CVB URGES SOUTHERN TOURISM PUSH

The Cape Girardeau Convention & Visitors Bureau advisory staff will recommend that the Missouri Division of Tourism spend some of its advertising dollars in Tennessee and Arkansas.

It was revealed during the state group's "Tourism Think Tank," held in Cape Girardeau in early August, that few, if any, funds were being spent in Nashville, Memphis, or Little Rock in efforts to attract tourists and travelers to the Southeast Missouri area.

"I was impressed with the presentation of the state organization," said advisory board member David Ross. "The question of advertising areas came up, and I think that the CVB should stress just how important the Nashville and Memphis advertising markets could be to our area."

It was pointed out that the Division of Tourism's key television markets outside the state were Wichita and Tulsa, Peoria and Quad Cities of Illinois, and Nebraska and Iowa, which helps every area of the state except the southeast sector.

The CVB advisory board agreed to submit a letter to the state group.

The advisory board held its August meeting Wednesday at City Hall, two weeks after the regular scheduled meeting had been postponed due to a scheduling conflict. The board decided to forego the September meeting, with the next regularly-scheduled meeting to be held in October.

Only routine matters were taken up at the meeting.

Convention & Visitors Bureau director, Lyn Muzzy, reported participating in two late August meetings the National Motorcoach Network Marketplace in Chicago Aug. 21-23, and the Group Leaders of America Marketplace in Knoxville, Tenn. Aug. 27-28.

"We've already booked some tours out of Nashville, Tenn. as a result of those meetings," said Muzzy. "I'm really pleased with the reactions from the marketplace sessions."

Muzzy also expressed satisfaction with the inquiries received by the CVB as a result of statewide radio advertising.

"We've received a total of 415 calls from the radio promotions," he said. Muzzy said the radio spots are a cooperative venture between the area and the state, which shares the costs.

Muzzy said the CVB had received a total of 2,070 inquiries going into September. A lot of the inquiries were as a result of print advertising in a monthly publication.

Muzzy also reported that the CVB had provided information tables for several groups visiting the city, including the New trends in Agriculture Conference, Wetterau Food Show, and Heartland Writer's Guild. He added that the CVB would be helping several other groups Missouri County Clerks Association, Department of Conservation Natural History Conference, SEMO Dental Society, and Community Caring Council Seminar in the near future.