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Home My WebLink AboutLRC5 Visit SLO County Honors Fire Services of San Luis Obispo County and Past President Noreen Martin at SAVOR Opening Ceremony Visit San Luis Obispo County honored the Fire Services of San Luis Obispo County with the first annual Tourism Hero Award on September 26th during the opening ceremony of Sunset SAVOR the Central Coast, which takes place each year before the Main Event at the historic Santa Margarita Ranch (top photo). Over 100 guests gathered together for the ceremony, which concluded with the traditional ribbon cutting, officially marking the opening of the Main Event. The Tourism Hero Award was presented to the Fire Services of San Luis Obispo County in recognition of their exceptional valor and courage, as they worked tirelessly to extinguish threatening wildfires impeding Santa Margarita Ranch this summer. Visit San Luis Obispo County also presented their 2015 Tourism Champion Award to Noreen Martin, CEO of Martin Resorts (bottom photo). The Tourism Champion Award is given each year to individuals who go above and beyond in their dedication and commitment to tourism for San Luis Obispo County. -‐What’s New -‐ Activity Report, September 2015 Visit SLO County Board Chair Kevin Phipps Announces Resignation Visit San Luis Obispo County’s Board Chair, Kevin Phipps, announced in September that he is leaving San Luis Obispo County to pursue a new opportunity as the new General Manager at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Convention Center Las Vegas, and resigned from the Board, effective October 2nd. Kevin has served on our Board and Executive Committee for the past several years, transitioning this past year to the Board Chair under the formation of the Tourism Marketing District and its new Board. He has given countless hours of his time and expertise to assist with the set-‐up and structure of the new organization. The Board will be tasked with addressing the vacancy in the Board Chair position at the October 20th meeting. This will also open a seat for the City of San Luis Obispo to appoint a new board member. Coming Soon: Visit San Luis Obispo County Co-‐op Opportunities Visit San Luis Obispo County is excited to provide co-‐op opportunities in print publications such as Westways, Sunset, VIA Magazine, AARP, the OC Register, the LA Times, and the SF Chronicle. Co-‐ops will range from pictorial to advertorial formats, and will be running from November to April, with a focus on the shoulder season. Digital opportunities will also be available in food & wine and travel sites throughout the Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Central Valley markets. Partners will be able to purchase two-‐thirds of banner space on these digital ads to feature their content. Information will soon be available on the Visit SLO County website. For more details, please contact Brendan Pringle at brendan@visitsanluisobispocounty.com. Visit SLO County Welcomes New Director of Travel Trade: Michael Wambolt Visit San Luis Obispo County is pleased to announce its new Director of Travel Trade, Michael Wambolt. Born in Torrance, CA and raised in Santa Clarita, Michael attended CU Boulder on a full athletic scholarship for two years until his ball playing career was interrupted by a battle with cancer. After vanquishing the illness, he discovered a passion and knack for hospitality on an excursion across Europe with ConTiki Holidays. Michael spent the next few years in Amsterdam, Paris, and Hopfgarten, Austria working for ConTiki as a cook, site representative, bartender, and assistant manager. Missing the states, Michael returned to California. He started as a Front Desk Agent at the SeaCrest OceanFront Hotel in Pismo Beach, and climbed the ranks to Director of Sales. Most recently, Michael served as the Director of Sales at the SpringHill Suites in Atascadero, where he helped to open the hotel. As the Director of Travel Trade for Visit San Luis Obispo County, Michael is able to utilize the experience and relationships he has cultivated over his 15 years in the field of hospitality and tourism to best suit the needs of the county he calls home. Phipps (left) with Chuck Davison, Visit San Luis Obispo County President & CEO Visit San Luis Obispo County is a 501c6 tourism non-profit. For more information please call (805)541-8000. Featured in Thomas Cook Travel Magazine: Cayucos’ Brown Butter Cookie Company (left); and in Peter Greenberg Worldwide: San Luis Obispo County’s local farmers markets (SLO Farmer’s Market featured right). Trending VISIT SLO COUNTY WEB ACTIVITY VISITS: 37,075 UNIQUE VISITORS: 30,275 PAGE VIEWS: 119,020 AVG. PAGE VIEWS/VISIT: 3.21 AVG. TIME ON SITE: 2:25 TOTAL ORGANIC TRAFFIC: 26,914 % OF ORGANIC: 73% MOBILE VISITS: 20,534 MOST VISITED EVENT: FARMERS MARKET – SAN LUIS OBISPO (443 VIEWS) TOTAL BLOG VISITS: 7,129 MOST SHARED BLOG: CAYUCOS IN THOMAS COOK TRAVEL MAGAZINE HTTP://BIT.LY/1IYO4TE VISIT SLO COUNTY FACEBOOK LIKES: 12,716 NEW: 177 TOT. IMPRESSIONS: 95,315 HIGHEST ENGAGEMENT: CENTRAL COAST MAKES THE HUFFPOST’S LIST OF 5 GREAT WINE DESTINATIONS IN THE US (779 ENGAGEMENTS) MOST LIKED: CENTRAL COAST MAKES THE HUFFPOST’S LIST OF 5 GREAT WINE DESTINATIONS IN THE US (392 LIKES) FOLLOWERS NEW TWITTER: 5,590 128 32K IMPRESSIONS TWEETS: 6,112 PINTEREST: 617 9 PINS: 792 INSTAGRAM: 1,356 105 POSTS: 393 VISITOR GUIDE DIST. WEB DOWNLOADS: 61 GUIDES DISTRIBUTED: 2332 TOTAL: 2393 MONTHLY E-‐SPECIAL SUBSCRIBERS: 36,154 # OF OPENS: 6,860 # OF CLICK-‐THROUGHS: 855 THIS WEEK IN SLO COUNTY CIRCULATION: 891 MOST CLICKED LINK: 2016 San Luis Obispo County Visitors Magazine Media Kit Public Relations •Sid Lipsey, Yahoo! Travel – San Luis Obispo, Cayucos: Oct. 8-‐10 (re-‐scheduled) Media •Peter Greenberg Worldwide – San Luis Obispo County http://bit.ly/1j8JBHO •AwesomenessTV – Beach Buggies with JennXPenn and ThatsSoJack http://bit.ly/1NeEnXn •Thomas Cook Travel Magazine – Surf town Cayucos is a hit with local tourists after small town charm http://bit.ly/1Lc5kZH •KSBY – Sunset SAVOR the Central Coast Kicks Off http://bit.ly/1OdZlED •KEYT – Sunset SAVOR the Central Coast Set to Begin http://bit.ly/1ORAYhD •Travel Channel – Top 10 Locals List with Shane Reynolds: Pacific Coast Highway: http://bit.ly/1FOeICE •Orbitz Travel Blog – 5 Great Wine Destinations in the US http://huff.to/1iOZMcH Travel Trade •China FAM – Nov. 6 •Australian SuperFAM – Nov. 12 Visit SLO County Attends Visit California SF Media Event Visit San Luis Obispo County’s Kylee Jepsen recently represented our region at the Visit California SF Media Reception at The Village in downtown San Francisco. Over 70 Bay Area media attended and had the opportunity to learn about San Luis Obispo County. Media included representatives from Weekend Sherpa, Trekaroo, KGO, SF Chronicle, VIA Magazine, Bay Area Family Travel and many other publications. Most media inquired about Family-‐Friendly activities and Cultural Events. Visit San Luis Obispo County will be following up with all leads to ensure our area continues to receive great media exposure in the Bay Area market. UK SuperFAM Explores Paso Robles From September 26-‐27, Visit SLO County hosted a UK SuperFAM in partnership with Visit California and Black Diamond. The SuperFAM was composed of 10 travel experts from companies throughout the UK. During their two-‐day whirlwind adventure of the Paso Robles area, the SuperFAM enjoyed a host of activities: lunch at Hunter Ranch Golf Course, wine tasting at Cass Winery, a farm tour at FARMstead Ed, wine and cheese pairing at Allegretto Resort, stagecoach rides at Harris Stage Lines, ziplining at Margarita Adventures, an afternoon at Sunset SAVOR the Central Coast and dinners at Firestone’s Taproom and Enoteca Restaurant. The La Quinta Inn in Paso Robles hosted them during their stay. Visit SLO County’s Kylee Jepsen and Michael Wambolt joined back up with the group in Sacramento for their Finale Event on September 29. August 2015 vs August 2014 Lodging Statistics (STR, Inc.) Santa Barbara/ Santa Maria Monterey/Salinas California Date: October 2, 2015 Client: Visit San Luis Obispo County Date Range: April 1 - September 30, 2015 Total Traffic Overview: Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Visits:30,648 37,667 42,305 46,651 37,447 37,075 Unique Visitors:25,365 31,136 35,058 38,075 30,571 30,275 Bounce Rate:48%49%52%50%49%47% Pageviews:96,341 116,951 128,578 138,129 113,518 119,020 Avg Pageviews Per Visit:3.14 3.10 3.04 2.96 3.03 3.21 Avg Time on Site:0:02:23 0:02:21 0:02:19 0:02:17 0:02:19 0:02:25 Total Organic Search Traffic:22,385 27,209 28,464 33,837 27,187 26,914 % of Traffic Organic Search:73%72%67%73%73%73% Entry Pages From Search:1,826 1,996 2,013 2,185 2,012 2,040 Mobile/Tablet SnapShot: Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Visits:15,574 19,643 22,486 26,406 20,530 20,534 Industry Averages: % of visits 51%52%53%57%55%55%Pages / Visit Avg. Visit Duration Bounce Rate Bounce Rate:51%51%54%53%52%50%2.60 0:02:19 55.21% Pageviews: 42,501 54,217 59,681 69,141 55,887 59,683 Avg Time on Site:0:02:01 0:02:03 0:01:59 0:01:57 0:02:08 0:02:12 * Visits increased 60% compared to last year. * Unique Visitors on the main site increased 57% year over year. * Pageviews increased 57% compared over this time last year. * Organic traffic increased 70% year over year. * Organic entries to the Activities page increased by 24%, and by 203% on the Events page sorted by Fairs & Festivals. SEO Overview: 0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Visits Year-Over-Year Prior Year This Year 72.59% 16.59% 7.84% 2.44% 0.53% Traffic Sources Organic Search Direct Referral Social Email Page 2 of 17 Date: October 2, 2015 Client: Visit San Luis Obispo County Date Range: September 1-30, 2015 Organic Traffic % of Total Site Traffic Visits 26,914 72.59% Organic Engagement Compared to Site Engagement Pageviews Per Visit 3.37 5.10% Avg. Time on Site 0:02:33 5.27% New Visits 73.82%0.09% Bounce Rate 44.13%-6.95% Search Engine Visits Percent google 24,053 89.37% yahoo 1,678 6.23% bing 956 3.55% aol 156 0.58% ask 50 0.19% baidu 9 0.03% Exact Keyword Visits Percent Landing Page Visits Percent (not provided)25,001 92.89%/events 6,237 23.17% san luis obispo 133 0.49%/2,797 10.39% san luis obispo county 27 0.10%/events/all/fairs_and_festivals 1,293 4.80% san luis obispo events 23 0.09%/activities 688 2.56% san luis obispo ca 15 0.06%/our-area 549 2.04% slo events 15 0.06%/lodging 494 1.84% antique faires in san luis obispo county 14 0.05%/events/461/thursday-farmers-market 443 1.65% san luis obispo calendar 13 0.05%/events/570/i-madonnari-italian-street-chalkfestival 279 1.04% slo county events 13 0.05%/events/1346/avocado-margarita-festival 250 0.93% san luis obispo farmers market 11 0.04%/community/cambria 249 0.93% Organic Search Traffic: 0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 40,000 Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Organic Visits Comparison Prior Year Current Year Page 3 of 17 Date: October 2, 2015 Client: Visit San Luis Obispo County Date Range: September 1 - 30, 2015 Demographics & Interests Affinity Categories: Top 10 Affinity Categories Visits Movie Lovers 134 TV Lovers 127 Travel Buffs 104 Technophiles 96 Cooking Enthusiasts/Aspiring Chefs 92 Home Decor Enthusiasts 92 News Junkies & Avid Readers/Entertainment & Celebrity News Junkies 92 News Junkies & Avid Readers 91 Music Lovers 86 Shoppers/Shopaholics 77 Other Categories: Top 10 Categories Visits News/Weather 62 Arts & Entertainment/Celebrities & Entertainment News 61 Arts & Entertainment/TV & Video/Online Video 43 Internet & Telecom/Email & Messaging 41 Food & Drink/Cooking & Recipes 34 Shopping/Consumer Resources/Coupons & Discount Offers 31 Real Estate/Real Estate Listings 26 Travel/Hotels & Accommodations 26 Reference/General Reference/Dictionaries & Encyclopedias 24 Travel/Tourist Destinations/Beaches & Islands 20 Affinity Categories broaden the scope to identify users in terms of lifestyle; for example, Technophiles, Sports Fans, and Cooking Enthusiasts. These categories are defined in a similar way to TV audiences, and represent an opportunity to understand the behavior of your audience. Other Categories are used to classify groups of users based on the specific content they consume, along with how recently and frequently they consume that content. This category data provides a more focused view of your users, and lets you analyze behavior more narrowly than Affinity Categories. * Per Google 5.61% 14.02% 6.07% 11.21% 20.09% 7.01% 0.00% 7.01% 5.14% 9.35% 9.35% 5.14% 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+ Age Group by Gender Male Female Page 4 of 17 Date: October 2, 2015 Client: Visit San Luis Obispo County Date Range: September 1 - 30, 2015 Top Content: Top Landing Pages Entrances Top Content Pages Pageviews /events 7,386 /events 13,900 /5,236 /7,844 /events/all/fairs_and_festivals 1,470 /events/all/fairs_and_festivals 3,954 /poly-parents 1,032 /events/1346/avocado-margarita-festival 2,262 /activities 776 /events?page=1 2,056 /our-area 684 /our-area 1,898 /lodging 607 /events/2489/avila-apple-festival 1,605 /events/461/thursday-farmers-market 501 /poly-parents 1,260 /events/1346/avocado-margarita-festival 431 /events/all/childrens_activities 1,247 /blog/873/cayucos-in-thomas-cook-travel-magazine 319 /activities 1,162 Geographic: 12% 11% 10% 4% 3% 2% 2% 2% 2% 1% 51% Top Cities San Luis Obispo San Francisco Los Angeles Atascadero Paso Robles Arroyo Grande Santa Maria Morro Bay San Diego Fresno Other 85.7% 1.5% 1.2% 0.9% 0.8% 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 0.6% 0.6% 6.2% Top States California Texas Arizona Washington Nevada Colorado New York Illinois Oregon Michigan Other Page 5 of 17 Date: October 2, 2015 Client: Visit San Luis Obispo County Date Range: September 1 - 30, 2015 In-MarketVs Vistor: 5,192 11,348 0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000 16,000 18,000 In-Market Out of Market Desktop Visits 5,202 15,332 0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000 16,000 18,000 In-Market Out of Market Mobile/Tablet Visits 68.61% 31.39% 74.67% 25.33% Page 6 of 17