Gilroy
– People know this city for its July celebration of all things
garlic. But Gilroy as a vacation spot in, say, November?
The Gilroy Visitors Bureau wants people to nod their heads when
considering that question.
Gilroy – People know this city for its July celebration of all things garlic. But Gilroy as a vacation spot in, say, November?
The Gilroy Visitors Bureau wants people to nod their heads when considering that question. Five years ago, the bureau set some serious goals for itself to promote Gilroy not just as a one-time stop the last weekend in July, but as an overnight destination throughout the year.
All things considered – namely, the impacts the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks had on tourism nationwide – the majority of the bureau’s goals have been accomplished. But new challenges loom right around the corner as Gilroy’s growth continues its steady upward climb.
Perhaps the biggest step the bureau has taken to attract visitors from afar has been launching its Web site in 2001. Executive director Kirsten Carr said the site is an invaluable tool to educate potential visitors about Gilroy – and to show them the city offers more than just garlic.
“We are very, very happy with the exposure we’ve received from the Web site,” Carr said.
The strategy seems to have worked. The site receives between 10,000 and 11,000 hits per month, Carr said. The site is promoted in targeted advertising in national and regional publications such as Sunset, VIA and Westways, where bureau marketing also has become more concentrated. In July, the bureau received more than 1,000 fulfillment cards, the tear-out half-pages of magazines prompting readers to send the cards back to the bureau to receive more information. The number of fulfillment cards has steadily risen in the past few years, Carr said, especially after the Web site’s debut.
The bureau also created a $20,000 promotional video in 2001, shown for two months in American Airlines West flights, for a few months in limousines owned by San Jose and San Francisco businesses, and in shuttle buses at the Garlic Festival. A 2001 promotional CD features an extensive photo album of scenes from Gilroy shopping, countryside, wineries, Bonfante Gardens and other attractions, from which local businesses can pick and choose the photos they want featured in their ads.
But have all the media endeavors of the past five years worked?
Although budget constraints have prevented the bureau from doing extensive studies on average overnight stay statistics, one concrete measurement is the transient occupancy tax. The 9-percent tax on hotels, motels and inns goes directly to the city’s General Fund and is not shared with county, state or federal government. Like many other cities, Gilroy saw a nosedive in tourism and revenue after the Sept. 11 attacks, but Carr said tourism has been recovering, albeit slowly.
“We had our best TOT numbers in our history in 2000. We had incredible numbers,” Carr said. “We’re still trying to get back up there.”
Revenues from the transient occupancy tax dropped about $30,500 – from $760,500 to $730,000 – between fiscal years 2002-03 and 2003-04. But that decline is nominal when compared to the $116,000 plunge between 2001-02 and 2002-03.
To nudge Gilroy visitors toward overnight stays, Carr said the bureau has become heavily involved in event planning and coordination for activities throughout the year, and not just the Garlic Festival.
“Almost every weekend in July we have something going on leading up to the festival, and our (hotel) rooms are full.” Carr said. “But we still have 11 other months out of the year that we need to do that.”
The challenge to increase overnight stays allows the bureau to exercise some creativity in attracting visitors. An art and wine festival is scheduled to launch in fall 2005, for example, and other ideas in the works include a bluegrass festival and downtown Gilroy festival, much like the Taste of Morgan Hill held in September. Carr also said the bureau would like to see more sports events hosted in the city such as tennis or golf tournaments.
Revenue from those events would be used to compensate for revenue lost in hotel earnings, Carr said, something the bureau has tried to do internally since 2001. The office now remains dark on Sundays, saving roughly $2,000 – a change from 2001 when it was open daily April through October. Additionally, the bureau no longer advertises with AAA, an $11,000 investment, and it cut some advertising with Sunset, VIA and Westways, which charge about $1,800 per ad.
The bureau, which receives a fixed 85 percent of its annual budget from the city, took another hit in 2002 when the city cut funding by 10 percent to each of its dependent entities. However, the city’s allocation to the bureau is independent of how well or how poorly the bureau performs each year. Gilroy City Council hears an annual update from the bureau and may make recommendations regarding how funds are being used, but funds won’t be taken away.
In an effort to reduce costs for clients, the bureau unveiled this year a cooperative marketing package based on four levels of sponsorship. Local businesses can pay between $1,000 and $4,000, depending on how many advertising options they want or can afford. Carr said the sponsorship program is cheaper for clients than the bureau’s old marketing package, which offered clients a more limited number of advertising options that ranged between $400 and $800 each.
