November 7, 2024 • 24 mins
Explore Minnesota's dynamic tourism landscape in this episode of the Growing Destinations podcast, featuring insights from Linda Jurek, executive director of Visit Cook County, Julie Wearn, CEO of Visit Roseville, and Joe Ward, president of Experience Rochester. These tourism leaders share how they navigate challenges such as unpredictable weather, the economy and shifting visitor trends while seizing new opportunities.
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Episode Transcript
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Bill Von Bank (00:00):
The Growing Destinations podcast is brought
to you by Experience Rochester.
Learn more about Minnesota'sthird largest city, which is
home to Mayo Clinic and featureswonderful recreational and
entertainment opportunities, byvisiting
experiencerochestermncom.
Linda Jurek (00:15):
The impact of no snow last winter was kind of
like a COVID impact in otherareas.
We were just like, oh my gosh,you know there was like we saw
such a reduction in travel Forus this winter.
I'd like to focus on somethinglike snowmobiling because I can
see growth in an area you knowwe can track that.
Joe Ward (00:33):
People meet the way they used to meet.
They want to meet in person,they want to connect and we're
very grateful for that, and Ithink all of our community
should be very grateful for that, because that infuses money
into our local economies.
Julie Wearn (00:50):
The collaborations that we're doing now with other
bureaus around our Twin Citiesarea for marketing and promotion
for American Bus AssociationCircle Wisconsin and a trade
show in Chicago.
We're partnering with TwinCities Gateway with Minneapolis
Northwest and pooling our moneytogether to make a bigger impact
on trade shows and to bring inleisure visitors along with
meetings.
Bill Von Bank (01:12):
Welcome to the Growing Destinations podcast,
where we take a deep dive intodestination development and
focus on a wide range of topics,from tourism and entertainment
to economic development andentrepreneurism and much more.
I'm your host, bill Vaughn-Bank.
At the end of Minnesota'ssummer tourism season, the
Minneapolis Federal Reserve,hospitality Minnesota and
Explore Minnesota conducted asentiment survey to assess the
(01:33):
state of the hospitality andtourism industries.
The recently released datareveals some challenges Viewer
customers, declining revenue andrising costs of labor and goods
that are putting pressure onbusinesses.
Coupled with unpredictableweather and inflation.
Many operators are finding itdifficult to maintain stability.
(01:54):
Despite these hurdles, thereare opportunities ahead.
Today, we're joined by threeleaders navigating this
challenging landscape.
Linda Jurek is ExecutiveDirector of Visit Cook County in
Northeast Minnesota.
Julie Wearn is ExecutiveDirector of Visit Roseville in
the Twin Cities metro area.
And Joe Ward is President ofExperience Rochester and the
(02:15):
Mayo Civic Center in SouthernMinnesota.
Together, we'll explore howtheir regions and cities are
adapting to the economicrealities of 2024, the trends
they're observing in visitorbehavior and their outlook for
2025.
Linda Jurek, julie Wearn, joeWard.
Welcome to the GrowingDestinations podcast.
Julie Wearn (02:37):
Thank you, Thank you Thanks.
Bill Von Bank (02:38):
Bill Glad to be here.
As I noted in my intro, thelatest tourism sentiment data
tells a cautionary tale, butthat's one data point in one
moment in time, and you alltrack data as well.
So how would you describe thecurrent state of tourism in your
regions?
And, Linda, we'll start innortheast Minnesota and visit
Cook County.
First tell us about the regionthat you represent and then
let's talk about how things arelooking.
Linda Jurek (03:00):
Oh boy, I could talk for hours on our region.
We're the eighth largest countyin the state, population 5,600.
Recent studies showed that wehave an economic tourism impact
of 80%.
So that's big and a lot ofvisitors per year 1.2 million.
I'm going to touch on that in afew of my answers.
(03:20):
We are a very, very bigrecreation area.
That said, we're 90% publiclands and we're unusual in that
we're bordered by the country ofCanada, the beautiful Lake
Superior and those public lands.
So one road in, one road out,six hours north of where I'm
sitting right now.
Bill Von Bank (03:35):
You've seen the data from the Minneapolis
Federal Reserve and the otherorganizations and they didn't
paint a rosy picture from thispast summer.
How has tourism been in VisicaCounty?
Linda Jurek (03:47):
Very strong and I think that we've worked really
hard.
I don't think I know we'veworked hard to really solidify
tourism as our biggest business.
So we have experienced a very,very strong summer.
I would say that we have a lotof new developments, not only in
transfer of ownership but brickand mortar, which is really
exciting.
(04:07):
It's hard to do brick andmortar in very, very far
Northeastern Minnesota.
It's a lot more expensive, sothat's exciting for us.
The one thing that's been a bitof a hurdle to get over in
saying that we're strong is thatthe no snow, no ice winter of
Q1, starting Q1 of 2024, reallytook a hit on us.
So financially, when you'rebased on a bed tax or lodging
(04:29):
tax collection, we're stillcoming out of that, but tourism
in itself is strong.
Bill Von Bank (04:34):
Julie, you represent Roseville, minnesota,
right in the heart of the TwinCities.
Tell us a little bit about yourcity and then let's talk about
how the tourism industry hasfared.
Julie Wearn (04:44):
We call ourselves perfectly positioned in the Twin
Cities area because we are theonly city that touched on St
Paul and Minneapolis, so we'relike you come in, we have a
variety of hotels in every pricerange.
Go to your sporting event, goto your concert, go to see the
Twins, see the Vikings, see theUnited, the soccer, see
(05:04):
Minnesota Wild, and come backand stay and visit Roseville,
which has free parking, lowerhotel taxes and it's a great
location for a hub and spoke.
And we also have RosedaleCenter, which is the second
largest shopping center behindMall of America.
Bill Von Bank (05:20):
You've also seen the data this past summer.
How has tourism been for yourcity?
Julie Wearn (05:24):
It was a slow winter.
It was a slow winter.
It was a slow winter buthonestly our summer we probably
averaged about 73% in the summerand year to date through August
our occupancy is 61% and ouraverage rate is $117.86, which
for us is huge and last year weran about 59% occupancy with
(05:45):
$111 ADR.
So rate is very strong,everybody's driving rate.
And the thing now is we'venoticed that corporate has
slowed down and it's becausewith COVID you find out that
Zoom calls do work.
So the number of peopletraveling on a monthly basis has
gone down and hotel occupancySunday through Wednesday is
(06:05):
softer than hoteliers would likeit.
Thursday through Sunday we havegreat leisure corporate mix and
also it's slower booking times.
So hoteliers are saying it'shard to forecast what traffic is
gonna look like because peoplebook so much short-term now.
Bill Von Bank (06:19):
Joe, rochester, minnesota's third largest city
in Southern Minnesota, home toMayo Clinic, its global
headquarters.
Big amount of people workingthere On top of that and the
visitation that comes frommedical tourism.
Rochester also has a bigconvention center, the Mayo
Civic Center.
So talk a little bit about howthat is playing into the mix and
(06:41):
what you're seeing in terms ofbusiness.
Joe Ward (06:44):
Well, it's interesting first to hear what Julie said
about their flow of traffic,where they're slower during the
week and busy on the weekends,and Rochester is almost a
flipped universe from thatbecause of the Mayo Clinic.
So you have Mondays throughThursdays are our biggest nights
, our busiest nights, and so forus, you know, we're trying to
introduce Rochester in adifferent way a little later in
the week to try to grow that.
(07:04):
But at the same time there'salso a bread and butter that
goes around with the Mayo CivicCenter around, yes, medical
meetings, but also conventionsof any sort, 200,000 square feet
that need to be filled.
So we've had a really greatyear actually of actualization,
in that it's a result of a lotof work that was leaned into
during those pandemic years.
So we took advantage, I guess,of a very lean time.
(07:25):
But it's paying off right nowand we're starting to see that
growth.
We are definitely seeingpre-pandemic levels for more
than a year now.
Bill Von Bank (07:34):
So I think we're back After the pandemic we saw a
significant boom in domestictourism as people sought out
local travel experiences.
Linda, I know right out of thegate during the pandemic you saw
a surge.
Linda Jurek (07:50):
A big surge and it was crazy.
Our surge occurred in 21, 22.
And we really, you know, sad tosay benefited from COVID.
We had a tremendous amount ofvisitors and when I look at
where we're at right now, one ofthe benefits of that is that we
put a lot of best practices inplace that were not only for the
health and safety of ourtravelers, but they really
(08:11):
worked economically.
So when you think of you knowroom night minimums, three night
minimums, or when you think ofturning over a room and not
having that anymore so there'sbeen a lot of good practices
that we put in place I will addthat we are not back.
We haven't fallen back to 2019levels and I don't expect that
to happen.
You know, after the surge,we're not.
(08:32):
We haven't gone back that faryet.
You know we're seeing a littlereduction, but nothing close to
2019.
Bill Von Bank (08:38):
Julie in the Twin Cities, obviously not the great
outdoors like Linda has.
In relation to more peoplecoming because of COVID, how now
, compared to COVID, youprobably are rebounding still.
Julie Wearn (08:51):
We did.
And I must add, right now hasCOVID struck.
We were doing our Roseville inBloom 20 roses, 27 foot tall
roses throughout the city, sothat was going to be our big
tourism promotion for the summerand it was like dang.
But what happened with that isthat we worked with the city and
the schools and it's like thisis a COVID free activity that
(09:13):
you can do you can ride yourbike, you can walk, you can
drive by every single rose thatis outdoors.
So we got a lot of PR out ofthat.
We got a lot of TV and radiooff of that, which was pretty
darn cool.
And the roses are still up andpeople are still traveling to
them.
And then we also did well afterthe pandemic we benefited from
sporting events because thosehave picked up our convention
business.
You know we're not getting alot of overflow from St Paul or
(09:35):
Minneapolis because they're notbooking the major citywide
conventions as they used to.
So that is down and I expectthat's going to be a while back
before that comes.
Bill Von Bank (09:46):
Joe, you're no stranger to this podcast and I
recall some conversations we hada couple years ago, as we were
still in the pandemic, and theimpact that when Mayo Clinic
stopped elective surgeries for awhile and then when they
brought them back, it was almost, like you know, from a light
switch off to a light switch onin terms of visitation.
Joe Ward (10:05):
Oh yeah, the floodgates open and it's like
okay, we're back, except, guesswhat?
All the employees in thehospitality industry weren't
back yet.
So obviously there arechallenges that you work through
with service and all thosetypes of things, but definitely
we're very, very fortunate Imean we really are to have Mayo
Clinic in our backyard.
It's the world's best hospital,it's the state's largest
(10:25):
employer and that baseline thatwe've always had we're very
grateful for.
And these are visitors, theseare guests.
We have our eye out for them.
I think the thing.
I was new to Minnesota at thetime.
I started in late July of 2019,so just before the pandemic and
I'd come in thinking there wasan opportunity anyway to
reintroduce the Mayo CivicCenter's recent expansion at the
(10:48):
time, which I felt that morepeople needed to know about it.
So when COVID came, we decidedto just lean into that
opportunity and our salespeoplewere our first people back.
Our funding model allowed us tokeep a couple more employees
than most people did, so we usedthat time wisely to get in
touch with people, to check onassociation managers who decide
(11:10):
on meetings and things, to justsee how they were doing and then
use that time over a period ofmonths to reintroduce them to
what we have or to introducethem for the first time, and
we're seeing that dividend now,the challenges that Minnesota
may be having with a bit of adip.
This is not that, let's be clear.
So I think it's morenormalization and seeing.
We always talked at that timeabout what's a post-COVID world
(11:32):
look like.
I think we see it.
People spend a ton of money.
Coming out of the pandemic Ihad more money than I'd ever had
and my wallet's not as thick asit was at the time.
So we're not doing as much andI think that's true for
everybody.
So you know, we're all workingtogether and we highlight just
sitting here hearing thedifferences of Minnesota and the
variance.
I think it's a great statewhere really you have so much of
(11:53):
a change that fits and blendstogether throughout the state.
Bill Von Bank (11:58):
that worked a lot in the country and it's very
rare and it's a wonderful kindof rare I have one quick
follow-up for you because, again, back when we talked about what
does a post-pandemic world looklike for the convention
business, specifically thehybrid model, and at that time
we thought, gee, maybe it's hereto stay, it's not.
(12:19):
I mean it went away.
Joe Ward (12:21):
Yeah, I remember even myself saying well, I think that
we've at least gotten to thepoint where there'll always be
at least somebody remote andyou'll have to have that
capability.
We still have that capability,but I honestly don't remember
the last time we've had toemploy that in a conference.
Mayo does that, but they kindof always did because they have
doctors who can't get away fromother parts of the country who
want to participate in that.
(12:42):
But as far as somebody thatrealistically wants that element
because that's the new way tomeet, no people meet the way
they used to meet.
They want to meet in person,they want to connect and we're
very grateful for that.
And I think all of ourcommunities should be very
grateful for that because thatinfuses money into our local
economies.
Bill Von Bank (12:58):
What emerging trends are you seeing in travel
preferences in your regions?
Linda?
Linda Jurek (13:02):
We've always been known as a very, very large
outdoor recreating area and Idon't see that changing.
The travel trend that I'mreally working on and Julie
mentioned this earlier is thatas well as we did during COVID,
there was definitely a bump inour average daily rates and I'm
very in tune to what's happeningnot only in the state and
(13:22):
nation but internationally, inwhat people are willing to open
their wallet for, and I haveheard from numerous people,
whether it's retail folks ordining, that they're hearing
complaints from our visitors onthe high average daily rate.
So I'm really working hard.
We're not part high averagedaily rate.
So I'm really working hard.
We're not part of the starreport.
So I'm working right now, infact just this week, trying to
(13:45):
get some of our properties onboard so we can do some
comparative data Looking at kindof trying to figure that out.
I don't want to be, I don't wantto say to our lodging partners
you got to bring it down, but atthe same time, you know you
have to do something.
You know you have to dosomething.
You know you have to reduceyour minimums or something.
That is something that I'mreally working on, and then I
(14:06):
think, of course, that's a hugeeconomic equation when you think
of staffing and when you thinkof the return on investment of a
one night stay versus a threenight stay and what that looks
like.
So we're as competitive everand we just the outdoor.
The emerging trends there's notthat many.
I would like to say that Iwould focus on a pocket.
For instance, especially afterthe impact of no snow last
winter was kind of like a COVIDimpact in other areas we were
just like, oh my gosh, you knowthere was like we saw such a
(14:29):
reduction in travel For us thiswinter.
I'd like to focus on somethinglike snowmobiling because I can
see growth in an area you knowwe can track that.
So not too many emerging trends, but kind of focusing on some
of the ones that we already haveand really growing that trend.
Bill Von Bank (14:45):
Julie, how about in Roseville and the greater
Twin Cities area?
Julie Wearn (14:48):
We see regional travel a lot.
It's like the Great AmericanRoad Trip bring your family in
for the weekend and again, we'reperfectly positioned to
everything that you can do inthe Twin Cities area and in
Roseville.
And we're lucky with Rosedalethat they're constantly
reinventing the experience forthe shopper and for tourism.
Dick's Sporting Goods isopening their new center.
(15:10):
We have restaurants that areless of chains and they're more
family-owned and specialtyrestaurants, so that always
makes it exciting for people tocome to.
And then our city is doing aGoing Green.
That is something that CityCouncil is working on a Green to
Go ordinance in the city sothat we're very conscious of
looking at the environment andworking around that.
(15:32):
And then we've got culturalexperiences like Tapping Time in
our parks.
We have 30 parks in the city ofRoseville, which is incredible.
The biking, the walking, thehiking, the jogging that you can
do in our city, in a big city,is incredible.
I would again say incrediblewith 30 parks.
Bill Von Bank (15:52):
Joe, how about in Rochester some trends?
Joe Ward (15:54):
Well, I think we're transforming Rochester in some
ways from a city that you haveto go to for medical care to a
city that you're choosing to goto, and that takes time because
the priority again has beenserving people from all over the
world with very difficultsituations and taking care of
them.
But we also have to know thatwe want it to be a place that
attracts people and a place thatbuilds off of that.
So a very healthy place, a veryactive place.
(16:16):
So we have lots of trails andactive activity, but really
we're also seeing people who'vecome in from other places.
Diversity is very strong inRochester and it's diversity
from all over the world, but alot of those people are now
bringing their flavors toRochester.
They're opening restaurants andpop-ups and kind of giving that
a try and it's working andthey're converting to be really
(16:36):
successful to serve more of thatleisure visitor and get people
from, let's say, the twin cities.
We're not going to be building aroller coaster anytime soon, so
it's not going to be Orlando,but it is a great place to come
down and put together a solidfew days of doing things.
I think that ties in also tosomething that we had talked
about a few years ago, which isthe great American reconnection.
(16:58):
People and it's not probablyjust America, it's all over the
world People want to reconnectin a real way that we don't want
to be separated by a computeranymore, and I think that that's
probably shown up in challenges, even in, you know, this
election season, where peoplereally need to come together
again.
And it's okay to disagree andit's okay, you know, in civility
and it's, you know, incivility.
But if you don't know thosefolks, then it'll be a challenge
(17:18):
.
And I think tourism is such aspecial way to bring people
together and you see that heartin Rochester, maybe a little
more, because 75% of ourvisitors are there for a very,
very heavy reason, and so anychance that they can get to
reconnect on a human level isreally important and really
impactful and it's very gratefulto be there to see that the
(17:41):
role of your organizations hasevolved from marketing to a more
comprehensive approach ofdestination management.
Bill Von Bank (17:48):
How have you adapted to this shift and what
does destination management meanto you, linda?
Linda Jurek (17:53):
Wow, that's a bucket full for me In the world
of destination marketingorganizations.
Visit Cook County is relativelynew, having been formed in
2010,.
I think you've all probablyheard a little bit of this story
along the way.
Three tourism associations cametogether to create Visica
County.
Those three tourismassociations still exist, so I
(18:14):
have four boards of directors,four very much with voices.
The three tourism associationsstill are very much at the table
deciding how to distribute our1% event and grant dollars.
So they come together very,very regularly.
So when it comes to whetherwe're a destination marketing
organization or destinationmanagement organization, I would
(18:35):
say we've always been adestination management
organization I think the termcame after and that's what I've
always been doing.
So it's been very, very muchheavily into that.
That's kind of what I do forboards, for sets of bylaws, for
sets of term limits a lot oftime spent in that.
But it's also part of whatreally brings the strength to
(18:55):
visit Cook County, because allthose voices in the regions of
our county are also different.
They come to the table having areal strong voice with what
they offer in each area, whichis really respectful and
wonderful, because they're allrepresented on the big board of
Visit Cook County, but they getto the table with their tourism
associations and they talk aboutwhat's happening in their
(19:17):
region of Cook County and it'sreally worked well.
So I'm all about thattransition.
I always feel that we have tobe that management organization.
I would also say that we alsoneed to keep marketing right at
the top of that list and makingsure that you have either
somebody on your staff or thatyou're very aware and able to
balance the marketing arenaalong with the organizational
(19:40):
leadership pieces paramount toyour success.
Bill Von Bank (19:43):
Julie, many people might not realize how
dynamic and impactful tourism is.
What is it about working intourism that you find most
rewarding?
Julie Wearn (19:51):
The variety, the sheer variety of things that you
can do, the promotions that youcreate, the events that you
create seeing occupancy rise.
I mean it is never the sameevery single day and I've got a
great team working together andit's the marketing, the sales,
the promotion, thecollaborations that we're doing
(20:12):
now with other bureaus aroundour Twin Cities area for
marketing and promotion forAmerican Bus Association Circle
Wisconsin and a trade show inChicago.
We're partnering with TwinCities Gateway, with Minneapolis
Northwest and pooling our moneytogether to make a bigger
impact on trade shows and tobring in leisure visitors along
with meetings.
Bill Von Bank (20:33):
Joe, you've been around the country, been in
Rochester now for five-plusyears.
That's correct.
What's been the most fulfillingpart of promoting tourism in
Rochester?
Joe Ward (20:45):
I think being part of that welcoming experience and
reaching out to people who needit the most and that's been
fulfilling, I mean, every stopI've had in my career.
My favorite part for sure is tosee smiles on faces when people
are experiencing something inyour community, and the longer
I've been in the industry, I'verealized the impact that can
make in your local residents aswell.
(21:07):
You know, when they startsaying wait, actually this is
kind of a cool place.
I can see why people want tocome here, because everywhere
you go people are always likewhy would anyone come here?
But I think it's.
It's really to see that you domake a difference in people's
lives and it and that magnifyinglens is really on that when
somebody is facing a potentialterminal illness, when coming to
Mayo Clinic or, at a minimum,something extremely challenging,
(21:30):
and so it's highlighted evenmore.
But really in the end, we're alldelivering terrific hospitality
and a little bit of love, youknow, and we shouldn't, we
shouldn't run away from that andwe're the folks that you know.
I'm from New York originallyand it is a disclaimer that kind
of follows me around and I see,in the destination marketing
and destination management I'llcall myself a Minnesotan, just
(21:52):
for the second.
I know I don't technicallyqualify, but the reality is we
should be more willing toembrace, to tell that story.
I think people are proud here,but they don't necessarily step
up and say this is a fantasticplace and that's what we all
need to do, because it is, andwe all need to just band
together to continue to do thatand not be ashamed.
Julie Wearn (22:13):
People want to hear about us and, in this day and
age, a real welcome, a warmwelcome.
I'm glad you're here and I hopeyou have a good time is much
needed.
Joe Ward (22:22):
And that's never more genuine than it is in Minnesota,
right.
Bill Von Bank (22:24):
We have time for one lightning round question.
As you look to and help shapethe next generation of
destination marketers, whatadvice would you give them?
Linda Jurek (22:35):
Lightning round, understanding the balance
between marketing and the DMOand the destination market
management organization criticaland I would also say
collaborate, collaborate,collaborate.
We're here at MACVB and I wouldsay that what I've learned in
11 years of doing this from thepeople at this table is
incredible.
Partnership and collaborationis huge across the state and
(22:57):
across our organization.
Joe Ward (22:59):
Joe, what advice would you give?
I'd say dare to dream and dareto lean into it and dare to lead
.
Julie, what advice would yougive?
Julie Wearn (23:05):
I would say have fun.
I mean it's a fun industry.
Keep your hopes up, beoptimistic and really work with
your local governments.
I mean have finger on the pulsethere with your government
leaders and your city council.
It's big time important.
Bill Von Bank (23:19):
Before we depart, I do want to give some
recognition to Julie Wern, whois retiring at the end of the
year after many years 17 yearsin this role with Roseville and
many years in addition 86altogether.
Wow, 86.
Julie Wearn (23:34):
Wow.
Linda Jurek (23:35):
Wow, Did you see my face?
I'm like what?
Joe Ward (23:38):
Well, that Minnesota fresh air that makes you look so
good.
Julie Wearn (23:41):
And getting good makeup hair and makeup.
Bill Von Bank (23:44):
Well, we just want to say thank you for what
you've done to help and yourleadership along the way because
you've served on many boardsand you've led many initiatives
for the tourism industry inMinnesota.
Julie Wearn (23:54):
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
It's been very rewarding.
Joe Ward (23:57):
Yes, thank you, thank you and congratulations.
Thank you.
Bill Von Bank (24:00):
And I want to thank all three of you Linda
Jurek with Visit Cook County,julie Wern with Visit Roseville
and Joe Ward with ExperienceRochester and Mayo Civic Center.
Thank you all for being ourguests on the Growing
Destinations podcast.
Julie Wearn (24:13):
Thanks for having us.
Thank you.
Bill Von Bank (24:15):
Thank you for tuning in to the Growing
Destinations podcast and don'tforget to subscribe.
This podcast is brought to youby Experience Rochester.
Find out more about Rochester,Minnesota, and its growing arts
and culture scene, itsinternational culinary flavors
and award-winning craft beer byvisiting
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The Growing Destinations podcast is brought
to you by Experience Rochester.
Learn more about Minnesota'sthird largest city, which is
home to Mayo Clinic and featureswonderful recreational and
entertainment opportunities, byvisiting
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Linda Jurek (00:15):
The impact of no snow last winter was kind of
like a COVID impact in otherareas.
We were just like, oh my gosh,you know there was like we saw
such a reduction in travel Forus this winter.
I'd like to focus on somethinglike snowmobiling because I can
see growth in an area you knowwe can track that.
Joe Ward (00:33):
People meet the way they used to meet.
They want to meet in person,they want to connect and we're
very grateful for that, and Ithink all of our community
should be very grateful for that, because that infuses money
into our local economies.
Julie Wearn (00:50):
The collaborations that we're doing now with other
bureaus around our Twin Citiesarea for marketing and promotion
for American Bus AssociationCircle Wisconsin and a trade
show in Chicago.
We're partnering with TwinCities Gateway with Minneapolis
Northwest and pooling our moneytogether to make a bigger impact
on trade shows and to bring inleisure visitors along with
meetings.
Bill Von Bank (01:12):
Welcome to the Growing Destinations podcast,
where we take a deep dive intodestination development and
focus on a wide range of topics,from tourism and entertainment
to economic development andentrepreneurism and much more.
I'm your host, bill Vaughn-Bank.
At the end of Minnesota'ssummer tourism season, the
Minneapolis Federal Reserve,hospitality Minnesota and
Explore Minnesota conducted asentiment survey to assess the
(01:33):
state of the hospitality andtourism industries.
The recently released datareveals some challenges Viewer
customers, declining revenue andrising costs of labor and goods
that are putting pressure onbusinesses.
Coupled with unpredictableweather and inflation.
Many operators are finding itdifficult to maintain stability.
(01:54):
Despite these hurdles, thereare opportunities ahead.
Today, we're joined by threeleaders navigating this
challenging landscape.
Linda Jurek is ExecutiveDirector of Visit Cook County in
Northeast Minnesota.
Julie Wearn is ExecutiveDirector of Visit Roseville in
the Twin Cities metro area.
And Joe Ward is President ofExperience Rochester and the
(02:15):
Mayo Civic Center in SouthernMinnesota.
Together, we'll explore howtheir regions and cities are
adapting to the economicrealities of 2024, the trends
they're observing in visitorbehavior and their outlook for
2025.
Linda Jurek, julie Wearn, joeWard.
Welcome to the GrowingDestinations podcast.
Julie Wearn (02:37):
Thank you, Thank you Thanks.
Bill Von Bank (02:38):
Bill Glad to be here.
As I noted in my intro, thelatest tourism sentiment data
tells a cautionary tale, butthat's one data point in one
moment in time, and you alltrack data as well.
So how would you describe thecurrent state of tourism in your
regions?
And, Linda, we'll start innortheast Minnesota and visit
Cook County.
First tell us about the regionthat you represent and then
let's talk about how things arelooking.
Linda Jurek (03:00):
Oh boy, I could talk for hours on our region.
We're the eighth largest countyin the state, population 5,600.
Recent studies showed that wehave an economic tourism impact
of 80%.
So that's big and a lot ofvisitors per year 1.2 million.
I'm going to touch on that in afew of my answers.
(03:20):
We are a very, very bigrecreation area.
That said, we're 90% publiclands and we're unusual in that
we're bordered by the country ofCanada, the beautiful Lake
Superior and those public lands.
So one road in, one road out,six hours north of where I'm
sitting right now.
Bill Von Bank (03:35):
You've seen the data from the Minneapolis
Federal Reserve and the otherorganizations and they didn't
paint a rosy picture from thispast summer.
How has tourism been in VisicaCounty?
Linda Jurek (03:47):
Very strong and I think that we've worked really
hard.
I don't think I know we'veworked hard to really solidify
tourism as our biggest business.
So we have experienced a very,very strong summer.
I would say that we have a lotof new developments, not only in
transfer of ownership but brickand mortar, which is really
exciting.
(04:07):
It's hard to do brick andmortar in very, very far
Northeastern Minnesota.
It's a lot more expensive, sothat's exciting for us.
The one thing that's been a bitof a hurdle to get over in
saying that we're strong is thatthe no snow, no ice winter of
Q1, starting Q1 of 2024, reallytook a hit on us.
So financially, when you'rebased on a bed tax or lodging
(04:29):
tax collection, we're stillcoming out of that, but tourism
in itself is strong.
Bill Von Bank (04:34):
Julie, you represent Roseville, minnesota,
right in the heart of the TwinCities.
Tell us a little bit about yourcity and then let's talk about
how the tourism industry hasfared.
Julie Wearn (04:44):
We call ourselves perfectly positioned in the Twin
Cities area because we are theonly city that touched on St
Paul and Minneapolis, so we'relike you come in, we have a
variety of hotels in every pricerange.
Go to your sporting event, goto your concert, go to see the
Twins, see the Vikings, see theUnited, the soccer, see
(05:04):
Minnesota Wild, and come backand stay and visit Roseville,
which has free parking, lowerhotel taxes and it's a great
location for a hub and spoke.
And we also have RosedaleCenter, which is the second
largest shopping center behindMall of America.
Bill Von Bank (05:20):
You've also seen the data this past summer.
How has tourism been for yourcity?
Julie Wearn (05:24):
It was a slow winter.
It was a slow winter.
It was a slow winter buthonestly our summer we probably
averaged about 73% in the summerand year to date through August
our occupancy is 61% and ouraverage rate is $117.86, which
for us is huge and last year weran about 59% occupancy with
(05:45):
$111 ADR.
So rate is very strong,everybody's driving rate.
And the thing now is we'venoticed that corporate has
slowed down and it's becausewith COVID you find out that
Zoom calls do work.
So the number of peopletraveling on a monthly basis has
gone down and hotel occupancySunday through Wednesday is
(06:05):
softer than hoteliers would likeit.
Thursday through Sunday we havegreat leisure corporate mix and
also it's slower booking times.
So hoteliers are saying it'shard to forecast what traffic is
gonna look like because peoplebook so much short-term now.
Bill Von Bank (06:19):
Joe, rochester, minnesota's third largest city
in Southern Minnesota, home toMayo Clinic, its global
headquarters.
Big amount of people workingthere On top of that and the
visitation that comes frommedical tourism.
Rochester also has a bigconvention center, the Mayo
Civic Center.
So talk a little bit about howthat is playing into the mix and
(06:41):
what you're seeing in terms ofbusiness.
Joe Ward (06:44):
Well, it's interesting first to hear what Julie said
about their flow of traffic,where they're slower during the
week and busy on the weekends,and Rochester is almost a
flipped universe from thatbecause of the Mayo Clinic.
So you have Mondays throughThursdays are our biggest nights
, our busiest nights, and so forus, you know, we're trying to
introduce Rochester in adifferent way a little later in
the week to try to grow that.
(07:04):
But at the same time there'salso a bread and butter that
goes around with the Mayo CivicCenter around, yes, medical
meetings, but also conventionsof any sort, 200,000 square feet
that need to be filled.
So we've had a really greatyear actually of actualization,
in that it's a result of a lotof work that was leaned into
during those pandemic years.
So we took advantage, I guess,of a very lean time.
(07:25):
But it's paying off right nowand we're starting to see that
growth.
We are definitely seeingpre-pandemic levels for more
than a year now.
Bill Von Bank (07:34):
So I think we're back After the pandemic we saw a
significant boom in domestictourism as people sought out
local travel experiences.
Linda, I know right out of thegate during the pandemic you saw
a surge.
Linda Jurek (07:50):
A big surge and it was crazy.
Our surge occurred in 21, 22.
And we really, you know, sad tosay benefited from COVID.
We had a tremendous amount ofvisitors and when I look at
where we're at right now, one ofthe benefits of that is that we
put a lot of best practices inplace that were not only for the
health and safety of ourtravelers, but they really
(08:11):
worked economically.
So when you think of you knowroom night minimums, three night
minimums, or when you think ofturning over a room and not
having that anymore so there'sbeen a lot of good practices
that we put in place I will addthat we are not back.
We haven't fallen back to 2019levels and I don't expect that
to happen.
You know, after the surge,we're not.
(08:32):
We haven't gone back that faryet.
You know we're seeing a littlereduction, but nothing close to
2019.
Bill Von Bank (08:38):
Julie in the Twin Cities, obviously not the great
outdoors like Linda has.
In relation to more peoplecoming because of COVID, how now
, compared to COVID, youprobably are rebounding still.
Julie Wearn (08:51):
We did.
And I must add, right now hasCOVID struck.
We were doing our Roseville inBloom 20 roses, 27 foot tall
roses throughout the city, sothat was going to be our big
tourism promotion for the summerand it was like dang.
But what happened with that isthat we worked with the city and
the schools and it's like thisis a COVID free activity that
(09:13):
you can do you can ride yourbike, you can walk, you can
drive by every single rose thatis outdoors.
So we got a lot of PR out ofthat.
We got a lot of TV and radiooff of that, which was pretty
darn cool.
And the roses are still up andpeople are still traveling to
them.
And then we also did well afterthe pandemic we benefited from
sporting events because thosehave picked up our convention
business.
You know we're not getting alot of overflow from St Paul or
(09:35):
Minneapolis because they're notbooking the major citywide
conventions as they used to.
So that is down and I expectthat's going to be a while back
before that comes.
Bill Von Bank (09:46):
Joe, you're no stranger to this podcast and I
recall some conversations we hada couple years ago, as we were
still in the pandemic, and theimpact that when Mayo Clinic
stopped elective surgeries for awhile and then when they
brought them back, it was almost, like you know, from a light
switch off to a light switch onin terms of visitation.
Joe Ward (10:05):
Oh yeah, the floodgates open and it's like
okay, we're back, except, guesswhat?
All the employees in thehospitality industry weren't
back yet.
So obviously there arechallenges that you work through
with service and all thosetypes of things, but definitely
we're very, very fortunate Imean we really are to have Mayo
Clinic in our backyard.
It's the world's best hospital,it's the state's largest
(10:25):
employer and that baseline thatwe've always had we're very
grateful for.
And these are visitors, theseare guests.
We have our eye out for them.
I think the thing.
I was new to Minnesota at thetime.
I started in late July of 2019,so just before the pandemic and
I'd come in thinking there wasan opportunity anyway to
reintroduce the Mayo CivicCenter's recent expansion at the
(10:48):
time, which I felt that morepeople needed to know about it.
So when COVID came, we decidedto just lean into that
opportunity and our salespeoplewere our first people back.
Our funding model allowed us tokeep a couple more employees
than most people did, so we usedthat time wisely to get in
touch with people, to check onassociation managers who decide
(11:10):
on meetings and things, to justsee how they were doing and then
use that time over a period ofmonths to reintroduce them to
what we have or to introducethem for the first time, and
we're seeing that dividend now,the challenges that Minnesota
may be having with a bit of adip.
This is not that, let's be clear.
So I think it's morenormalization and seeing.
We always talked at that timeabout what's a post-COVID world
(11:32):
look like.
I think we see it.
People spend a ton of money.
Coming out of the pandemic Ihad more money than I'd ever had
and my wallet's not as thick asit was at the time.
So we're not doing as much andI think that's true for
everybody.
So you know, we're all workingtogether and we highlight just
sitting here hearing thedifferences of Minnesota and the
variance.
I think it's a great statewhere really you have so much of
(11:53):
a change that fits and blendstogether throughout the state.
Bill Von Bank (11:58):
that worked a lot in the country and it's very
rare and it's a wonderful kindof rare I have one quick
follow-up for you because, again, back when we talked about what
does a post-pandemic world looklike for the convention
business, specifically thehybrid model, and at that time
we thought, gee, maybe it's hereto stay, it's not.
(12:19):
I mean it went away.
Joe Ward (12:21):
Yeah, I remember even myself saying well, I think that
we've at least gotten to thepoint where there'll always be
at least somebody remote andyou'll have to have that
capability.
We still have that capability,but I honestly don't remember
the last time we've had toemploy that in a conference.
Mayo does that, but they kindof always did because they have
doctors who can't get away fromother parts of the country who
want to participate in that.
(12:42):
But as far as somebody thatrealistically wants that element
because that's the new way tomeet, no people meet the way
they used to meet.
They want to meet in person,they want to connect and we're
very grateful for that.
And I think all of ourcommunities should be very
grateful for that because thatinfuses money into our local
economies.
Bill Von Bank (12:58):
What emerging trends are you seeing in travel
preferences in your regions?
Linda?
Linda Jurek (13:02):
We've always been known as a very, very large
outdoor recreating area and Idon't see that changing.
The travel trend that I'mreally working on and Julie
mentioned this earlier is thatas well as we did during COVID,
there was definitely a bump inour average daily rates and I'm
very in tune to what's happeningnot only in the state and
(13:22):
nation but internationally, inwhat people are willing to open
their wallet for, and I haveheard from numerous people,
whether it's retail folks ordining, that they're hearing
complaints from our visitors onthe high average daily rate.
So I'm really working hard.
We're not part high averagedaily rate.
So I'm really working hard.
We're not part of the starreport.
So I'm working right now, infact just this week, trying to
(13:45):
get some of our properties onboard so we can do some
comparative data Looking at kindof trying to figure that out.
I don't want to be, I don't wantto say to our lodging partners
you got to bring it down, but atthe same time, you know you
have to do something.
You know you have to dosomething.
You know you have to reduceyour minimums or something.
That is something that I'mreally working on, and then I
(14:06):
think, of course, that's a hugeeconomic equation when you think
of staffing and when you thinkof the return on investment of a
one night stay versus a threenight stay and what that looks
like.
So we're as competitive everand we just the outdoor.
The emerging trends there's notthat many.
I would like to say that Iwould focus on a pocket.
For instance, especially afterthe impact of no snow last
winter was kind of like a COVIDimpact in other areas we were
just like, oh my gosh, you knowthere was like we saw such a
(14:29):
reduction in travel For us thiswinter.
I'd like to focus on somethinglike snowmobiling because I can
see growth in an area you knowwe can track that.
So not too many emerging trends, but kind of focusing on some
of the ones that we already haveand really growing that trend.
Bill Von Bank (14:45):
Julie, how about in Roseville and the greater
Twin Cities area?
Julie Wearn (14:48):
We see regional travel a lot.
It's like the Great AmericanRoad Trip bring your family in
for the weekend and again, we'reperfectly positioned to
everything that you can do inthe Twin Cities area and in
Roseville.
And we're lucky with Rosedalethat they're constantly
reinventing the experience forthe shopper and for tourism.
Dick's Sporting Goods isopening their new center.
(15:10):
We have restaurants that areless of chains and they're more
family-owned and specialtyrestaurants, so that always
makes it exciting for people tocome to.
And then our city is doing aGoing Green.
That is something that CityCouncil is working on a Green to
Go ordinance in the city sothat we're very conscious of
looking at the environment andworking around that.
(15:32):
And then we've got culturalexperiences like Tapping Time in
our parks.
We have 30 parks in the city ofRoseville, which is incredible.
The biking, the walking, thehiking, the jogging that you can
do in our city, in a big city,is incredible.
I would again say incrediblewith 30 parks.
Bill Von Bank (15:52):
Joe, how about in Rochester some trends?
Joe Ward (15:54):
Well, I think we're transforming Rochester in some
ways from a city that you haveto go to for medical care to a
city that you're choosing to goto, and that takes time because
the priority again has beenserving people from all over the
world with very difficultsituations and taking care of
them.
But we also have to know thatwe want it to be a place that
attracts people and a place thatbuilds off of that.
So a very healthy place, a veryactive place.
(16:16):
So we have lots of trails andactive activity, but really
we're also seeing people who'vecome in from other places.
Diversity is very strong inRochester and it's diversity
from all over the world, but alot of those people are now
bringing their flavors toRochester.
They're opening restaurants andpop-ups and kind of giving that
a try and it's working andthey're converting to be really
(16:36):
successful to serve more of thatleisure visitor and get people
from, let's say, the twin cities.
We're not going to be building aroller coaster anytime soon, so
it's not going to be Orlando,but it is a great place to come
down and put together a solidfew days of doing things.
I think that ties in also tosomething that we had talked
about a few years ago, which isthe great American reconnection.
(16:58):
People and it's not probablyjust America, it's all over the
world People want to reconnectin a real way that we don't want
to be separated by a computeranymore, and I think that that's
probably shown up in challenges, even in, you know, this
election season, where peoplereally need to come together
again.
And it's okay to disagree andit's okay, you know, in civility
and it's, you know, incivility.
But if you don't know thosefolks, then it'll be a challenge
(17:18):
.
And I think tourism is such aspecial way to bring people
together and you see that heartin Rochester, maybe a little
more, because 75% of ourvisitors are there for a very,
very heavy reason, and so anychance that they can get to
reconnect on a human level isreally important and really
impactful and it's very gratefulto be there to see that the
(17:41):
role of your organizations hasevolved from marketing to a more
comprehensive approach ofdestination management.
Bill Von Bank (17:48):
How have you adapted to this shift and what
does destination management meanto you, linda?
Linda Jurek (17:53):
Wow, that's a bucket full for me In the world
of destination marketingorganizations.
Visit Cook County is relativelynew, having been formed in
2010,.
I think you've all probablyheard a little bit of this story
along the way.
Three tourism associations cametogether to create Visica
County.
Those three tourismassociations still exist, so I
(18:14):
have four boards of directors,four very much with voices.
The three tourism associationsstill are very much at the table
deciding how to distribute our1% event and grant dollars.
So they come together very,very regularly.
So when it comes to whetherwe're a destination marketing
organization or destinationmanagement organization, I would
(18:35):
say we've always been adestination management
organization I think the termcame after and that's what I've
always been doing.
So it's been very, very muchheavily into that.
That's kind of what I do forboards, for sets of bylaws, for
sets of term limits a lot oftime spent in that.
But it's also part of whatreally brings the strength to
(18:55):
visit Cook County, because allthose voices in the regions of
our county are also different.
They come to the table having areal strong voice with what
they offer in each area, whichis really respectful and
wonderful, because they're allrepresented on the big board of
Visit Cook County, but they getto the table with their tourism
associations and they talk aboutwhat's happening in their
(19:17):
region of Cook County and it'sreally worked well.
So I'm all about thattransition.
I always feel that we have tobe that management organization.
I would also say that we alsoneed to keep marketing right at
the top of that list and makingsure that you have either
somebody on your staff or thatyou're very aware and able to
balance the marketing arenaalong with the organizational
(19:40):
leadership pieces paramount toyour success.
Bill Von Bank (19:43):
Julie, many people might not realize how
dynamic and impactful tourism is.
What is it about working intourism that you find most
rewarding?
Julie Wearn (19:51):
The variety, the sheer variety of things that you
can do, the promotions that youcreate, the events that you
create seeing occupancy rise.
I mean it is never the sameevery single day and I've got a
great team working together andit's the marketing, the sales,
the promotion, thecollaborations that we're doing
(20:12):
now with other bureaus aroundour Twin Cities area for
marketing and promotion forAmerican Bus Association Circle
Wisconsin and a trade show inChicago.
We're partnering with TwinCities Gateway, with Minneapolis
Northwest and pooling our moneytogether to make a bigger
impact on trade shows and tobring in leisure visitors along
with meetings.
Bill Von Bank (20:33):
Joe, you've been around the country, been in
Rochester now for five-plusyears.
That's correct.
What's been the most fulfillingpart of promoting tourism in
Rochester?
Joe Ward (20:45):
I think being part of that welcoming experience and
reaching out to people who needit the most and that's been
fulfilling, I mean, every stopI've had in my career.
My favorite part for sure is tosee smiles on faces when people
are experiencing something inyour community, and the longer
I've been in the industry, I'verealized the impact that can
make in your local residents aswell.
(21:07):
You know, when they startsaying wait, actually this is
kind of a cool place.
I can see why people want tocome here, because everywhere
you go people are always likewhy would anyone come here?
But I think it's.
It's really to see that you domake a difference in people's
lives and it and that magnifyinglens is really on that when
somebody is facing a potentialterminal illness, when coming to
Mayo Clinic or, at a minimum,something extremely challenging,
(21:30):
and so it's highlighted evenmore.
But really in the end, we're alldelivering terrific hospitality
and a little bit of love, youknow, and we shouldn't, we
shouldn't run away from that andwe're the folks that you know.
I'm from New York originallyand it is a disclaimer that kind
of follows me around and I see,in the destination marketing
and destination management I'llcall myself a Minnesotan, just
(21:52):
for the second.
I know I don't technicallyqualify, but the reality is we
should be more willing toembrace, to tell that story.
I think people are proud here,but they don't necessarily step
up and say this is a fantasticplace and that's what we all
need to do, because it is, andwe all need to just band
together to continue to do thatand not be ashamed.
Julie Wearn (22:13):
People want to hear about us and, in this day and
age, a real welcome, a warmwelcome.
I'm glad you're here and I hopeyou have a good time is much
needed.
Joe Ward (22:22):
And that's never more genuine than it is in Minnesota,
right.
Bill Von Bank (22:24):
We have time for one lightning round question.
As you look to and help shapethe next generation of
destination marketers, whatadvice would you give them?
Linda Jurek (22:35):
Lightning round, understanding the balance
between marketing and the DMOand the destination market
management organization criticaland I would also say
collaborate, collaborate,collaborate.
We're here at MACVB and I wouldsay that what I've learned in
11 years of doing this from thepeople at this table is
incredible.
Partnership and collaborationis huge across the state and
(22:57):
across our organization.
Joe Ward (22:59):
Joe, what advice would you give?
I'd say dare to dream and dareto lean into it and dare to lead
.
Julie, what advice would yougive?
Julie Wearn (23:05):
I would say have fun.
I mean it's a fun industry.
Keep your hopes up, beoptimistic and really work with
your local governments.
I mean have finger on the pulsethere with your government
leaders and your city council.
It's big time important.
Bill Von Bank (23:19):
Before we depart, I do want to give some
recognition to Julie Wern, whois retiring at the end of the
year after many years 17 yearsin this role with Roseville and
many years in addition 86altogether.
Wow, 86.
Julie Wearn (23:34):
Wow.
Linda Jurek (23:35):
Wow, Did you see my face?
I'm like what?
Joe Ward (23:38):
Well, that Minnesota fresh air that makes you look so
good.
Julie Wearn (23:41):
And getting good makeup hair and makeup.
Bill Von Bank (23:44):
Well, we just want to say thank you for what
you've done to help and yourleadership along the way because
you've served on many boardsand you've led many initiatives
for the tourism industry inMinnesota.
Julie Wearn (23:54):
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
It's been very rewarding.
Joe Ward (23:57):
Yes, thank you, thank you and congratulations.
Thank you.
Bill Von Bank (24:00):
And I want to thank all three of you Linda
Jurek with Visit Cook County,julie Wern with Visit Roseville
and Joe Ward with ExperienceRochester and Mayo Civic Center.
Thank you all for being ourguests on the Growing
Destinations podcast.
Julie Wearn (24:13):
Thanks for having us.
Thank you.
Bill Von Bank (24:15):
Thank you for tuning in to the Growing
Destinations podcast and don'tforget to subscribe.
This podcast is brought to youby Experience Rochester.
Find out more about Rochester,Minnesota, and its growing arts
and culture scene, itsinternational culinary flavors
and award-winning craft beer byvisiting
experiencerochestermncom.
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