HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-06-28-TOUR2-minTown of Lexington
Tourism Committee
Minutes June 28, 2010
Present: Mary Jo Bohart, Kerry Brandin, Bebe Fallick, Dawn McKenna, Paul
O'Shaughnessy; Staff: Masha Traber Guest: Fred Johnson
Absent: Susan Bennett, Carla Fortmann, Mary Gillespie, Kathleen James, John Patrick, Lou
Sideris,
In the absence of a quorum, we were unable to conduct any formal business. Instead we
had informal discussions of the following (items addressed in different order):
1) Liberty Ride
a) We will have a several thousand dollars operating surplus over the $17,500
cushion at the end of the fiscal year. Our Charter tours for FYI totaled 125.
That is up from 80 in FY09. Over 4,600 visitors came to Lexington via charter
tours in FYI 0.
b) 2011 Dates of Operation were discussed. The pros and cons of three options were
discussed (1) Weekends only in April and May, Daily beginning May 30 th ; ( 2)
Start two weeks earlier run May 14 daily; (3) Defer decision to end of season
and simply advertise operates April —Oct, check website for actual dates. It was
the consensus of those present that since we have been working to align dates of
operation, it makes the most sense to do (1) which is how the historic houses are
now operating. A formal vote will be brought to the Committee at our next
meeting. In the meanwhile, Masha will inform the travel guides of the anticipated
change.
2) Activities
a) Briefly viewed the AAA article and discussed the positive impact we hope it will
have.
b) In the fall we will discuss what we might accomplish with an Adams Grant for
cultural tourism and decide whether to submit a Letter of Intent.
c) Open Meeting Law Training was briefly mentioned.
d) A handout from the Tourism Breakfast was given. One of the interesting statistics
is that in the first four months of 2010, hotel stays in Middlesex County are up
20.9% compared to 12.9% in the State and 3% nationwide.
e) GMVCB is placing an ad in the Yankee Magazine 75 Anniversary
Commemorative September /October 2010 edition. There are 6 spots available for
local ads. Since Yankee Magazine is a good fit and the money is relatively cheap
we will place an ad with our marketing funds.
f) We will make an offer to the Motor Coach Association to have a special Liberty
Ride Tour on the evening of August 21 St at a reduced rate. They are looking for
tours that evening.
g) Bebe Fallick has offered to serve as our liaison to the 300 Anniversary
Committee. Dawn will send a note to Susan Rockwell to ask her to add Bebe to
her email distribution list.
h) Kerry Brandin is working on a format for the Weekly Calendar. Different layout
options were reviewed. The one that seems to make the most sense is to list
ongoing activities in one section and daily special events in another section.
Initially we will consider ordering 2,500 per week.
i) We made some final changes. One thing that is clear is that the business
community continues to evolve. Just in the last week there have been new
businesses added and closed. At this point we have to proceed with the
businesses as they are. Minor adjustments will be made, a couple of pictures
substituted, and the map numbers added. We are obtaining three quotes for
printing and we will get it out in the next couple of weeks. Committee members
were pleased with the product.
3) Next meeting: to be determined - September
There was no quorum so we could not formally adjourn. The meeting ended at
approximately 5:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Dawn McKenna