.F. 465, S.F. 381)

• Whereas it is in the best interest of the people of Minnesota to fund Tourism and thereby bring more tax revenue to the State by a factor of approximately 4.6 x each $1 spent, the EMT Council supports the Governor’s Budget Initiative for funding for tourism and re-affirms its recommendation and goal of $20 million per annum by 2010.

Currently, Minnesota tourism has slipped from 25th to 29th in overall U.S. state tourism budgets.  Minnesota is being severely outspent by many of our competitors.  The Council has established a goal of significantly increased funding to market Minnesota tourism ($20 million per annum by 2010).  Increased funding would be used for increased marketing.  The Governor has recommended an increase in the tourism budget, starting with a base of $9.7 million and providing up to a $1 million incentive fund in FY08 and up to a $2 million incentive fund in FY09.  (H.F. 851/S.F. 797)

Guests:  Jac Coverdale, Brad Kustermann, Biz Polloway, Rob Rankin

EMT Staff:  John Edman, Bob Erler, Peggy Lindquist, Cheryl Offerman, Michele Peters, Pat Simmons, Colleen Tollefson, Char Vaughan

Welcome and Introductions:  Chair John Edman thanked the members for their attendance and continued support of Explore Minnesota Tourism and the tourism industry.  Members were asked to introduce themselves and list their top three issues for 2007.

Issues mentioned for Council members include:
• staffing
• funding
• resort preservation
• (new) technology
• retention (of students, customers)
• website
• environmental issues
• air transportation
• drive occupancy
• fuel costs
• marketing
• changed political landscape
• capitalize on international marketing
• finding tourism spokespeople
• global notion of tourism
• weather resistant marketing
• work force issues – immigration, visas
• online bookings
• replace lost government business
• awareness

Tourism Council Appointments – John Edman:  Some of the Council members’ terms will expire in January 2007.  Members who are interested in seeking reappointment must send a letter to John Hultquist in the Governor’s Office.  Need to contact new Senate and House leadership to determine who their new appointments will be.

Approval of Minutes:  Minutes from the September 19, 2006 Council meeting were previously e-mailed to members.  A motion to pass the minutes as recorded was made by Rob Buntz, seconded by Tom Whelan.  All members in favor.  Motion passed.

2007 Strategic Plan – John Edman:  Prior to the 2006 Strategic Plan, EMT staff and Council Members traveled around the state to seek input from the industry stakeholders.  The 2007 Strategic Plan reflects the changes that were recommended by the Council as a result of the retreat held in April.  The top changes to the 2007 Plan are:

1. Tourism Council initiative for a $20 million annual budget.
2. Industry events and other promotions
3. 2007 Research Plan including new web research and Revenue data
4. Integrated sales of Travel Guide and other opportunities
5. Integrated communications – newsletters, fast facts and publications
6. Increased promotion of packages, group and international
7. Expansion of extranet listings and categories
8. The new statewide Travel Guide including comprehensive accommodation information
9. The total redesign of exploreminnesota.com
10. New enhancement packages
11. The agency and consumer driven marketing plan

Comments from the Council include:
• Is EMT promoting entities that pay taxes?
EMT has a check box for database listings that taxes are being collected by the industry respondent.
• Are the goals quantifiable?
Yes.  Most of the strategies listed have goals and measurements and are tracked by EMT.  More quantifiable goals such as inquiries from advertising are more detailed and separate reports.

Legislative Initiatives – Rob Buntz: Thank you to all the Council members who met with the candidates prior to the election.  Be sure that all members have provided Deb Lloyd with notes from these meetings.  Council members are encouraged to write a note to Governor Pawlenty thanking him for his support of tourism and asking him to continue this support.

Need to emphasize that tourism supplies many jobs to the economy.  Tourism generates tax revenue which in turn gives money back.  Tourism can be a career path with earning potential.  Hospitality Minnesota is now training in 25 Minnesota high schools in restaurant management.  Tourism provides a second income to many families and employs people who may otherwise rely on public assistance.

Strategy presented by the Public Policy Task Force is:
1. Congratulate elected officials and let them know that EMT Council can be a resource to them.
2. Local information is available.
3. The role of tourism to the economy.
4. What is important to tourism
5. Encourage legislators to participate in tourism caucuses
6. Keep Deb Lloyd up-to-date on meetings with elected officials
7. Write a thank you note to the Governor

Legislative Initiatives:
Four proposals were forwarded to the Governor:

1.  Public Private Partnership.
Recommendation:  Requests a public private partnership investment in tourism to create a $20 million annual budget.  The general fund investment would consist of a $12 million base and an incentive fund investment of $8 million which must be matched with private sector dollars on a one-to-one match.

2.  The Minnesota Film and TV Board:
Recommendation:  Requests an increase of $100,000 annually for the administration of the Minnesota Film and TV Board to provide increased marketing and technology to targeted production location decision-makers.

3.  Tax Exemption for Minnesota Resorts:
Recommendation:  Requests a tax exemption for construction materials and supplies used in the expansion or capital improvements of a homestead resort classified as 1c, or for resorts classified as 4c, under section 273.13, subdivision 22 or 25, including any portion of a 1c or 4c resort classified as class 3 under section 273.13, subdivision 24.  This exemption would be up to a maximum refund of $10,000 in each calendar year for each resort.

4.  Snowbate Program:
Recommendation:  Requests increasing the Minnesota Film and TV Board (MFTVB) funding for the Snowbate program to $10 million for the biennium.  This would be an increase from the one time appropriation of $1.7 million for FY07.

Explore Minnesota Tourism is the fiscal agent for the Minnesota Film Board and facilitates their requests through the review process.

The cereal box has been a great resource when meeting with legislators and others.  The design is being updated and a companion piece will also be produced.  A print run of 5,000 cereal boxes has been approved.

A delegation from Minnesota traveled to Washington DC on September 12 and 13 to participate in the Travel Leadership Summit.  While in Washington DC, the delegation met with Minnesota’s congressional delegation and Minnesota’s two U.S. Senators to address the following issues: Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), U.S. Visa Policy, Temporary Worker Visa Processing/Guest Worker Program, Comprehensive Immigration Reform and International Destination Marketing.

Some type of “Legislator Familiarization Tour” should be scheduled.  The Council should invite the legislators to the 2007 Tourism Conference and invite them to tour EMT’s office.  The Capital Committee is already scheduled to tour Minneapolis, Saint Paul and Bloomington.

Explore Minnesota Tourism submitted two proposals for funding from LCCMR.  The first was for Resort/Lodge Shoreland Restoration.  The other was for Resort/Private Campground Septic Replacement and Upgrade.  Neither request was selected for review.

Marketing Update – Clarity Coverdale Fury:  EMT is in the process of a total rebuild of its’ website in order to support the new direction of our advertising.  “My Favorite Minnesota” will feature webisodes from real people on “inside information” on best destinations/activities/attractions.  This is a direct attempt to drive consumers to the exploreminnesota.com website.  The first round of webisodes will feature 150 Minnesota destinations.  Will preview all webisodes at the Tourism Conference.  Will also schedule an unveiling of this promotion to stakeholders, an introduction to media, and highlight lists and issue press releases.  May also host an “Opening Night” Film Festival in March to unveil the webisodes.  Invited guests would include media, authors of the webisodes, Council members, legislators, etc.

Will run television ads in key markets, consider print publications, broaden online keyword searches and pursue direct mail efforts.

Clarity Coverdale Fury presented some samples of the webisodes.  When launched, there will be over a dozen different webisodes on the new site that represent all aspects of the tourism industry and all regions in the state.

Comments from the Council:
• Need to have more diversity in photos/video
• Consideration should be given to reexamine regions. To the consumer – Southern, NorthCentralWest and Northeastern Minnesota have no identity.
• Typeface and colors used on home page could be updated.
• Like the webisodes.  Very modern technology.
• Great opportunity for consumers to add their own lists.
• Mapping application would be beneficial.  Scenic Byways and golf already have.  Hope to add to the remainder of the site by May.
• Make sure that all regions are represented.  Ad agency has been tracking by adding pins to a map when visiting a specific destination.
• Don’t forget about people with disabilities.

Reservation System – John Edman:  Previously, our statutes stated that Explore Minnesota Tourism could not be involved in a reservation system.  This language has been removed from the statutes.  Looking to see what other states are doing on this issue.  Minnesota’s primary objective is to provide the customer a service.

Comments from the Council:
• Meet Minneapolis uses Travelocity.  Has also used Expedia.  Trend is that the consumer will go to the Meet Minneapolis site for information and then return to their preferred site for booking.
• Recommend that EMT does go to a reservation system – a combination of all systems, not one specific one.
• Hospitality Minnesota uses WorldRes.  This allows them to maintain multiple sets of numbers and inventory.  Notes that larger properties want them to point to their reservation page.
• Consumer is looking for one stop shop.  Want rental car, hotel, transportation.
• Need to determine how to deal with DMOs.  Are we looking to partner with them?
• Need to focus on objective, don’t plan to make money, and look at all the players – not just Expedia and Travelocity.
• Pegasus is another resource for online reservation system.
• May be difficult to get small businesses to buy into this concept.
• Need to look at putting heads in beds, not at making money.

The Council agreed that Explore Minnesota Tourism should explore options for creating a reservation system on exploreminnesota.com that meets the needs of the consumer and the industry.

Economic Impact and Profiles – Pat Simmons:  Copies of “The Profile of Travelers in Minnesota Summer 2005 through Spring 2006” and “The Economic Impact of Expenditures by Travelers on Minnesota” were distributed to Council members.  These reports were prepared by Davidson-Peterson Associates.  Traveler impact by region reports are also available.  Thank you to the University of Minnesota Tourism Center and the regional associations for assisting in the funding of these studies.  These reports will not be done again this year.

The studies that were conducted for these reports were based on Minnesota surveys, not national travel surveys.  A press release will be issued in the near future announcing the release of this information.

From June 2005 through May 2006, traveler expenditures in Minnesota supported 286,600 full-time equivalent jobs in total.  About two-thirds of these jobs were directly supported by total estimated travel expenditures in Minnesota (184,400).

Traveler expenditures in Minnesota led to the receipt of $1.496 million in state government revenues and $498 million in local government revenues in total from June 2005 through May 2006.

During the period June 2005 through May 2006, the state government collected $896 million and local governments collected $280 million that were directly attributable to traveler expenditures.

Tourism Conference:  The 2007 Tourism Conference will be held January 23-25 at Cragun’s Resort in Brainerd.  The theme is “The Great Explore Minnesota Get-Together:  Good Vibrations.”

The RFP will soon go out for the 2008 Conference.  Thirty percent of the proposal is based on cost.  Not allowed to go back to the same location for three years.  In the past, the Conference has been rotated between outstate Minnesota and then metro.  For 2008, will request that the location is no further than 250 miles from the Twin Cities, but it will be open to both metro and outstate locations.

Proposed 2007 Meeting Dates:
Thursday, March 8
Tuesday, June 12
Wednesday, September 12
Tuesday, December 4

Present: Maureen Bausch, Rob Buntz, Dutch Cragun, Randy Gutzmann, Nancy Hanson, Wally Heise, Sandy Lexvold, Julie Lunning, Tom Masloski, Kevin Matzek (representing Hospitality Minnesota), Greg Ortale, Shawn Radford, Senator Carrie Ruud, Ingrid Schneider, Hank Todd, Tom Whelan, John Valliere

Staff: John Edman, Peggy Lindquist, Michele Peters, Colleen Tollefson, Char Vaughan

Guests: Clarity Coverdale Fury team: Jac Coverdale, Biz Polloway, Rob Rankin, Steve Wendling; Doug Killian

Welcome and Introductions: Chair John Edman thanked the members for attending the Council meeting. Members were asked to say what their most favorite Minnesota list would be titled (i.e. restaurants, weekend getaways, geocashing, creating family memories).

A special welcome to Tom Masloski who was appointed to the Council on September 11. Mr Masloski is from Underwood. He owns and operates Weslake Resort and is also an active member of the Congress of Minnesota Resorts. He replaces Dawn Sullivan.

Patricia Beckel is also a newly-appointed Council member. However, she was not available for this meeting. Ms. Beckel is from Baudette and is a member of the Lake of the Woods County Board of Commissioners. Ms. Beckel replaces Joanne Fay.

Shawn Mason from International Falls has submitted her resignation to the Council due to time and travel constraints. Shawn continues to be active in tourism-related issues.

The following members terms expire in January 2007: Maureen Bausch, Blaine Breault, Bonnie Carlson, Dutch Cragun, Randy Gutzmann, Wally Heise, Deb Lloyd, Lisa Paxton, Ingrid Schneider, Hank Todd and Tom Whelan. Members will remain on the Council until they resign or a successor is appointed. If members are interested in remaining on the Council, they should send a letter to John Hultquist in the Governor’s Office.

Ad Agency Presentation/Marketing Update: Clarity Coverdale Fury (CCF) presented information on their new advertising approach for Minnesota tourism. They heard from EMT that travelers want help getting beyond the obvious and that many travelers are making last minute decisions. CCF looked for ways to inspire and inform the traveler. They hope to accomplish this by providing the consumer with “insider information” and creating several “Best of . . .” lists.

CCF is working with EMT to create “My Favorite Minnesota” on the exploreminnesota.com website. Consumers would have an opportunity to submit their entries for the web. The site will be a controlled sight. It will be clean, interesting and easy to navigate. It will provide a forum for interaction, provide inspiration and practical information. The consumer will want to return to the site more frequently.

The ten suggestions that CCF is recommending for the future of the website are:

1. Make it more inspiring
2. Make it more intuitive
3. More visual/cycle larger, better photos
4. Less copy heavy (rollover icons)
5. More interactive/videos/360 degree views
6. Video tour of Minnesota by region
7. “Home page” for each activity should inspire
8. Be specific
9. Add personality/old photos/illustration
10. Downloadable pdf’s

Currently, EMT is working to redesign the website and will make sure that all regions are included. CCF is collecting “assets” for the website and commercials. The goal is to have everything in place in January for a soft launch. The hard launch is scheduled to occur in March.

Comments from the Council:

• Like the approach. Concerned about how many consumers have broadband vs. dial up? CCF responded that 81% of adults have access to the web, of those 81%, 70% have access to high speed. The site would be similar to CNN where video can be uploaded but do not have to be used.
• Important to have call center’s phone number on the first page for consumers who want to call and talk to a person.
• How will the success of this campaign be measured? It will be measured from traffic, click throughs, leads generated. A web analysis will be done from time-to-time to adjust programming to where consumers want to go.
• Would like to see some diversity in the types of consumers portrayed.
• Concern if someone writes a negative comment (such as what is seen on tripadvisor.com). CCF/EMT will work to keep the comments positive.
• EMT needs to be proactive with properties who want to take advantage of this new site. EMT is working on a new ad rate program. CCF is working on the key word search so that EMT comes up naturally when doing an internet search.
• Looking to the future, would it be possible to send a text message to the consumer informing them that they are now driving by one of the “favorites” on the list. May want to look to cell phone company to sponsor/partner.
• With all of the great information that will be on the site, need to make sure we are doing everything possible to drive the consumer to this site.
• This is definitely the right direction!

In order to ensure that all properties who wish to be listed can participate, EMT may offer free links for everyone in the industry. This would be one way to make sure we provide consumers with complete information. The Council agrees that this should be pursued.

Federal Issues – Rob Buntz and Colleen Tollefson: A delegation from Minnesota traveled to Washington DC on September 12 and 13 to participate in the Travel Leadership Summit. The delegation included:

• Rob & Jan Buntz, Bluefin Bay on Lake Superior
• Bonnie Carlson, Bloomington Convention and Visitors Bureau
• John Edman, Explore Minnesota Tourism
• Deb Lloyd, MLT Vacations
• Dave Siegel, Minnesota Restaurant, Lodging, Resort and Campground Associations
• Colleen Tollefson, Explore Minnesota Tourism

While in Washington DC, the delegation met with Minnesota’s congressional delegation and Minnesota’s two U.S. Senators to address the following issues:

• Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI)
• U.S. Visa Policy
• Temporary Worker Visa Processing/Guest Worker Program
• Comprehensive Immigration Reform
• International Destination Marketing

Minnesota’s congressional delegation is on board with tourism issues. The feeling is that the immigration bill will not be voted on. Also, security issues need to be addressed before immigration issues. Many of the congresspeople already had the cereal boxes on display in their office.

Tourism Awareness Update/Issues for 2007 Legislative Session – John Edman and Rob Buntz: The Task Force continues to meet to discuss and prepare for the next session. A letter to candidates has been drafted and is expected to go out in mid to late September. A brochure has been completed. A separate phone line will be established. Hospitality Minnesota will be the Fiscal Agent. Ginger Sisco has been brought on board to be the PR consultant. The website is up and running – the address is www.mntourism.org. If you have suggestions for this site, please forward to Colleen Tollefson. Lisa Paxton and Rob Buntz will do phone calling for fund raising.

John met with Ward Einess (DEED’s acting Commissioner). Dave Siegel, Deb Lloyd, Colleen Tollefson, Rob Buntz and John Edman met with several key staff from the Governor’s Office. The Governor likes the public/private partnership that Tourism continues to pursue.

The budget request for new initiatives will be sent to the Governor on October 16. EMT’s request will be included. The resort sales tax exemption will also be put forward.

Leisure and Hospitality Revenue Department Data – Revenue Commissioner Dan Salomone and Assistant Commissioner Jack Mansun: Through an interagency agreement between Revenue and Explore Minnesota Tourism, EMT receives sales tax information from Revenue. This information is extremely valuable when telling the tourism story. It is broken down by county level. It is actual tax collection information. Tourism is a significant industry to Minnesota’s economy. There is approximately one year between when the information is collected and before it is released. The most current information available at this time is the 2004 Annual Minnesota Sales Tax Statistics for the Leisure and Hospitality Industry (copies provided). The information is available online at www.taxes.state.mn.us.

Council members reiterated that this information is extremely helpful when telling the tourism story. They asked to have definitions added to categories.

Industry Communications – Michele Peters: Currently, EMT produces a bimonthly publication entitled “Travel Partners.” This publication is mailed to approximately 3,000 people. The purpose of this publication is to provide updates on the tourism industry. Some of the information is after-the-fact, updating the industry on what has happened. EMT also produces the Tourism FastFacts. This communication provides timely information to the industry. After a brief discussion, the Council agrees that EMT should discontinue Travel Partners and focus solely on the Tourism FastFacts. Council recommends that an announcement be put in Travel Partners and FastFacts announcing this change. A motion to approve was brought forward by Rob Buntz and seconded by Hank Todd. With all members in favor, motion passed.

Other:

Greg Ortale reports that Minnesota is bidding for the 2008 Democratic or the Republican National Political Convention. Support from the entire state is needed in order to make this happen.

Minnesota will celebrate its Sesquicentennial in 2008. Currently, funding is appropriated to the Minnesota Historical Society in the amount of $100,000. Meet Minneapolis is the fiscal agent for non-state funds. The plan is to use this money for grants to communities. Next session, the Sesquicentennial Commission will request $1.5 million. EMT has offered to assist with public relations, communications and website/calendar information. The Council needs to decide at what level EMT should be involved. Comments from Council include:

• Council needs to see a plan before considering any type of financial commitment.
• This type of event has an internal focus. Will not generate dollars from outside the state.
• Celebration has more of a community flavor.
• Could be an opportunity to invite former Minnesotans to return home.
• Is Sesquicentennial’s plan tourism-bound?

Background information on the Avian Flu and how it could affect the tourism industry is available on the official U.S. government web site www.pandemicflu.gov.

The next Council meeting is scheduled for December 12.

Members: Fred Bobich, Rob Buntz, Bonnie Carlson, Dutch Cragun, Randy Gutzmann, Nancy Hanson, Doug Killian (for Maureen Bausch), Deb Lloyd, Julie Lunning, Shawn Mason, Greg Ortale, Lisa Paxton, Shawn Radford, Ingrid Schneider,  Dave Siegel, Representative Dean Simpson, Dawn Sullivan, Hank Todd, Tom Whelan, John Valliere

Staff:  John Edman, Peggy Lindquist, Michele Peters, Pat Simmons, Colleen Tollefson, Char Vaughan

Welcome and Introductions:  Chair John Edman thanked the members for attending  the Council meeting.  The meeting will be an all-day meeting.  Members were asked to introduce themselves and share their most recent Minnesota vacation.

Approval of Minutes:  Minutes from the January 26, 2006 Council meeting were previously e-mailed to members.  A motion to pass the minutes as recorded was made by Rob Buntz, seconded by John Valliere.  All members in favor.  Motion passed.

Retreat Report:  Several council members attended the retreat held in April.  Notes from the meeting were e-mailed to all Council members.  Four issues were discussed:
• Marketing
• Partnerships
• Funding
• Awareness

Thank you to Dutch Cragun for his hospitality.

Organizational Partnership Program 2007 Guidelines – Colleen Tollefson:  A task force was formed to address the partnership program guidelines.  The task force was comprised of industry representatives from regional and statewide associations.  Some grant recipients made presentations to the task force on their concerns of existing guidelines.

One of the issues in question was eligibility.  The task force guidelines recommended “Requestors are encouraged to work out which organization is eligible for funding.  If requestors are unable to come to an agreement between themselves, then the grant will be awarded to each organization in alternating years.”  Lisa Paxton addressed this issue to the Council.  Because she represents a multi-community organization (similar to Bluff Country), Lisa recommends that this eligibility language be removed from the guidelines.  At the approval of the Council, the language will be changed.

Another issue of concern is the use of the EMT logo.  The guidelines clearly state that the logo must be used.  If EMT logo is not used, organization will not receive funding.  Previously, an organization was penalized 25% of the grant.

Motion to approve the 2007 Organizational Partnership Grant Guides, with change in eligibility requirements and logo usage requirement/penalty was made by Shawn Mason.  Julie Lunning seconded the motion.  Hank Todd abstained from voting.  Motion passed.

Davidson Peterson Research:  At this time, EMT has not received the overall economic impact information from Davidson Peterson.

Total cost of this research is $140,000 per year.  These costs were shared between EMT, University of Minnesota Tourism Center and the regions.  EMT has heard from two of the regions that are no longer able to contribute to the research costs.

Due to recent legislative mandate, EMT now receives economic impact data from the Department of Revenue.  Representative Simpson believes the legislature places great value on the information provided by the Minnesota Department of Revenue.

Because of the lost funds for the research and the new research EMT is now receiving through Revenue, it was suggested that EMT not purchase Davidson Peterson research this year.

Greg Ortale motioned to not purchase Davidson Peterson this year and revisit the issue again in another year.  John Valliere seconded the motion.  Motion passed.

Ad Agency Update: The review process has been completed and a new ad agency has been selected.  At the request of the Council, no Council members served on the selection committee.  Twelve written proposals were received; seven agencies made oral presentations.  Two agencies met with the selection committee for a second time.  Contract is being finalized and ad agency will be announced when contract is signed.

Committee heard from many of the agencies that the exploreminnesota.com database is rich in content, but difficult to get the information.

The contract will begin July 1; however, ads will not appear until after the first of the year.  Doug Killian and other council members offered to meet with the new agency to introduce them to tourism partners.

Council members expressed interest in discussing reservation options from our website with the new agency.  The ad agency will be invited to the September meeting to discuss.

Communications Update:  The reorganization at EMT has been completed.  Michele Peters began as the Communications Manager in mid-May.  Curt Johnson, James Riemermann, Paul Stafford, and Chuck Lennon have been reassigned to this new unit.

Michele reports that one of her first tasks is overseeing the EMGA/MGA golf site.  The site is scheduled to launch next week.

September Meeting Date:  The Federal Summit is scheduled for September 12.  EMT has recommended that the Council meeting date be changed.  September 19 is the new proposed date.  Agenda items include:  reservations on web site, Revenue commissioner or assistant commissioner introduction, ad agency introduction.

The meeting will be held in the Twin Cities and will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Working Group Session – Funding:  At the April retreat, Council members asked how Minnesota compares to other states’ budget, travel spending, etc.  Based on TIA information, this is how Minnesota compares:

Projected FY05-06 total budget:  $9.5 million, rank 29
Domestic Ad Budget:  $3.367 million, rank 29
Projected FY05-06 travel spending:  $9.276, rank 23
Spending per total budget:  $975, rank 15
Spending per ad budget:  $2,754, rank 18
Total rooms:  66,743, rank 24
Occupancy:  60.6%, rank 26

Other sorts are possible, if Council members would find the information valuable.

Representative Simpson encouraged the Council to continue to educate legislators on the importance of tourism.  A legislative task force was created during the last session and received a great deal of interest from legislators.

In the last few years, the budget for Minnesota tourism has slipped from 25th to 29th in overall U.S. state tourism budgets.  The Explore Minnesota Tourism Council proposes increasing the state’s general fund contribution to $16 million (from $8.7 million), and increasing the legislative cap of EMT’s ability to leverage private/public partnerships by raising the cap under which the state matches proceeds to $4 million (currently $1 million).  Under this cap, each dollar whether it be cash or in-kind that EMT raises above $4 million, becomes available as a one-to-one match through the state’s general fund, toa  cap of $8 million in non-state partnership funding.

Funding
The Council broke out into three working groups.

Group #1:
• A right mix of funding sources is needed.
• Need dedicated funding source – which could be lodging tax or some other leisure tax.
• Additional funds are needed for marketing.
• Need to keep the formula simple.  Funding is first.  Resources go to marketing and partners.

Group #2:
• Need funding from both corporate and private entities.
• Need a “dealmaker” at EMT.  Someone who may be able to work off of commission.  Someone who gets corporate sponsorships/new money.
• Percentage of occupancy is important, but narrow.
• Make EMT more desirable to corporate partners.  Should not rely so heavily on legislature for funding.
• Oppose statewide lodging tax, but could look at other taxes – i.e. hospitality or golf tax.
• Tourism should be part of the Arts/Natural Resources special funding discussion.

Group #3:
• $20 million is a good number to start.  Would get to this by providing
o $3 million for staff/ops.
o $2 million for grants
o $4 million in-state
o $7 million out-of-state
o $2 million electronic
o $1 million international
o $1 million fulfillment
• Expand marketing to highlight uniqueness of the regions.
• Measure through sales tax.

Council members agreed
1.  A total of $20 million in general fund is a good base.
2.  Need to identify how new money will be used.
3.  Funding mix needs to be simplified.
4.  Pie-chart representing EMT funding needs to be corrected.

Greg Ortale motioned that EMT should pursue a $12 million guaranteed budget, plus a dollar-to-dollar match of up to $8 million per year.  Lisa Paxton seconded.  All members in favor.  Motion passed.

This funding creates an end goal of $48 million in new tax dollars

Working Group Session – Awareness:  The Council again broke out into three workgroups to discuss tourism awareness.

Group One – Industry:
The first group discussed a tourism awareness plan for the industry, where the goal is to “create, engage, activate and advocate for increased funding for tourism promotion.”

Workgroup 1 created a task force to further discuss and implement.

Group Two – Candidates:
Legislative Task Force was formed as a result of this breakout session.  Task force includes:  Rob Buntz, Lisa Paxton, Dave Siegel, Shawn Mason, Deb Lloyd, Nancy Hanson, Fred Bobich

Information that is needed prior to their July meeting:
• Funding mechanism
• Tourism industry must be able to understand
• Candidate/media plan must fall out of it
• Must inform Governor
• Must be a clear plan with outcomes and ROI
• EMT Council website

Group 3 – Media:
Goal:  “Advocate for increased funding for tourism promotion.”

In order to have a successful media blitz prior to the election, the media group needs to prepare as soon as possible.  Media includes newspapers (meeting with editorial boards), radio and television stations.  It is recommended that the Council hire a media relations expert to follow.  The expert would be responsible to work with the industry, work with the candidates and inform the Governor of the importance of tourism.  The Council would be responsible to fund this position in the amount of $25,000 - $30,000.  This would include the position, as well as the printing of any necessary materials.  Hospitality Minnesota has agreed to be the fiscal agent for this position.  A conference call will be held Thursday, June 29 to further discuss.

Following is a list of tasks and person(s) responsible:

Task      Implement
Umbrella Tasks:  These activities are wound around and through the three targets of our affection.

Finalize funding plan:  EMT (Lead:  John Edman)
Define specs for consultant:  Council (Lead:  Tom Whelan)
Recruit/hire consultant: Council (Lead:  Tom Whelan)
Raise funds as needed:  Council
Conference calls:  EMT/Council
Develop EMT’s own website:  EMT (Lead:  Michele Peters)
Includes aggregating information and communicating its availability to industry
Develop key messages from funding:  EMT/Council (Lead:  Peters and Whelan)
Develop speaking points:  Council
Develop visuals:  Council
Identify spokespersons:  Council

Target – Industry:
Goal:  Create, engage, activate and advocate for increased funding for tourism promotion.

Develop contact lists:  EMT/Council (Lead: Tollefson and Whelan)
Tourism Associations (EMT Members)
Attractions
Accommodations
CVBs
Regional groups
Local Officials City/County
Customized key messages developed:  EMT/Council (Lead:  Peters and Whelan)
Make contacts, ask for commitment:  Council (as assigned)/Consultant
E-mail blasts
Phone conversations
Letters to members
Reports back to EMT/Council:  Council/Individual Assignee & Consultant
Develop background materials and EMT/Council place on website

Target – Candidates:
Goal:  Advocate for increased tourism support and increased funding for tourism.

Identify legislative candidates by district EMT:  (Lead:  Tollefson - DEED)
Develop position paper and resolution:  Council
Build list of contact assignments:  EMT/Council (Lead: Tollefson and Whelan)
Make assignments/supply info
Contacts made by industry - personal:  Council/Industry as assigned - visits, phone calls, e-mails, letters
Host Tourism Industry Debate:  Council
Film and distribute
Gather dates of debates:  Council
League of Women Voters:  Council
Draft questions/assign:  Council
Feedback to consultant:  Council/Industry as assigned
Results charted at EMT and on website
Engage candidates at forums and debates
Reports to EMT/Council:  EMT/Council
Follow-up calls as necessary:  ALL

Congratulatory letters to winners reinforcing tourism message and need for increased funding:  Council/joint letter

Plan and execute Legislative forum at Tourism Conference:  EMT/Council (Lead: Tollefson & Buntz)

Next round of meetings with legislators:
201 individual meetings in St. Paul or in home district to stress importance of
additional funding:  Council (Lead:  Buntz & Paxton) Consultant

NOTE:  Is it reasonable to expect every candidate is contacted by a minimum of five different industry reps?

Target – Media:
Goal:  Advocate for increased awareness and support of tourism and for increased funding for tourism promotion.

Media lists and contacts developed:  EMT/Council (Lead: Peters and Whelan)
Schedule meetings with editorial boards:  Council
Assignments made and posted on web:  EMT/Council (Lead: Peters and Whelan)
Material preparation:
Press kit
Op-Ed pieces
Letter to the Editor
Talking points for radio interviews
Contacts made and reports given:  Council/Industry Assignees
Follow up on attendance/Media Calls: Council
Schedule Press Conferences:  Council
Communication to EMT Council:  Council/Consultant

Other Key Events:
Establish timeline for plans
Reports to EMT
TIA Summit Washington DC
Elections
Resort & Campground Conference
Tourism Conference

Working Group Session – Federal Summit:  The Federal Trade Summit is scheduled for September 12-13 in Washington DC.  Council members were asked to identify Minnesota’s top five issues.  As voted on by Council members, the top issues are:
• Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (Border Crossings)
• Visa Delays
• Improve Temporary Worker Visa Processing
• Immigration Reform
• International Destination Marketing

Minnesota delegates should also plan to discuss issues that are relevant to Minnesota tourism – i.e. resorts, economic impact of tourism to Minnesota.

Minnesota delegation includes:  Bonnie Carlson, Fred Bobich (tentative), John Edman, Dave Siegel, Rob Buntz, Representative Simpson, possibly representatives from MLT/NWA and Carlson Companies.

The Council recommends because of the limited number of Minnesota participants, a dinner or reception will not be held.  The delegation will participate in scheduled appointments.

Members: Jennifer Bateman (for Dawn Sullivan), Rob Buntz, Bonnie Carlson, Gabe Castaneda, Dutch Cragun, Randy Gutzmann, Nancy Hanson, Wally Heise, Doug Killian (for Maureen Bausch), Deb Lloyd, Julie Lunning, Shawn Mason, Shawn Radford, Senator Carrie Ruud, Maureen Scallen (for Greg Ortale), Ingrid Schneider, Kathy Schroeder (for Lisa Paxton), Dave Siegel, Representative Dean Simpson, Senator Rod Skoe, Tom Whelan

Guests: Bob Dickerson, Charley Howe

Staff: John Edman, Peggy Lindquist, Colleen Tollefson

Welcome: Chair John Edman thanked the members for attending the Tourism Conference prior to today’s Council meeting. Approximately 340 people attended the 2006 conference. A special thanks to members of the Council who served on the Tourism Conference Task Force. A lot of positive changes came as a result of the Task Force recommendations.

Approval of December 6, 2005 Meeting Minutes: Minutes from the December 6^th meeting were e-mailed to members. Motion to pass the minutes as recoded was made by Rob Buntz, seconded by Julie Lunning. All members in favor. Motion passed.

Tourism Awareness – Tom Whelan and Rob Buntz: The Eggs & Issues Forum that was used at the Tourism Conference was a great tool to get the industry interacting with legislators, and educating legislators on the importance of tourism.

The cereal boxes will provide a great PR tool. It should be used when meeting with media, legislators, county commissioners and city officials. It provides a fun way to help increase tourism awareness. The cereal box provides a visual representation of tourism, along with a message about its importance throughout the state. Each conference attendee received four boxes, along with stickers to provide regional information. A total of 3,500 boxes were printed. Distribution is as follows: 1,000 for Tourism Conference attendees; 1,000 to statewide associations (100 to each association); 1,500 available for requests. The plan is to get the majority of the boxes out within the next two months. A press release was distributed on January 26 announcing the promotion. Stickers with statistics broken out by region are available.

At the members’ request, some talking points to go along with the cereal box will be written and available on www.industry.exploreminnesota.com.

Senator Ruud indicated she would be using the box on television spots in her community. Curt Johnson (EMT) will also use when meeting with media.

Ingrid Schneider informed that Council that the Tourism Center recently conducted a telephone survey to 800 people and had a question on the importance of tourism to Minnesota’s economy. Sixty-four percent of the respondents indicated that tourism is very important, a total of 97% thought it was at least somewhat to very important to the economy.

Public Policy Task Force – Rob Buntz: A report of Sales Tax Data and Employment Data was distributed. This report corresponds with the Annual Sales Tax Reports and Statistics published by the Department of Revenue. The information is broken down at the county level. Further information can be found on the industry website.

The Task Force has also been monitoring the 200-day school year. This topic should not be addressed as an “us vs. them” discussion. The role of the tourism industry is to educate the legislators as to what is best for the students. Talking points to this subject matter are available on the industry website.

Davidson Peterson Contract Future – John Edman: The contract is jointly funded by the University of Minnesota Tourism Center, Explore Minnesota Tourism, and the regional associations. The contract costs $140,000 annually. Currently, the contract is done on a yearly basis. If the Council agrees to continue on a yearly basis, there may be a need to seek out industry sponsors.

Recommendations by Council:

• Continue to gather information on a yearly basis.
• Maintain customer profiles
• Conduct intercept survey
• Continue to do for another year. Information is needed to move forward and present to legislature, media.
• It is in EMT’s best interest to provide current information to the legislature
• Is it possible to get the model and do internally?

Funding Initiative – John Edman: The request to increase the Enhancement funding from $1 million to $2 million is on hold. The plan is to look at it again during the next legislative session.

Process for Partnership Review – Colleen Tollefson: An internal review will be held in mid-February. An industry task force will be formed for external review. The task force will include two representatives appointed by each region, as well as two representatives of statewide associations and one private sector representative. The task force will meet twice (proposed dates in early March and early April). The initial meeting will be used to gather feedback on the program and its effectiveness. Issues will be heard by both EMT and industry representatives. Revised guidelines would be available for the task force review in May, with recommendations presented to the full Tourism Council in June. Guidelines will be available to the industry in July.

The Council supports this review process. Funding of the partnership program accounts for 10 percent of EMT’s budget and there needs to be accountability.

Spring/Summer Advertising – Charley Howe, Colle + McVoy: A complete copy of the Spring/Summer Communications Plan was distributed to members. Some of the major pieces include:

• Spring/Summer campaign will include shots of specific locations
• Consumer does not want to be reminded of their stress
• Minnesotans are in love with the Minnesota vacation. There is not a need to invest a lot of money locally.
• More dollars will be invested in the should season
• Number 1 reason people come to Minnesota is to visit friends and family
• There is a need to open and facilitate new markets
• Need to enter new markets to create more awareness of what Minnesota has to offer. Next new market is St. Louis. Will enhance the Chicago market.
• The upcoming generation of travelers will receive most of their information via the internet. Print and television ads will not reach them.
• Web address and toll free number will appear during the entire duration of the television ad.
• Will continue with the Minnesota Broadcasters Association radio partnership
• Need to get better exposure of the www.exploreminnesota.com site

Comments from the Council include:

• Consumers are demanding on-line bookings
• Difficult to measure awareness, which is the intent of radio and some television ads
• How does Minnesota differentiate itself from other vacation destinations?

RFP for Statewide Guide – John Edman: The 2007 Minnesota Travel Guide will include a listing of statewide accommodations. A Request for Proposal will be published in the February 6th State Register. Proposals will be accepted for design services only, advertising sales only, or for both design and advertising.

Process for Ad Agency Review – John Edman: The ad contract with Colle + McVoy will expire on June 30. Explore Minnesota Tourism is in the process of soliciting requests for an advertising agency. A Request for Proposal has been drafted. Process will include written proposals and oral presentations.

Next Steps Cultural/Heritage: It is time to revisit the different products and players that cultural/heritage brings to the tourism industry. Arts, history and theater are important to Minnesota’s tourism economy. The 2000 tourism conference had an emphasis on cultural/heritage. Some of those attendees have continued to attend the conference and been active in tourism, some have never returned. It was suggested that for future conferences, one track of the breakout sessions be geared to this segment.

Staffing Update – John Edman: The hiring process for the Communications manager continues. Rae Van Wyhe, EMT’s Marketing Manager announced her retirement, effective February 7. An announcement will be published in two future editions of the Minneapolis and Saint Paul Sunday papers

Other: Bonnie Carlson suggested that the Council get together for a retreat, in order to tackle some of the bigger agenda items. The Council has been together for one year and should be providing guidance on issues such as tourism awareness, funding and partnerships (both internal and external). Dutch Cragun offered his property for the meeting. Proposed retreat would take place sometime during the last week of April.

Rob Buntz mentioned that MnDOT has written an RFP to sell kiosks/back lit displays at TICs and rest areas. This is a tourism issue. The Council suggested filing a motion to stop the RFP. John Edman explained to the Council that the RFP has already been written and that the buildings are owned by MnDOT.

Tom Whelan stated that many faces at the Conference are the same year after year. It is time to find the next wave of tourism supporters, while continuing relationships with those who continue to support the industry. It was recommended that the Tourism Conference Task Force meet soon to debrief on the Conference. This meeting will be held in February.

Next Meeting Dates:

Late April/Early May – EMT Council Retreat

June 13

September 12

December 12

Purpose: Solidify the importance of tourism in Minnesota using a variety of tools to educate the industry and candidates running for office, building the foundation for increased funding.

Web site Update:
Web site has been created, but is not yet live; pending final content. On behalf of the EMT Council, the Task Force asked EMT to have the site go live with its current domain name. Other possible domain names for the public policy initiative were discussed, but tabled for review by the PR consultant.

Materials needed:

• Speaking points - well done; no immediate changes
• Power Point downloadable from Website that gives framework for overall statewide impact of tourism and allows local customization and benefits of increasing funding. - Dave S. will work on this August 17. Michelle will send Dave the power point.
• Resolution of support - Rob and Tom will craft this