We’ve known for years that our destination marketing program has a significant influence on tourism in our region and now we can quantify that in terms of economic impact.
North Woodstock, NH (PRWEB) April 28, 2017
After a year of research and analysis, the Western White Mountains Chamber of Commerce released its 2015-16 “Return on Investment Study” showing an unprecedented $60 return on every dollar of tourism promotional investment in that same period. The third-party, independent study, conducted by OakLee Consulting Group LLC out of Plymouth, New Hampshire, concluded that “$10.6 million in visitor spending resulted directly from the Chamber’s promotional activities.” According to the study, “travelers spent $115.1 million in Lincoln, Woodstock, Franconia, and Sugar Hill between the 2015-16 winter season and 2016 summer/fall season.”
OakLee Consulting Group, founded by Dr. Mark Okrant, Professor Emeritus of Tourism Management and Policy at Plymouth State University and Dr. Daniel Lee, Professor of Economics at Plymouth State University and the State of New Hampshire’s tourism economist for four years, conducted the study and prepared the report. The purpose of the study was to measure the return on investment of the Western White Mountains Chamber of Commerce’s marketing/promotion activities for the area’s tourism industry. The chamber’s promotions are largely funded through their Destination Marketing Program, which includes the collection of a nominal overnight fee at over 20 area lodging properties, partnerships with area attractions, and matching grant funds through the State of NH Joint Promotional Program. In addition, the study aims to gauge the effectiveness of individual promotion ads, as well as their effectiveness by state of origin.
A study of this type is a first-of-a-kind for this growing chamber of commerce destination marketing program. “We’ve known for years that our destination marketing program has a significant influence on tourism in our region and now we can quantify that in terms of economic impact,” states Kimberly Pickering, newly-appointed Executive Director of the Chamber. “We are pleased to know that for every dollar we raise and spend, it brings sixty more dollars back into our local economy from tourism.”
Please contact the Western White Mountains Chamber of Commerce for more details on this study.
The Western White Mountains Chamber of Commerce, located in North Woodstock, NH, represents over 225 businesses in all sectors of the economy, most notably the tourism industry, and promotes the western slope of New Hampshire’s White Mountains - Lincoln, Woodstock, Franconia, and Sugar Hill. The chamber’s Destination Marketing Program is funded by a number of private and public sources, and is the largest concentrated effort of its kind in Northern New Hampshire.
