Asheville Convention & Visitors Bureau (NC)
2007 Destination/CVB Development
Planning Success Case Study
Plan Approach
- Lead consultant in facilitating and preparing the Destination Product Development Charrette and Plan document
- Approach included the coordination of eight visitor industry specialty advisors to receive their input to the planning effort and be part of the public consultation process, online visitor consumer survey, over 100 tourism facility/attraction evaluations, and various visitor industry/community workshop sessions on destination vision and product development opportunities
- Ongoing Asheville CVB and Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority (BCTDA) meetings and personal interviews conducted
- Assignment completed over an eight-month period in 2007
Plan Successful Outcomes
- One of the first proactive tourism development plans prepared at a city/county level in the U.S. along with a dedicated product development funding source
- Tourism product quality evaluations (mystery shopping approach) undertaken by sector and at the community/district level
- Tourism development funding criteria and process examined and revised to better leverage investment and focus on priority needs
Additional Advisory Work
- On-site assistance with visitor experience survey instrument
- Evaluation of new branded visitors center
Lessons Learned
- Need to have associated tourism development funding source to act as project catalyst and be credible
- Tourism development plan prepared with 3 to 5 year horizon and revised on a regular basis
Contact
Kelly Miller, CDME
President / CEO Visit Huntington Beach
(Formerly President / CEO Ashville CVB)
714–969–3492 (Ext. 205)
kelly@surfcityusa.com