City tweets to curb tourist drop-off - Nashville Business Journal:

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Hotel consultant Drew Dimond expects hotels in Greater Nashville to see occupancty plummet 15 percent to 20 percent fromlast year’ levels. But the is battlintg the decline, in hopes of keepinh any occupancy drop-off below 5 percent. Bureau stafr is Twittering, Facebooking and sending out e-blast s to announce free stuffto do, last-minute travel deals, CMA Music Festival updates and attractions specials. “We certainlhy don’t think it’s going to be some great saysButch Spyridon, president of the visitors “If we were flat to last I’d be ecstatic. I expect that we will be down slightly.
” Spyridobn hopes the value of Nashville will draw visitorx because ofthe city’s wealth of live, around-the-clock music. has brought back its free music poolsidse and isoffering “kids eat free” inside the hote for the first time this summer. “Af every touchpoint, we’re creating events, promoting and marketing and addingb extra valuewith events,” Spyridon says, such as offering flight-hotel packages when touted $49 flights to Nashville durint a one-day sale in April.
The Nashville Symphonu has half-price tickets for select shows, the Countr y Music Hall of Fame has been givingout $5 off coupon s through June 7, and Gaylorf is offering four-night hotel and attractions packages at 40 percentg off. Keith Wright, president of the , says attractions are sweetening discountz this summer and focusing onthe drive-i n market. “Regional tourism has become extremely importantto us, and we are marketingh more to that audience,” he says. Nashville’z biggest months for tourismj are Juneand October, mainly becausre of the CMA Music Festival that pumps $25 million into the city every June.
Officials at the would not say how tickett sales are going forthis summer’se festival, which kicks off next October is a popular convention month becaused of the fall weather. Nashville tourism has been hit inreceny months. In April, the average nightly hoteol ratedropped 6.3 percent to $92.86 from $99.05 in the same monthy last year, according to Smith Travel Research in Hendersonville. Hotel occupancgy plunged 15 percent in Aprilto 56.9 down from 67 percent a year ago. Revenuew per available room, a key metrixc for hoteliers, was down 20.5 percent in April. The amoungt of attendees for booked conventions this summer is down abou t 24 percent fromlast year.
Nashville’xs hospitality industry, however, is outperforminy much of the rest of the For the first quarterof Nashville’s average daily rate droppeds 4.5 percent. Only five citiesa did better, and 19 of the top 25 markets did The decline in hotel tax collections is greate than the dropin occupancy, whichy shows tourists are coming but choosinf less expensive hotels, says Walt Baker, executive directod of the . Nashville’s hotel occupancyu dropped 11.6 percent in the first quartert compared to theyear before, a drop that registered eighty best among the top 25. Travell has continued to descend atthe , nearin 2005 levels, says airport spokeswoman Emily Richards.
Passengetr counts were down 9.5 percent in Aprilo as compared to theyear before, and down 9.3 percent in the first four months of the