Issue link: http://frankenmuthcvb.uberflip.com/i/1532266
The 2023/2024 year of sales was a year of growth. For the first time in years the board made a strategic decision to add additional support staff to help with the growing sales demands. The new Marketing and Sales Assistant role was added to provide additional support with the meetings market and sales services offered by the CVB. The addition of this role has enabled us to service groups quicker and more efficiently. For the second year in a row, the Frankenmuth CVB sponsored a booth at the American Bus Association (ABA) convention. This was done in an effort to capitalize from the momentum of the ABA booth in Detroit from 2023. The Frankenmuth booth has been very well received and continues to be a strategic effort to help grow the bus market in this post-pandemic group travel boom. In addition to the booth, the CVB participated in a total of 50 sales appointments at the show. The CVB partnered with Circle MI and the GLBR CVB to host a couple tour operators throughout the year on mini-FAM opportunities, allowing for a more personalized tour experience for the participating operators. The group tour market continues to be popular as requests for itineraries, welcome packets, and group inquiries remain strong. The meetings market continued to gain momentum this year too. With the addition of the Marketing and Sales Assistant we have been able to better sell our destination and serve those planning meetings, conferences, retreats, and events. We look forward to getting on the road more in the coming year to promote and sell our unique meetings and event opportunities. This year the Frankenmuth CVB expanded their sales association memberships and joined the MI Sports Commission (MSC). This new partnership connects us with 18 different destinations across Michigan, and allows us the opportunity to start selling Frankenmuth as a premier sports destination. This partnership will be a vital part of our growing sports tourism market. Sales G R O U P & M E E T I N G 13 Welcome Packets continued to be a popular request, as we distributed 7,380 Visitor Guides, and 9,318 Coupon Books. Where we have gone to sell to groups! American Bus Association MiSGMP Lunch n' Learn Circle MI Annual Conference Michigan Sports Commission Summer Educational Seminar MSAE- She Leads & The Meetings and Education Summit Destination MI Sales & Services Summit