The Branson Daily Independent, and obviously the Ole Seagull, recommends a “Yes” vote for tourism on Nov. 8. We fully support and endorse the one percent sales tax to be used for the purpose of promoting tourism within the Branson Lakes Area Tourism Community Enhancement District
Tourism is an extremely competitive business with many destinations and opportunities competing for tourists and their dollars. Combine that with the fact that Branson’s competitors have coordinated marketing budgets that are three to five times that of Branson and it is easy to understand why Branson’s overall visitor total is at best anemic and its rate of first time visitors has fallen to critical levels.
Some say that the answer is new things, shopping, shows, stars etc. Since it’s earliest entertainment days Branson’s entertainment product has evolved and changed to meet the needs of its visitors and provide them with an experience that will bring them back again. The current Branson entertainment product is the result of an on going process of adaptation, innovation, improvement and the blending the best of the new with Branson’s rich heritage of family entertainment.
Recent independent research indicates that the majority of the people coming to Branson like what they experience and return. That’s not a hard thing for an Ole Seagull to believe because he came to Branson, liked what he experienced and has been living in the Branson area for the last 20 years. Come to think of it there are probably a lot of people reading this column that have had a similar experience.
In any event, whether it is the unproven new, the tried and proven, or a constantly changing blend of both, in terms of Branson, or any other travel destination, the concept of “build it and they will come” only happens in the movies. Without effective marketing, what will make people want to come and experience Branson?
There are those who say that it is the job of the attractions, shows, restaurants, lodging establishments, etc. to pay for the marketing of Branson. Yet, this very week a lot of people are going to look at store ad inserts in newspapers. The purpose of the ad is to bring customers into the store with the intent that, once they are inside, those customers will purchase the goods that the store is selling.
“Branson Promise,” is a specialty coffee which is on the shelf with 20 other coffees in a local grocery store. How much of the 21 brands of coffee in the store, including “Branson Promise,” will be sold if the store’s marketing does not bring customers into the store? On the other hand, assuming that the store’s marketing is generating traffic, it is up to the makers of “Branson Promise” to market it so that when the stores customers make a coffee selection at the store it is “Branson Promise” rather than one of the other 20 brands of coffee that is being sold.
Branson and other tourist destinations are the “stores” who compete with each other to get visitors. The individual attractions, shows, restaurants, lodging establishments, etc. are the 21 brands of coffee that must market and differentiate themselves from their competitors. The challenge is the same in both instances. If the store, Branson, fails to generate enough visitors, then both the store and those whose products are being sold within the store lose.
Branson desperately needs more funding to competitively market what it has to offer. The proposed tax is as fair a way as there is to provide that funding. As a lovely lady that I know and respect recently said, “This is designed to not only help the economy but insure that it does not hurt the resident” which is why the vast majority of the total tax collected will be paid by the very tourists that the tax is going to market to and the tax itself does not apply to items such as groceries, prescription drugs, medical supplies, gasoline, and other items exempted by Missouri law.
In a community of independent entrepreneurs, diverse attitudes, priorities and backgrounds it’s an amazing feat to have an important initiative of this scope so widely supported. By all of us investing a little, we can, in the words of that same lady, “Stay competitive, stay in the forefront, and maintain our quality of life as we know it — and love it!” We encourage you to vote YES for tourism and our future on Nov. 8.
