It's easy enough to tout the great things about Memphis.

The tough job is cutting through the noise other cities make in trying to lure visitors. The travel and hospitality industry generated $1.8 trillion nationally in economic output from visitors last year according to the U.S. Travel Association. That's a lot of people on the move, and Kevin Kane wants them to come here.

Kane, president and CEO of the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau since 1991, has stepped up to the competition on a number of fronts, constantly seeking opportunities to draw people and money to Memphis. "Our first priority is large groups of people that are going to be here for multiple days," he says, the focus being on convention development and major sporting events that bring out-of-towners into hotels, restaurants and retail stores.

Second priority is the overnight guest — the salesperson or family stopping here along the way to another destination. "Our goal is to get that group to extend their length of stay," Kane says. "Not even necessarily two nights, but if we can get them to stay a few more hours, chances are they're going to be spending money."

And third is what he calls day trippers, those people coming in from outside Shelby County for a concert, play or game. "We look at the Ticketmaster ZIP code analysis and see that typically 20 percent to 30 percent of those people come from outside of Memphis."

The economic impact is especially sweet because, as Kane says, "we're doing it with other people's money. That's what makes this industry different from everything else."

Travel and hospitality is important enough to the lifeblood of the city that MemphisED has designated it a key target industry and partnered with the MCVB. Visitors come to enjoy more than 50 tourist attractions here and spend more than $3 billion annually. There are more than 50,000 jobs in tourism/hospitality spread out over all neighborhoods with annual wages of some $2 billion. The MCVB itself employs around 70 fulltime employees at its offices as well as at the Cook Convention Center, plus more than 100 part-timers.

But its footprint is global, Kane says. There's an office in Washington with a full-time employee working the numerous national organizations based there. There are representative firms in London, Chicago, Tokyo and elsewhere pushing the convention center, the Peabody Memphis Hotel and everything else the Bluff City has to offer.

And the lure they use is, fortunately, the sexiest sell of all: music. "We have so many rich, diverse qualities that define us," Kane says, "but we still feel that the whole music culture is our hook. Our identity is linked to Elvis, B.B. King, Isaac Hayes, Justin Timberlake, Stax and Sun — current and past music and these iconic figures."

That makes pitching Memphis easier, but Kane is not one to sit still. The MCVB recently took over management of the Cook Convention Center, a move that offers advantages to developing the appeal of the region. "It allows us to leverage our resources, to have a Memphis focus and to create a total one-stop shop for the customer."

The Memphis Economic Development Plan (MemphisED) is a five-year comprehensive program to transform our region. The plan is administered by the Greater Memphis Chamber. The plan involves 16 community partners working together to implement 15 strategies that support five key goals:

• Creating a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.
• Marketing our region externally to attract new companies and internally to improve our self-image.
• Building on our existing strengths in logistics, bioscience, music, film and tourism.
• Working to retain local firms and helping them expand here in Shelby County – with particular attention to minority/women-owned firms.
• Making Memphis a “place of choice” for the increasingly mobile workforce.

MemphisED is working. For more detail go to www.memphischamber.com/The-Chamber/MemphisED.aspx. And for video highlights, go to www.memphischamber.com/stories.

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In our special web-only content, Kane explains the role of social media and the internet in their neverending Memphis campaign.

The travel and hospitality industry generated $1.8 trillion nationally in economic output from visitors last year according to the U.S. Travel Association.

A key element in Memphis Convention & Visitor’s Bureau strategy is making the most of social media. "We spend more money taking care of and updating our website than on pamphlets and books and brochures," says Kevin Kane, president and CEO of the MCVB. "We control a social blog called I Love Memphis, although it's not really branded with tourism or the CVB stamp on it." For two years, Kerry Crawford has presided over the popular blog that boasts an average of 30,000 monthly visits and 80,000 monthly page views.

"We don't try to control the message," Kane says. "Somebody asks Kerry’s opinion, she gives her opinion. From a social media standpoint, that's what people want — it feels more real and has more credibility."

And it proves to be yet another effective tool of cutting through the noise to get people to come to Memphis, have a good time, and leave some money behind.



Related Links:
Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau
U.S. Travel Association
I Love Memphis Blog

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Memphis Crossroads, the Chamber's quarterly economic development magazine, is available free at select locations throughout Memphis (including Schnuck's markets), via mail for Chamber members and at the Chamber's offices on the 2nd floor of the Falls Building, 22 N. Front Street.