At the annual meeting Tuesday of the Providence Warwick Convention and Visitors Bureau, President/CEO Brian C. Whiting discussed the past, present and future of the local tourism and hospitality industry. He stated that the past few years have presented the national travel and tourism industry with many challenges, from decreased hotel occupancy and number of airline flights to dwindling attendance at conventions.
Whiting said while the Providence/Warwick destination has not been immune to these challenges, it has been fortunate in that the local travel and tourism industry weathered this period better than many others throughout the nation.
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In Providence/Warwick, hotel occupancy rates have hovered nearly 10 points above the national average, and visitation volume had not been as affected as that of other destinations due to Providence’s regional drive market accessibility. Furthermore, the convention center occupancy rate remained above the national average for facilities and destinations of similar size.
“Despite our strong history of accomplishment, we cannot sit back passively, expecting that future success will come easily,” Whiting said in a bureau press release. “While recovery throughout the travel and tourism industry is well under way and performance outlooks for nearly all sectors of the industry are optimistic, our destination – along with many others throughout the country – now faces a new set of unprecedented challenges that we must rise up to meet.”
Whiting referred to increased competitiveness and pricing pressures among meeting and convention destinations resulting from supply growth that outpaced demand growth in recent years, in particular for the Providence market, the development of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center and Hartford’s Connecticut Convention Center, among others in the Northeast. Many of these destinations are specifically and aggressively targeting the Providence bureau’s current and prospective customers.
In response to these challenges, the bureau outlined a plan for research and tracking initiatives designed to lay the groundwork for development. Several research initiatives are already under way and will be unveiled shortly by the bureau, including an Image and Positioning Study, Competitive Analysis and Target Market Analysis. These studies will also lay the groundwork for the development of a unified, articulate brand identity for the Providence/Warwick region. Together with Duffy & Shanley, the advertising agency recently contracted by the bureau, the bureau plans to develop and implement a marketing plan based on facts garnered from the research, and through partnerships with the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority, state of Rhode Island, cities of Providence and Warwick, the bureau membership and other industry partners. The bureau expects to unveil this full-fledged, multi-faceted marketing plan later this year.
Whiting also stated the bureau looks forward to leveraging Providence’s strong arts community and many special events in its marketing strategy to increase visitation to the destination. One example, which was the theme of the bureau’s annual meeting this year, was to implement a new event called the Rhode Island Festival of Trees, to be held at the Rhode Island Convention Center Dec. 3 to 5. The bureau is working with multiple sponsors, including presenting sponsor Citizens Bank, to launch this event which will feature more than 100 professionally decorated holiday trees in a Winter Wonderland setting at the convention center. The event will also feature a variety of children’s arts and crafts activities, storytelling, photos with Santa, a gift shop, and stage of live entertainment with school and professional musical groups and performers.
Gov. Don Carcieri, the keynote speaker at the bureau’s annual meeting, is also the co-chair along with Mrs. Carcieri of the Rhode Island Festival of Trees. The annual meeting called on local businesses to support the festival by sponsoring individual trees. The festival’s beneficiary this year is Providence CityArts for Youth.
