2. Who We Are

Monroe County’s Official Tourism Promotion Agency

In business since 1932

Our mission is to AGGRESSIVELY sell and market Greater
Rochester as a preferred destination—for meetings,
conventions, business travel and leisure travel

Increase visitor spending to enhance the economy

Advocate for appropriate destination development

Increase awareness, appreciation, and support for the visitor
industry.

Budget Approximately $ 3 million+

3. Revenue comes from.
 A portion of the Monroe County Hotel Tax
 In-kind member and partner support/co-op programs
 Membership dues
 Matching grants funded by I Love NY
Consist of 18 full time staff and approximately 20 part time staff

4. • Approximately 1.7 Million
Visitors Each Year
• Economic Impact Nearly $1
billion
• State Taxes Generated:
$58 million +
• County Taxes Generated:
$64 million +
• Tourism accounts for
15,00 direct jobs in
Monroe County

5. Strategies:
Attract a wide range of visitors to
Rochester and Monroe County.
Provide existing Visitors with:
• Exceptional level of service
• Information
• Hospitality
• Resulting in:
• Future return visits
• Passing on appreciation of the
area’s hospitality and
attractions

6. Increase collaboration and investments among members and regional
partners - take a regional lead when appropriate.
VisitRochester is a membership organization with over 400 members in
the Greater Rochester and Finger Lakes Region representing….
Sleep
See & Do
Community
Eat & Drink
Shop
Services

7. Assist the community and region in its growth
as a highly appealing destination
by recommending and advocating for
development or change.

8. Departments:
• Meetings/Convention Sales
• Convention/Visitor Services
• Communications/PR
• Membership
• Tourism Sales
• Finance
• Rochester Finger Lakes Film & Video Office

9. Meetings and Conventions
• The VisitRochester Meetings
and Convention team actively
seeks out new business and
leads by
• Attending trade shows
• Hosting potential meeting
planners
• Organizing and hosting
Familiarization Tours
• Identifying local contacts
of regional, state, and
national organizations

10. Meetings and Conventions
A Meeting/Conference Delegate/Exhibitor
spends approximately $275.00-$415.00 a day
• Monroe County has 7014 Hotel Rooms
• Conferences from 10-5,000 delegates
• They leave $$$ behind at
 Hotels
 Restaurants
 Gas
 Shopping
 Attractions

11. Locals are the Key—Here’s How Locals Can Help
• What organizations are you
affiliated with - both
professionally and personally?
• Can you personally help us by
making connections with these
organizations?
• How can your organization
incentivize
employees/members/students to
actively work on bringing
organizations to Rochester?

12. Affinity Markets for Rochester
• Agricultural
• Cultural
• Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing
• Educational
• Engineering
• GLBT
• Government
• Hobby
• Medical
• NYS Markets (All)
• Optics, Imaging, Photography
• Religious
• Trade, Business, Commercial

13. Meetings and Conventions Impact
our Region by…
• Economic impact on our community
• Exposure of the community to those that would not
otherwise have come

14. Examples of Local Collaborations
Rochester Institute of Technology
•
National Council of University Research (280 room nights)
•
American Ceramic Society (250 room nights)
•
National Collegiate EMS Foundation (400 room nights
Greater Rochester Enterprise
•
Wegmans
State Science and Technology Institute (400 rooms)
•
Fuel Cell Conference (248 rooms)
•
American Cheese Society (800 room nights)
•
Food Marketing Institute (600+ room nights)
University of Rochester
•
American Urological Association (580 room nights
•
Pediatric Nursing Conference (25 room nights)
•
Batten Disease Support and Research Association (415 room
nights)
•
Neural Ceroid Lipofuinoses (450 room nights)
•
Esophageal Surgery Conference (65room nights)
•
Association of Computational Linguistics (700 room nights)
•
Optical Society of America (2,935 room nights)

15. Help Us Help the Community
• Visit Rochester's
Experienced Sales Team
will take over once
introductions have been
made
• Our Convention Services
Team will assist organizers
make sure everything goes
smoothly

17. Marketing to Leisure Travelers
A Welcome Surprise
Canada a target market
• Just 90 minutes across the border
• The exchange rate is favorable to them
• We are an affordable destination
• Family-friendly
This co-op program with regional
partners consists of…
• A Welcome Surprise printed piece
in the Toronto Sun
• Cross-Border ShowcaseVisitRochester produced radio
show in Ontario
• Online and social media
components

18. Marketing to New York City
Influencers
Presence: Making Rochester
NYC Connections
A NY/NY market development program
in partnership with Delta Airlines
VisitRochester present at NYC events
•
NYC Chamber of Commerce events
•
Crain’s Business Review Breakfasts
•
New York Society of Association Executives
Next Steps
•
Presence in NYC at 8-10 events
•
Engage with individuals
•
Cultivate informed relationships
•
Maintain continuity of contact
•
Host selected individuals
•
Foster a growing knowledge for NYC/Rochester network
•
Ask for support from allies
End Game
•
A group of NYC based allies who will willingly assist VisitRochester in pursuit of business
and opportunities

19. Marketing to Those Visitors Who
are Already Here
VisitRochester Again!
• Business visitors
• Convention/meeting attendees
• Leisure visitors
• Parents of college students (either
looking at schools or visiting their
children).

20. Niche Market Cards
VisitRochester has identified 10 key markets for our region.
Flowers
Hike, Bike &
Paddle
Wine & Culinary
Golf
Photography &
Film
Dance &
Theatre
Travel with Kids
Destination Shopping
Music
Women’s
Heritage
& Rights

21. Student & Parent Market
ROC 101 Cheat Sheet
And other college
collaborations
• Actively working with
colleges & universities to
acquaint students with all
Rochester has to offer
• Provide ROC 101 sheets to
local colleges –personalized
for each college or
university
• Explore ways to bring high
school students here on
tours/experiences
Printable PDF’s available to
schools on request.

22. Families with Kids Market
Family Funtastic
• Rochester is a family-friendly
destination
• VisitRochester works closely
with attractions and
businesses that cater to this
market
• Our hotels offer many
packages that are attractive
to families—including some
that offer free pizza & soda
with an over-night visit

23. Golf Consumer Markets
Golf is Great in Rochester and the Finger Lakes
• There are over 40 semi-private
and public courses within a
short drive of Rochester
• In 2013 Rochester will host
both the PGA and LPGA
Championships
• Rochester is the only city to
have hosted both in the same
year
• Recently, VisitRochester
partnered with the PGA for two
receptions in Toronto
• VisitRochester will use this
opportunity to show-off the
area to potential meeting
planners, event site selectors,
and travel media.

24. New Visitor’s Guide—Explore Greater Rochester
VisitRochester/Rochester
Business Journal
partnership to make
Explore Greater Rochester
the official visitors’ guide
for the region

25. Wegmans Finger Lakes Guide
• VisitRochester/Wegmans partnership
• Inserted in May Menu magazine
• Includes Rochester/Finger Lakes spread and contest

26. Savor Rochester
VisitRochester/Palmer’s partnership with Restaurant Week to
encourage local residents to take family and friends to locally owned
establishments

27. THANK YOU!
Visit us at
Or follow us
On Facebook: facebook.com/VisitRochester
On Twitter: twitter.com/VisitRochester
On YouTube: youtube.com/VisitRochester