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Market Development Cooperator Program
PROJECT PROFILE: Capital Region USA (CRUSA, 2009 award)
As part of its campaign to draw foreign visitors, CRUSA developed ads tailored for each target market. Image: CRUSA
Capital Region USA and ITA Open Doors to Inbound Tourism to Washington, DC, Virginia and Maryland
Through its collaboration with ITA, the Capital Region USA (CRUSA) created strong marketing partnerships with overseas tour operators in select markets in Europe, Latin America, and Korea resulting in more than 204,000 hotel room night bookings in Washington, DC, Virginia and Maryland during 2009-2013.
MDCP Award/CRUSA Match: $339,199/$678,401
Markets Targeted: Brazil, France, Germany, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, United Kingdom
U.S. Industry Promoted: Travel and tourism
Period: 2009-2013
Key ITA Collaborators:
- Julie Heizer, Industry & Analysis, National Travel and Tourism Office
- April Redmon, Rosslyn, Virginia USEAC
- Hannah Kamenetsky, Commercial Service, Frankfurt, Germany
Project Description:
- Maximize revenues from overseas visitors to CRUSA.
- Increase hotel room night bookings by overseas tour operators through consumer and travel trade marketing campaigns.
- Create new-to-market opportunities for SMEs in teh CRUSA region.
- Track success via room-night booking figures and economic impact.
Project Milestone Report (Part B)
Exports Generated: $18,705,592
Exports Per Dollar of Award: $55
CRUSA's MDCP was to create a multi-year cooperative marketing fund to execute marketing campaigns with tour operators to sell existing and new CRUSA travel packages to consumers. These campaigns included internet promotions, print and electronic advertising, direct mail, public relations, training programs and joint participation in consumer travel shows, essentially using marketing tactics that have proven to work best for each operator.
To receive CRUSA funding and to instill competition into the process, tour operators were required to submit a marketing plan and budget and agreed to provide full campaign results, including room-night booking figures, at the conclusion of each campaign. To further leverage the investment by CRUSA and MDCP, tour operators were also required to match CRUSA’s investment by at least 2:1 in Europe and 1:1 in Latin America.
Destination Marketing Organizations
CRUSA’s target SMEs were Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) operating within the region. DMOs are multiplier organizations responsible for the promotion of travel and tourism to individual destinations. On average, DMOs across the United States maintain membership bases of more than five hndered, largely consisting of accommodations, attractions, cultural entities, event service suppliers, restaurants, and retail.
CRUSA set a goal of creating five new DMO partnerships annually, with the potential to involve (directly and indirectly) up to 2,860 new-to-market, small and medium sized businesses from across the region in CRUSA’s export development efforts. The MDCP resulted in partnerships with an annual average of fourteen Destination Marketing Organizations and forty-six other travel related businesses across all CRUSA marketing programs.
CRUSA contacts: Matt Gaffney, Kimberly Petersen
- CRUSA Home Page
- How to Apply for MDCP Funding
- Contact your local Export Assistance Center
- CRUSA press release
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