A busy weekend in downtown Genoa.
Photo by Kurt Hildebrand.
Warm, sunny weekends and the relaxing of coronavirus restrictions resulted in hundreds of visitors to Genoa, Nevada’s oldest settlement, and arguably Carson Valley’s premier tourist attraction.
In order to gauge residents’ reaction to tourism in the Valley, the Carson Valley Visitor’s Authority is conducting a survey that appears in today’s edition of The Record-Courier.
The Authority based in Gardnerville received a $12,500 grant from the Nevada Commission on Tourism to help pay for a three-month advertising campaign for its spring media buy.
While that campaign is aimed at potential visitors from outside the Valley, the tourism office responsible for marketing Minden, Gardnerville, Genoa and Topaz under the Carson Valley Visitors Authority, is looking for resident input on travel and tourism in the community. The short survey asks 10 questions, whose answers will help form the strategy and future planning.
“Over the last year many sectors were hit hard, however probably none so much as travel,” said Jan Vandermade, executive director for Visit Carson Valley. “Typically, our efforts are focused on travelers coming from outside our region and asking them to consider making us a stop. We aim to educate them on all there is to see and do in our community while encouraging them to spend their hard-earned dollars with our community business owners, restaurants and bars, hotels and, of course, our activities and attractions – both manmade and nature made. Last year, our efforts shifted gears and focused more inward on our residents, encouraging our community to support our small businesses during a time they needed it most. Now as we move toward recovery, having local input will help take us to that next stage.”
That next stage includes potential future projects as well as the types of marketing programs. According to Vandermade, “tourism is vital to Douglas County.” Tourism is Nevada’s No. 1 industry and the main reason the state doesn’t have a state income tax. In all, more than 26 percent of Douglas County’s workforce is employed within tourism or hospitality. The combined economic impact of tourism is estimated at $948 million (according to 2018-2019 data).
The survey is included by hard copy in today’s Record-Courier and is also available online at www.surveymonkey.com/r/visitcarsonvalley
The survey is brief and should only take 3-5 minutes to complete but will provide valuable information for the organization to determine direction and messaging for the area going forward.
“Gaining insights from as many residents as possible will ensure the best possible sampling, giving a voice to everyone in the community,” added Vandermade. “We value developing programs that serve both our community and the visitors.”
Visit Carson Valley is working with MMGY NextFactor, a consulting firm specializing in travel and tourism, to develop and implement this survey. In addition to the survey, Visit Carson Valley is conducting personal interviews with stakeholders and local government as well as conducting three focus groups within the community.
For more information or question, visit VisitCarsonValley.org or call 775-782-8145.
