Hartford Business Journal

8 Hartford Business Journal • May 16, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com Cultural tourism outlets partner to grow audiences By Patricia Daddona Special to the Hartford Business Journal A s cultural tourist destinations, the Hartford Stage and Harriet Beecher Stowe Center exemplify an evolving trend, in which organizations share pro- gramming to reach wider audiences. On April 6, for example, the organizations collaborated when actresses from the drama, "Having Our Say: The Del- aney Sisters' First 100 Years," discussed race and gender bar- riers with the center's afternoon "Salons at Lunch" audience. The center preserves the legacy of its namesake, the author of the ground-breaking anti-slavery novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin." While the center's crowd of 50 people and the salon's free tickets did not by themselves necessarily raise the profile (or revenues) of the two organizations, the center's Execu- tive Director Katherine Kane says that partnering works. Engagement at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center has grown from just under 23,000 visits annually eight years ago to about 40,000 people a year now, and the salons and partnering are both part of the reason, she said. "The Stowe Center has a programmatic niche that fits with our historic character and makes it easier to partner successfully," she said, "because decisions are being made around meaningful content that works for both sets of audiences." Partnering is a trend that, while not completely new, is used more and more to jumpstart cultural tourism, according to David Henderson, director of marketing, sales and communications for Hartford Stage, and Rich- ard Benfield, head of the geography department at Cen- tral Connecticut State University. On April 27, they elaborated on the collaboration trend at a session on cultural tourism innovation at the Connecticut Governor's Conference on Tourism at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. "As the media has become so splintered and you need to reach more and more people through relationships, there's been a lot more partnering," Henderson said. He cited the "Play! In CT" collaboration of six region- al theaters that marketed drama along a "trail" mod- eled after a fall foliage trail. The effort yielded $15,000 in annual economic impact for each of the past two years for the theater companies and lodging partners, he said. Benfield, who is also vice president of the board of directors for the New Britain Symphony Society, said in 2014 the society partnered with the American Watch and Clock Museum in Bristol to offer a themed concert that attracted 500 patrons. Both organizations were "delirious" over the large turnout, he said. "It's just greater awareness and exposure for both organizations," he explained. "People today are much more eclectic and wide-ranging in their interests and in forming partnerships. You cater to that." Partnering is becoming a staple, in part, because cultural tourism represents only about 14 percent of all tourism nationally, said Benfield. That 1999 data is from the Travel Industry of America and was confirmed in 2013 by Mandala Research LLC, he said. On average, 33 percent of Americans want to shop when perusing tourist destinations, he added, so com- petition for attention can be fierce. Randy Fiveash, director of the Connecticut Office of Tourism, and officials at the Central Connecticut Regional Tourism District confirmed that many cul- tural tourist organizations are partnering to maxi- mize marketing and package "experiences" — though FOCUS TOURISM Q&A Tourist sites must focus on 'epic' experiences Q&A talks about changing tourist consumer behavior with Jerry Henry, president and CEO of H2R Market Research, a Springfield, Mo., firm specializing in travel and leisure research. Q: You recently spoke at the Connecticut Tour- ism Conference in Hartford about how consumer social behavior is changing, which is having a big impact on tourism. What were some of the key points you got across? A: For decades the primary reason people traveled or visited attractions was to go out and have some fun together with family and friends. But, today people can socialize on social media from their Lazy Boy. Throw in a big screen TV and a video game system, and many feel they don't need to leave home at all. Digital social con- nectedness is power- ful. And, it can either be the travel indus- try's best friend or biggest competitor. Getting people off the sofa requires a pretty epic experience. Mediocre destina- tions or attractions are not enough to get people to leave the Lazy Boy. More U.S. residents report visit- ing attractions than who travel for leisure each year, 82 percent vs. 74 percent. Interestingly, Millennials (those aged 18-34 years) are more likely to visit an attraction (33 per- cent of all households) than they are to travel for leisure (27 percent). The most successful destina- tions are providing epic guest experiences, keeping their guest experiences fresh, eliminating pain points (e.g. dirty restrooms, rude employees, etc.) and listen- ing to their visitors. Nearly two-thirds of attrac- tions' visitation comes from repeat visitors (63 percent). Theme parks/ amusement parks, zoos/animal attractions, large-format screen theaters and family entertainment centers tend to attract the highest ratio of repeat visitation. Q: What is the Millennial market like when it comes to tourism? Not to generalize too much, but are they more expe- riential in their travels? A: Oh my, yes. Whereas Boom- ers grew up collecting "stuff" (and storing it in their attics and mini storage facilities), Millennials (and now Boomers too) much prefer col- lecting experiences. It's all about creating memories. But, Millenni- als demand travel experiences on their terms. They are adept at using systems to find the very best deal and they frown upon paying for packaged services they don't use. Millennials continue to reshape the travel and tourism market space. Q: In your experience, what are some of the things that are done wrong when it comes to marketing tourism? A: 1. Continuing to "describe" travelers in demographic terms rather than actually digging deeper and getting to know the traveler and the needs that motivate or inspire them to visit your destination; 2. Targeting the "average visitor" rath- er than the consumer niches that comprise the whole, e.g. girl- friends traveling together, multigener- ational travel, people who travel alone, etc; 3. Monitoring the path to purchase each mission-critical segment of prospects take to convert into visitors; 4. Using generic terms and activ- ities to describe the destination rather than differentiating around the unique benefits that make the destination different from every other place on earth. Q: What are some of the trends coming in tourism marketing? What are some of the most effective tools going to be for attracting tourists? A: 1. Big data and predictive analytics working in combination with CRM (customer relationship management) are still growing in importance, e.g. targeting spe- cific customer households (and prospects) based upon algorithms defined from patterns of behavior; 2. Leveraging brand advocates — Identifying raving fans and arming them with information to help organically extend your mar- keting reach among the friends and followers they influence; 3. Experience management — The guest experience is becoming the marketing. That is, customers willingly post great comments about great guest experiences, which arguably does the market- ing for you. Conversely, bad expe- riences get broadcast too, perhaps even faster. 4. Looking further down the road you may also include virtual reality to help pre-sell the destina- tion or artificial intelligence that JERRY HENRY President and CEO of H2R Market Research Harriet Beecher Stowe Center visitors Phyllis Satter (left) of Avon, and fellow patrons share opinions during the nonprofit's recent "Salons at Lunch." The salon was a joint effort with Hartford Stage and the talk was based on the Stage's production of the play "Having Our Say: The Delaney Sisters' First 100 Years." The organizations' collaboration is part of a growing trend on the part of cultural tourist outfits to partner on programming to expand their audiences. Dramaturg Fiona Kyle (starting left) actresses Brenda Pressley and Olivia Cole, and Director Jade King Carroll discuss Hartford Stage's production of "Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years" during a recent salon at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in Hartford. Partnerships between cul- tural tourism organizations like the theater and center reflect a growing trend to collaborate on programming to expand their audiences. P H O T O | L I S A B E E D E P H O T O | T H E R E S A M A C N A U G H T O N Continued Continued

• Cover