Valley Forge tourism monitoring coronavirus
The agency, said Friday says it “remains ready” to welcome out-of-county guests.
UPPER MERION » The Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board — like many organizations across the country — is monitoring developments related to the spread of the coronavirus, or COVID-19.
The agency, which supports the hotel and tourism industry in Montgomery County, said Friday that it wants visitors and residents to know the county “remains ready” to welcome out-of-county guests, and locals who may be staying closer to home due to health concerns with the evolving COVID-19 situation.
Mike Bowman, president and CEO of the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board said in a statement Friday that “the health and well-being of our county residents remains a top priority to the VFTCB,” and the agency is monitoring the coronavirus situation. At the same time, “we’re still trying to remain optimistic and are encouraged by the business and foot traffic we’re still seeing,” he said.
In a telephone interview Friday afternoon, Bowman said his organization proactively reached out to its 80 hotel members two weeks ago, sharing statements from national tourism organizations, facts from the CDC, Montgomery County’s response and information about the tourism board’s strategic marketing efforts — to keep them informed.
He added that the agency holds a quarterly hotel update meeting, and that the quarterly scheduled for Thursday, March 12, will feature a 15 minute update on the coronavirus issue.
Bowman added that over the past few weeks, his organization has also been in touch with other tourism agencies across the region.
“We have been in close contact on phone calls, and face to face,” he added.
In addition, Bowman participates in regular conference calls with the U.S. Travel Association — to update his team, the organization’s members and visitors.
Bowman said it is too early to say what the impact a potential spread of the virus might be on tourism in the region, but added
there hasn’t been a big impact on tourism business so far.
“Some of the struggle has been the international message, with flights being cancelled,” he said. “In Montgomery County, some of the Life Sciences and partners that do international travel are doing more regional meetings. We started to see that trend, but it has only been a few weeks.”
He added that the weekend business in the county is social business, and that weekend business continues to be strong.
Bowman added that feedback from retail partners is that “all indicators are up,” and where corporate dinners have been cancelled, new dates have been chosen.
“I believe by the end of May or June we’ll be through it, and summer and the fall will be good,” he added.
One thing Bowman said his agency has done is “tweak” its current marketing plan, putting an emphasis in marketing on health and wellness activities — encouraging visitors across the region to come to Montgomery County to enjoy outdoor activities.
“We are hearing from consumers that they are looking to get outside, and I believe it has to do with what is going on,” he said.
Bowman said the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board has developed a 30-, 60- and 90-day marketing plan.
“We are realigning and redeploying our messaging and strategy. A mistake some organizations make is deciding to cut the marketing. You need to get more robust,” he added.
The international spread of the virus has impacted some trade shows the tourism agency would normally participate in, Bowman said. For example, the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board was slated to participate in the ITB Berlin trade show, which German government and health officials cancelled due to concerns over the coronavirus situation.
“We redeployed and said ‘where else can we go to get our message out and attract people to Montgomery County,’” he added.
Tourism contributes $1.65 billion in positive economic impact and more than 20,000 jobs to Montgomery County, according to the agency.
The Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board, has 660 members, which includes 80 hotel members.
Bowman added that county businesses and hotels are elevating their cleaning protocol to reduce the spread of germs.
“It’s our job to help fill the 9,200 rooms in our 80 hotels, and we’re going to continue working on doing that to the best of our ability by providing the most up-to-date guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),” Bowman said.
While there are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Montgomery County, it was announced Friday that there are two confirmed cases in Pennsylvania — one in Delaware County and one in Wayne County.
Officials from the Montgomery County Office of Public Health and the Department of Public Safety are working to put necessary protocols in place, in addition to existing policies that deal with infectious disease outbreaks.
“We have full f aith in our county government and health leaders that Montgomery County is prepared,” Bowman said in the release. “And, we will share any necessary information with visitors as well. But, in the meantime, we still have a job to do.”
The U.S. Travel Association doesn’t expect an impact on domestic tourism, according to information provided by the tourism board. Additionally, officials at the CDC continue to believe the risk of Coronavirus exposure to the American public remains low. There are no current recommendations for any limitations on travel within the U.S., officials said.
“It’s our job to help fill the 9,200 rooms in our 80 hotels, and we’re going to continue working on doing that to the best of our ability by providing the most up-to-date guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).” — Mike Bowman, president and CEO, Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board