Structure
As at the national level, there are different forms of state involvement in tourism. Three types of organization are found:
- a public or quasi-public travel commission or bureau
- an independent or semi-independent travel or development bureau
- travel development within another department
Travel commission. Hawaii is an example of the first type of structure. The Hawaii Visitors Bureau is operated by a president who is responsible to a board of directors. Separate officers are concerned with conventions, special events and promotions, information services, sales and services, visitor satisfaction, research, and membership. The bureau also operates sales offices in major American metropolitan areas.
Independent bureau. The US state of Tennessee has a Department of Tourism Development with an independent cabinet-level status. This is an example of the second type of structure mentioned above. The commissioner of tourism development has access to the governor as a member of the governor's cabinet. This can ease problems of communication. It is also particularly useful at budget time as the commissioner can approach the legislature as a full department.
The three main functions of the department are travel promotion, information and media services, and support services. The travel promotion division has the responsibility to promote the tourist attractions of the state. Programs are aimed at the tourist and the other industry-related organizations such as travel agents and tour brokers. The information and media services division has the responsibility of developing feature articles and new items for placement in magazines, newspapers and trade publications to promote the state as a tourist destination. The division works with Memphis State University to develop a research program for statistical data relative to the economic impact of tourism in Tennessee. The support services division has the responsibility for coordinating the effort to upgrade hotels and restaurants within the state. In addition, division staff members operate the welcome centers across the state.
Within another department. The third type of structure is represented by the US state of Montana. The travel promotion unit is part of the Department of Highways. Within travel promotion there are three functions: film location, tour and photo, and publicity. From the viewpoint of tourism, the concern in this type of structure is that tourism would be regarded as secondary to the major function of the department.
State functions
All 50 US states have some kind of official government agency responsible for tourism although, at various times in recent years, California and Maine have not had a state travel office.
The major activity of the states is in marketing. Most states use an advertising agency to handle their promotion. About 60 per cent offer a matching formula, usually on a 50/50 basis, to both private and public groups engaged in state-approved promotional campaigns. Most state advertising is done in newspapers and magazines. Radio is used by about 10 per cent of the states, television by even less. Most states exhibit in travel shows, while approximately one in four operates information centers outside the state. All states have their own themes, but less than one in six have different themes for separate segments of the market.
About 90 per cent of state travel offices help develop package tours to their respective states. Two-thirds operate familiarization tours for tour operators and travel agents while about three-fourths of the states conduct press or travel-writer tours.
Over half the states assign a staff member, usually on a part-time basis, to travel research. In approximately 40 per cent of the states, research is done by university faculty members; in about one-quarter of the states this function is handled by employees of other government agencies. About 30 per cent of the states hire private research organizations to conduct research on a continuous basis.
States that have the most active travel and tourism programs possess the following characteristics:
- They have the personal interest and active support of either the governor or lieutenant governor and the legislature.
- A committee of the legislature deals specifically with travel and tourism.
- A program of research and evaluation is carried out to indicate the effectiveness of the marketing effort and the impact of tourism on the state.
- The economic development aspects of tourism are emphasized.
- Active advisory councils or commissioners are present, and liaison between the private and the public sector is strong.
- State travel/tourism plans are part of the planning/budgeting process.
- Spending of promotional dollars has shifted from promoting the natural resources to promoting urban, convention, and commercial attractions.1
Finally, the organization of tourism at the local level will be dealt with in the chapters dealing with the development and management of tourism.
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