ANNUAL REPORT 2018

T h e C h i n c o t e a g u e C h a m b e r o f C o m m e r c e

i s a n o r g a n i z a t i o n w h e r e b y m a n y d i f f e r e n t

b u s i n e s s i n t e r e s t s h a v e j o i n e d t o g e t h e r

i n a c o m b i n e d m a n n e r t o m a x i m i z e t h e i r

a b i l i t y t o a t t r a c t a n d i n c r e a s e t h e n u m b e r

o f v i s i t o r s t o C h i n c o t e a g u e I s l a n d .

T h e u l t i m a t e g o a l o f t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n i s t o

c o m m u n i c a t e t h e m e s s a g e t h a t C h i n c o t e a g u e ,

t h e " B e a u t i f u l L a n d A c r o s s t h e W a t e r , " i s t h e

m o s t d e s i r a b l e l o c a t i o n t o v i s i t a n d / o r

v a c a t i o n w i t h f a m i l y o r f r i e n d s .

MISSION STATEMENT

REGIONAL OVERVIEW

VTC Economic Impact Study 2017

*Eastern Shore of Virginia tied for third place out of 10 regions for top growth in the Commonwealth of VA in 2017---4.3%

*Accomack County 5.6% increase in 2017/2016---receiving over $207 million in domestic travel expenditures.

*Chincoteague Island accounts for 91% of the Transient Occupancy Tax receipts for Accomack County.

*Chincoteague’s robust tourism products and the Chincoteague Chamber’s strategic marketing plan combine to drive tourism dollars to our area.

*Every $1 VTC invests in tourism marketing generates $7 in state tax revenue--VTC

*For every $1 invested in tourism the community reaps $6 in economic benefits through economic churn, job creation, and business profits.--VTC

*Tourism has consistently proved to be a sound investment for state and local governments and an instant revenue generator.

VTC-Virginia Tourism Corporation

STRATEGIC PLAN ADOPTED FEBRUARY 2018

*MARKETING

~Earned Media ~Paid Media ~Organic Marketing—Social Media Sharing

*BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

~Cultivate Entrepreneurs ~Advocate for Business ~Relocation to Chincoteague

*BUSINESS RETENTION

~Support through assistance with planning, marketing, finances, resiliency, insurance, and other information

*MEMBER SERVICES

~Awards, networking, receptions, website, newsletters

STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS ATTAINED Short Term Strategies Marketing 1. Attract & Assist Group Tours *Trustworthy Travel-May *Shillelaghs, Travel Club-Easter *Helen Wheels Tour-June *Baer Express Tours-August 2. Scheduled press releases to regional/national media *20 press releases sent in 2018 3. Develop Social Media Hashtags *Display LOVE Chairs #chincoteaguechamber #visitciva Business Development 1. Attract New Businesses *Create Entrepreneurial Opportunities section on website *Review Gap Assessment regularly Business Retention 1. Business to business resource *Financial Wellness Fair-10/17 *Job Fair w/ ESCC-4/11/18 *Monthly Networking Luncheons Member Services 1. Attract New Chamber Members *21 new members since July 1, 2017 *Offer new member first year discount

EARNED MEDIA

*20 Press Releases sent to approximately 400 media contacts globally promoting awards, festivals, shows, concerts, parades and more…..

*Assisted over 40 travel writers & journalists resulting in articles in: ~Cavaliere Magazine (French) ~Southern Living ~Northern VA Magazine ~Small Town Big Deal (Syndicated TV) ~USA Today ~Coastal VA Magazine ~Bird Watcher’s Digest ~French Canadian Travel TV Series ~ Buffalo Pictures (UK TV) ~Group Travel Leader Magazine ~Chesterfield Living ~VA Living ~Fodor’s Travel ~Geo Plein Air (Quebec) ~Waterway Guide Chesapeake Bay ~2018 VRLTA Ordinary Award- chamber nominated Black Narrows Brewing Co. & they won Best Brewer ~Chincoteague Calm (book) ~Nicholas Goes to Pony Swim (book) ~Numerous blog posts and websites internationally

*Pitched Chincoteague to numerous media outlets in response to leads from Virginia Tourism Corporation

PONY SWIM MEDIA

*Chamber assisted media: ~WGMD, WBEY, WMDT, WJLA, WBOC, WRDE, WCVE, WTKR, WESR, WCTG ~Southern Living ~The Today Show ~USA Today ~DelmarvaNow.com ~New York Times-Sarah Nir ~Circa ~Small Town Big Deal-Jon Baime ~Damon Mohl ~ES News, ES Post, ES First ~CBS Philly ~Buffalo Pictures-UK TV (London) ~Pony Swim appeared in countless articles around the world fed by these media sources and others

*Chamber assisted over 1,000 visitors that week via office, phone and email

*One 2:12 video received 143K views, 2K shares, 2.2K reactions, 263 comments

*Over 500,000 Facebook reaches for the week---1.74 million for July

PAID MEDIA

*Richmond Visitor Guide- Daytrips Cost $1,500 Value$7,500

*Advent Media Group— Redbook, Good Housekeeping, Woman’s Day in Wilmington DE region Cost $1,900 Value $8,426

*Virginia Living Magazine

*Recreation News (CRUSH FRIDAY Grant $3,125)

*Virginia Festivals

*Sandmarks of OC/DE & Coastal VA Cost $1,500 Value $6,300

*Group Tour Media

*Virginia Travel Guide

*Essentials - ESVA Chamber

*GSB Media (CRUSH FRIDAY Grant $5,240)

SOCIAL MEDIA & VISITOR STATS

*FACEBOOK ~2,439,000 reached

*TWITTER ~115,000 impressions

*INSTAGRAM ~20,000 interactions

*YOUTUBE ~18,500 views

Visitors: 8,921

Phone Calls: 4,476

Emails: 4,204

Web Hits: 169,786

YouTube

Instagram

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

2016 2017 2018

1,716

5,925

18,420

18,154 14,424

19,928

Instagram Interactions & YouTube Views

CHAMBER SPONSORED EVENTS

*EASTER DECOY & ART FESTIVAL ~1,000+ attendees

*SEAFOOD FESTIVAL ~3,000 attendees

*OYSTER FESTIVAL ~3,000 attendees

*CHRISTMAS PARADE ~1,000+ attendees

Chamber sponsored events stimulate the economy during the shoulder seasons, bringing visitors in for long weekends.

MEMBERSHIP SERVICES & BENEFITS *Active membership of 319 paid members and 11 Board Members representing various industry sectors

*Annual General Membership Meeting

*Publish Yearly Visitor Guide & Membership Directory

*Networking luncheons monthly Oct-Apr

*Professional seminars and training opportunities

*Citizen and Business Person of Year

*Ribbon Cuttings

*Business After Hours

*Partners: Eastern Shore of VA Tourism Commission; VA Tourism Corporation; VA Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Association; Wallops Island Regional Alliance, A-NPDC and others strengthening economic development opportunities and shared goals

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

*Town of Chincoteague *Chamber Membership * Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company * Chincoteague Police Department * Accomack Sherriff’s Department * Virginia State Police * Accomack County Public Schools * US Coast Guard * US Navy * Kiwanis Club of Chincoteague * Festival Volunteers

SNEAK PREVIEW: 2019

*2019 Chincoteague Visitor’s Guide & Membership Directory

*50 YEARS OF LOVE grant opportunity- ($10,000 grant from VTC)—application submitted Jan. 8, 2019

*Focus on digital marketing and website SEO to capture higher market audience and maximize member benefits

*Chincoteague Chamber Board of Directors appoint Executive Director for seat on newly re-organized Eastern Shore of VA Tourism Commission