Posted March 15, 20113:16 pm
EMT Express, March 15 2011
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Welcome to EMT Express, providing bi-weekly news
and tips for the people who market Minnesota tourism.
Articles in this edition:
Budget Targets Released by Legislature
The House and Senate Republican Caucuses have released their budget targets. While our oversight committees have significant reductions in their targets, we are also in committees with many other large agencies and sizable budgets. The target for our Senate State Government Innovation and Veterans Committee reduces spending by 53%. This committee has jurisdiction over Explore Minnesota Tourism (EMT), the State Arts Board, the Historical Society, and a number of other large and small agencies. The target for our House State Government Finance Committee reflects a reduction of 33.9%. This committee has jurisdiction over the same basic agencies. A reduction to our budget in these amounts would have serious implications on all aspects of EMT programs. While the news is not good, this is just another step in the process before adjournment. We are fortunate the Governor has proposed stable and potentially increased funding for Explore Minnesota Tourism. It is vitally important that your legislators are aware of your views regarding the importance of tourism funding to you and your area.
Meet in Minnesota Event for Meeting Planners in Ohio
In conjunction with Meet in Minnesota destination partners, Explore Minnesota Tourism is coordinating events for meeting planners in two Ohio cities, Columbus and Cincinnati, for June 15-16. Meeting planners will be invited to an event with the topic “Fresh and Inspiring Menus for 200 – 2,000″ with a chef from Minnesota going to Ohio to prepare an item, and a chef from the venue in each city preparing an item for a “Chef Challenge” and presentation on the topic. Cost for participation is $1,700 per destination and allows two representatives to attend both events. To learn more and get a participation form, contact Gayle Junnila at 651-757-1852, 800-657-3673 or gayle.junnila@state.mn.us.
Gearing Up for National Travel and Tourism Week
National Travel & Tourism Week
April Sales Mission to St Louis: Two Seats Remain
Hurry and get the last two spots on Explore Minnesota Tourism’s spring sales mission to St. Louis, Missouri. From April 19-21, we’ll call on 15-20 qualified tour operators and bank club directors and promote your destination, attraction, or accommodation. We will learn about their current tour focuses and needs, followed by discussion and a short presentation of each industry’s product. These one-on-one visits have proven to be a successful return on investment and build working relationships with new clients and fellow industry members. Participation cost is $200, which includes van transportation in St. Louis, joint promotional items and hosting opportunities. Flight, lodging and meals are not included, but efforts are made to keep these costs to a minimum. An affordable flight schedule is presently available that will allow maximum visits in three days. For questions or sign-up, contact Cheryl Offerman, 800-657-3600, 651-757-1860 or Cheryl.Offerman@state.mn.us.
Travel Trade leads are now posted from appointments with North American tour and motorcoach operators at the 2011 Heartland Travel Showcase held in Detroit, Michigan on February 18-20. Many of these operators develop tours primarily to Midwest destinations and this trade show is where they look to get new ideas. If applicable, please respond to the lead as soon as possible and state in your communication that it is in response to their meeting with Explore Minnesota Tourism at the 2011 Heartland Travel Showcase. All leads from group tour and international marketing tradeshows remain posted until the next year’s event. Click http://industry.exploreminnesota.com/side1/group-tour-packaged-travel/leads/ for leads.
Great River Shakespeare Festival and Winona 360 Win Dot Org Awards
The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and MAP for Nonprofits recently presented the 2011 Dot Org Awards, recognizing a handful of nonprofits that are using technology and communications in inspiring, effective and creative ways. The Dot Org Sharing the Spotlight winner for 2011 was the Great River Shakespeare Festival and Winona 360 for their innovative collaboration to produce a weekly video blog for the 2010 summer festival. The culmination of the project, a 15-minute documentary about the Great River Shakespeare Festival’s Apprentice Actor Training Program, premiered last month at Winona’s Frozen River Film Festival. See it now at http://GRSF.org and see all of Winona State University student Meredith Olsen’s videos at http://grsf.org/about-us/videos.
Back by Popular Demand: CERTs and EnergyMisers, LLC VendingMiser Bulk-Buy Program. Join with dozens of business, schools, local governments, and non-profits to take advantage of a state-wide bulk rate on VendingMisers and save $130 a year per machine. The average beverage vending machine costs around $300 to power every year. By installing a VendingMiser on your machine, you can potentially reduce your machine’s energy usage by as much as 46% and save up to $130 per year, while keeping drinks cold and attracting customers. Join with other lodging facilities across Minnesota to save money on your beverage and snack machines by participating. To learn more or sign-up, visit http://miser.mncerts.org.
Save Money on Energy Costs in Food Service
Food service businesses use two and a half times more energy than other commercial businesses! With small profit margins, savings on energy expenses can make a big difference. Attend a free seminar to learn about ways to cut your energy costs. This seminar is sponsored by the City of Minneapolis, Eureka Recycling, Xcel Energy, CenterPoint Energy, and Dunwoody College. The goal of the session is to give food service business owners and operators ideas for saving money on their energy bills. Food service energy expert Richard Young will be presenting. Seminar is Monday, March 21, 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., with registration beginning at 8:00 a.m. RSVP at http://foodserviceenergy.eventbrite.com to save your spot.
Developing a Sustainable Community Wildlife Tourism Program
This program is your opportunity to meet and hear Jim Mallman of Watchable Wildlife, Inc., discuss methods for utilizing natural assets to foster economic development. The session will be held April 7, 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at Hastings City Hall for $25 per person. It is designed for business owners, chamber members, public officials, and community pride promoters-anyone who would benefit from economic development. To register: http://www.freedomparkwi.org/documents/TourismWildlifeconf.pdf.
Job Openings at Meet Minneapolis
Meet Minneapolis currently has openings for tourism-related positions. To view the job descriptions, please go to: http://www.meetminneapolis.com/members/about/employment.aspx.
To apply, please contact by March 25: Amy Alegi for Director of Marketing position amya@meetminneapolis.com; or Amy Freese for Partnership Marketing Coordinator position amyf@meetminneapolis.com.
Created on … March 15, 2011 by Explore Minnesota Tourism