MONTHLY MEASURE
Click here for the latest Monthly Measure, an executive summary of the recent performance activity from the San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau. Detailed information includes several local and national industry barometers.

SACVB NEW ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

The San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) welcomes new Assistant Director, Sales & Marketing, Ronnie Price. During the City’s national search, Price’s extensive sales and marketing background, along with his personable demeanor made him a stand-out candidate.

CVB Executive Director Scott White noted, “We are very excited and fortunate to have Ronnie join our team. His strong sales experience and leadership style aligns perfectly with our mission and brand of Deep. In the Heart.”

In his new role at the CVB, Price will oversee the Communications, Mexico/Latin America, Sales, Services and Tourism divisions. Previously, Price was with Marriott for over 12 years, rising to the position of Area Director for Anaheim Marriott and the new L.A. Live JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton. A Houston native, Price holds a Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management from the University of Houston. His leadership and extensive sales background will benefit San Antonio and assist the CVB’s mission to market San Antonio as a top visitor and convention/meeting destination.

NEW YEAR'S EVE IN S.A.

Some 250,000 people rang in the new year at Celebrate San Antonio, the largest celebration of its kind in the state in one of the most popular destinations for new year's eve. A Priceline.com Inc. ranked San Antonio’s Downtown/Riverwalk as the country’s 35th top destination out of 50. The Las Vegas strip is the country’s No. 1 party spot, with destinations in New York City, New Orleans and Chicago rounding out the top markets. Priceline.com created the list after examining a sampling of more than 30,000 hotel room booking requests made by the company’s customers for the New Year’s holiday.

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VALERO ALAMO BOWL WINS WITH VIEWERS

Missouri's 30-23 win over Northwestern in the Valero Alamo Bowl earned a 4.6 rating, making it the #10 most-watched college bowl game in ESPN history. The 4.6 rating translates into 4,479,466 households and 7.2 million viewers when considering a 1.6 viewers-per-household factor. The four hour telecast provided the only second overtime game in bowl history, giving fans another classic Alamo Bowl close finish and giving San Antonio a national stage to lure more visitors to our destination.

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SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS RETURN TO ALAMO CITY

George Egwahke and Sheri Clemmer of the General Conference of the Seventh-Day Adventists returned to the Alamo City for the first time since the governing board selected San Antonio as the destination for the 60th Quinquennial Conference in 2015. The General Conference will contract more than 5000 rooms on peak for approximately 9 days in July for a total of more than 57,000 room nights and expect between 75,000-100,000 attendees over the 11 days of the conference.

The planners last visited the city in December 2005 and were quickly reminded of how beautiful the city is during the holidays. They were excited to see how the city has grown since their last visit noting how many rooms are available within walking distance of the convention center and the dome. The city has much to learn about the beliefs of the Seventh-Day Adventists before 2015 including their diet. The majority of the membership are lacto-ovo (include milk and eggs) vegetarians. The Grand Hyatt, Hotel Valencia and Westin Hotels were prepared and offered delicious vegetarians meal during their stay.

The conference committee will return to the Alamo City after the 2010 General Conference in Atlanta to select overflow hotels. These hotels will house the headquarters for the 13 divisions of the church and the general membership.

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NORTHEAST MEDIA MISSION

Two key media markets were targeted as part of an early December media blitz. Promoting what is new and upcoming in our destination, Communications Director Dee Dee Poteete met with some 15 members of the media, and held small media receptions in both markets. Contacts included Modern Bride, Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel, Food and Wine, Bridal Guide, Family Travel Forum, The Boston Globe, Meetings & Conventions Magazine, Travel + Leisure, the Christian Science Monitor, Far and Away, Travel Video Postcard, and others.

HYATT & SACVB MEDIA SHOWCASE

CVB Communications Manager Evelynn Bailey worked with Hyatt Corporate to showcase beautiful and historic San Antonio to media that included: Chicago Sun Times, AAA Horizons, Gatehouse New England and San Diego Magazine. Media enjoyed visiting Market Square, San Fernando Cathedral, Main Plaza, The Children's Museum, The Buckhorn Saloon & Museum and the McNay Art Museum. Many thanks to our partners and Hyatt Corporate for the opportunity to meet with these wonderful publications.

SACVB SHARES THE WARMTH WITH CANADA

CVB Communications Manager Tonya Hope joined the State of Texas’ media mission to Canada to promote San Antonio as a premiere leisure and meetings destinations. Canada is a hot spot for San Antonio as it is the second largest source of international visitors to Texas. Stops were made in Montreal and Toronto where the team met with 200 writers, tour operators and airline representatives. A trip to Houston and San Antonio was given away courtesy of Continental Airlines. Other Texas representatives included Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston as well as First Lady Anita Perry.

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HOLIDAY MARKETING

A San Antonio Holiday marketing push continued with three e-mail blasts to our opt-in database of over 300,000, which linked to a section on visitsanantonio.com that promotes special things to see and do in San Antonio over the holiday season, including the Alamo Bowl. Digital outreach to travel sites, travel bloggers, etc., about San Antonio holiday events and traditions is also pushing traffic to the website to discover San Antonio.

As well, an 8-page holiday insert for the S.A.V.E. program dropped in the Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Corpus Christi, Waco, and Oklahoma City Sunday papers, and a direct mail piece dropped in Houston, Dallas, and Fort Worth. A holiday campaign on Expedia is targeted to the Texas markets and the Alamo Bowl team markets (Chicago, St. Louis, Columbia, Kansas City).

ADVERTISING
Leisure advertising plans are in place for calendar year 2009, targeting publications that align with San Antonio’s strengths and potential (arts/culture/history, cuisine, golf, family travel, romance) and that reach mid to high income targets. Creative for the Texas and regional market will be adapted to include a calendar of upcoming San Antonio events/new developments to reinforce what’s new and encourage repeat visits in the drive markets. See the new media plan on visitsanantonio.com’s Partner Business Plan section.

December ads appeared in these consumer magazines: American Legacy, Bridal Guide, Travel & Leisure Golf and Southern Living's Best Of Issue. You can see some of our online promotions at: www.gourmettraveltalk.com, www.beyondad.com, www.spiritmag.com and www.midwestlivingtravel.com.

For the conventions and meetings market, November ads ran in Meeting News, Meetings & Conventions, PCMA Convene and Successful Meetings.

BROADCAST
Radio spots on NPR’s WhaddyaKnow segment in San Antonio reached over a million listeners. TV spots aired on the Ford Holiday River Parade and Lighting Ceremony broadcast and the Rock ' N ' Roll Marathon . TV and radio spots will air on upcoming Valero Alamo Bowl and US Army All-American Bowl national broadcasts.

COLLATERAL
A Spanish version of the San Antonio lure brochure is now available and is being used by the CVB’s Tourism and Mexico/Latin America Divisions to entice visitors to the city.

WEBSITE
The CVB website, visitsanantonio.com, holds the top spot for three important Google search engine rankings: San Antonio, San Antonio Travel and San Antonio Conventions. it ranks 2nd for the keyword San Antonio Attractions. User engagement, a key web indicator, continues to increase for website visitors. The bounce rate improved by 14% last month, and time on site improved 55%.

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WORLD TRAVEL MARKET

Dee Dee Poteete, Dir of Communications, and Carla Norwood, Tourism Sales Manager (pictured below, first from left), attended World Travel Market in London Nov 10 - 13, representing San Antonio in the Texas Booth. Staged annually in London under one roof, WTM provides a unique opportunity for the whole global travel trade industry to meet, network, negotiate, conduct business and stay abreast with the latest developments in the travel industry. Representatives also attended from the bureaus in Amarillo, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston,The Office of the Governor, Tourism, Austin and also from the Prime Retail Outlet in San Marcos and Tax Free Shopping. The tour operator travel trade and media appointments for the show totaled 59. The annual Texas event was held at the Texas Embassy Cantina for 200 travel trade and media attendees. The tour operator travel trade and media appointments at the show totaled 59. During the show, Poteete and the State of Texas conducted 15 radio interviews that aired live and recorded all over the UK. Also, Poteete participated in the British Travel Writers Guild annual awards event, and set up a separate meeting with Conde Nast Traveller UK to strategize photography for the July issue, which will feature a San Antonio editorial coverage

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SA INDEPENDENT CHRISTIAN FILM FESTIVAL

The San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival (SAICFF), which will be held January 8 -10 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, has announced plans to host the World Premiere of Abraham and Isaac, a new film starring Dean Jones, as part of its fifth annual festival. The special feature, which brings to life the biblical epic of Abraham’s call to give up his own son, is scheduled for 7:30pm on January 9 in the Lila Cockrell Theatre. The SAICFF is host to the largest single film festival grand prize of its kind in America, the $101,000 Best of Festival Jubilee Award, and will be screening 50 film finalist and semi-finalists over the three-day event. Other special guests at this year’s festival will include Fireproof’s producer Stephen Kendrick as well as actor Kirk Cameron.

2008 HOLIDAY RECEPTION

Thank you to film partners for making 2008 a success! Film San Antonio hosted a holiday reception at Sunset Station on December 16, 2008. Click here to see photos.

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PLEASE WELCOME...

The 2009 Air Force Anniversary Celebration is the biggest meeting in San Antonio for the month of January with some 3,000 attendees convening at the Convention Center. Other groups in town include...

American Association of Sleep Technologists (13)
American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology (450)
American Farm Bureau Federation (5000)
American Judges Association (12)
American Nephrology Nurses Association (225)
Association of Fundraising Professionals (28)
Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (25)
Catia Operators Exchange (15)
CHS (300)
Christian Church Foundation (65)
GALA Choruses (100)
Endurance Sports Media Group (25)
Golbon (175)
Howard Supply Company (60)
LRP Publications (225)
Mac Tools (1500)
National Association of Educational Office Professional (30)
National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys (75)
National Cotton Council of America (3700)
National Potato Council (240)
Oildom Publishing Company of Texas Inc. (2800)
Resource Associates Corporation (140)
Retail Jewelers Organization (850)
Sick Inc (155)
Society for Technology in Anesthesia (125)
Texas Association of Family, Career & Community Leadership of America (900)
Texas Industrial Vocational Association (450)
Texas Nursery & Landscape Association (200)
The Arbitron Company (200)
US Coast Guard Headquarters (60)
US Department of Agriculture Forest Service (90)
US Department of Housing & Urban Development (65)
University of Wisconsin - Green Bay (500)

Click here for a complete schedule of meetings from the SACVB website.

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ANNUAL RIVER DRAINING

Weather permitting, the San Antonio River will be drained for annual routine cleaning and maintenance on Saturday, January 3, 2009, beginning at midnight. Public Works and Downtown Operations crews will make necessary repairs, clear debris and test water quality beginning at Lexington and ending at Alamo Street to include the area of the River Walk downtown. The river will be returned to its normal water level by late January 9. For more information, call Downtown Operations at 207-3677

MLK MARCH AND RALLY

San Antonio's Martin Luther King, Jr. March, which is the largest in the nation honoring the Civil Rights leader, is scheduled for Monday, January 19 with more than 100,000 adults and children expected to participate. The march will begin at 10 a.m. at the MLK Freedom Bridge located at 3500 MLK Drive and end at Pittman-Sullivan Park, 1101 Iowa.This year's theme for the MLK. commemoration is "Education: March from the Dream to Reality." Other events starting January 15 - January 22 include a rally, art exhibits, workshops and candlelight vigils. Click here for more information.

FIESTA NOTED AMONG TOP OF U.S. FESTIVALS.

The American Bus Association has named Fiesta San Antonio one of the North America's top 100 events for 2009! Fiesta 2009 (April 16-26) will mark San Antonio's 118th Fiesta with 10 days of parades, art festivals, concerts and cuisine from San Antonio's many cultures. Fiesta San Antonio was originally established to commemorate heroes from the battles of the Alamo and San Jacinto. Discover more Fiesta fun at www.fiesta-sa.org.

Click here for a complete list of events from the SACVB website.

Have an event to submit to the CVB web calendar? Click here for the submission form.

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SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR AWARD

The Alamo City Black Chamber of Commerce celebrated 70 years of it existence in the San Antonio Community on Friday, November 21, 2008 at the Marriott Plaza San Antonio Hotel. The annual "Founder's Gala" celebrates outstanding members who have made positive contributions to the community in four categories which includes, Corporate Partner of the Year Award, Small Business of the Year, Life Time Achievement Award, Chairman and Executive Director's Award.

Della Guidry, President/Owner of PRA Destination Management San Antonio was the awarded Small Business of the Year. PRA Destination Management San Antonio is a full service destination management providing service to Corporate Meeting Planners for 9 year. Della has involved herself in many community organizations such as a Commissioner for the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau- Mayor-Elect position, President of the San Antonio Destination Management (DMC) Roundtable, 2008-2009.

Della Guidry was also celebrated in the "Who's Who in Black San Antonio" the Inaugural Edition at the Gala Reception held at the Grand Hyatt on Monday, November 24. 2009.

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Newsletter Information
From The Heart is a collaborative effort of the San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Convention, Sports and Entertainment Facilities.

Our Mission is "To promote and market San Antonio as a premier visitor and convention/meeting destination for the purpose of positively affecting the city economy."

For more information, or to be removed from this newsletter list, email us at CommunityRelations@VisitSanAntonio.com, or call Marketing & Communications division at (210) 207-6737.