Rome to seek state help for marketing tourism site team
Rome is aiming to get a better handle on how the community can improve its marketing efforts.
Rome is going to seek state assistance to get a better handle on how the community can improve its marketing efforts in 2018, said Greater Rome Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Lisa Smith.
In order to do this, Smith said, she is going to request the state send a site visit team to take a close look at Rome’s tourism product inventory as a whole.
Looking at the reasons people visit Rome, the area has a few things going for it but she hopes the team can bring together how our local tourism products can be partnered.
“We want to build on those products to generate additional tourism,” Smith said. “We also want them to look at the different quality of life opportunities in Rome and surrounding counties as well.”
Berry College is generally perceived as the top attraction in Rome and Floyd County, Smith said. People looking for historical site, tracing genealogy also rank high among visitors.
“The other really large one involves all the outdoor recreation opportunities, agri-tourism, ecotourism, we have a lot of out-oftowners who book the Roman Holiday for river cruises.”
The team would dedicate three days to visit Rome and examine just about everything the community has to offer.
“We have many assets here and that’s why it’s really hard to brand Rome and Floyd County,” Smith said. “We’re not a one-trick pony, we never have been. We have so many things to offer to multiple visitors, all types of age groups and interest levels.”
Kristi Kent, director of communications for the city of Rome and CVB, explained they have taken a survey at the Georgia Welcome Center to see what phrases tend to catch people’s attention as it relates to Rome.
The top phrase was “explore the largest intact Victorian-era district in Georgia,” second was “climb to the House O’ Dreams” while the third ranked phrase was the motto “where the rivers meet and the mountains begin.”
Kent said she will get additional samples as the year rolls on to help refine a target for the community’s marketing efforts.