What is the Rochester Convention & Visitor Bureau?
Convention and visitor bureaus are not-for-profit organizations charged with representing a specific destination and helping the long-term development of communities through a travel and tourism strategy. Convention and visitor bureaus bring together businesses that rely on tourism and meetings for revenue.
For visitors, CVBs are like a key to the city. As an unbiased resource, CVBs can serve as a broker or an official point of contact for convention and meeting planners, tour operators and visitors. They assist planners with meeting preparation and encourage business travelers and visitors alike to visit local historic, cultural and recreational sites.
Funding for the CVBs, including the Rochester Convention & Visitors Bureau (RCVB), comes from a local lodging tax that is collected from visitors staying in local hotels. The current lodging tax in Rochester is 4% and provides an estimated $1.3 million in funding to the RCVB for its marketing efforts and an additional $1.3 million in funding to the City's General Fund.
The mission of the RCVB is to create a public/private partnership to promote Rochester as a convention, sports and leisure destination in the state, regional and national marketplace.
What is the Rochester Amateur Sports Commission?
The Rochester Amateur Sports Commission (RASC) was created in 1991 as a 501c3 nonprofit organization. The primary objective of the RASC is to promote amateur sports in the Rochester area by attracting amateur athletic events to the city.
The RASC works closely with the Rochester Convention & Visitors Bureau (RCVB) to identify and attract various sports events. While the RCVB helps to attract the events it is the responsibility of the RASC to organize and administer these events. The RCVB employs staff that is designated to run the RASC operations. All operation costs are the responsibility of the RASC. While the objective may be to attract amateur sports this is done with economic impact to the community as a main goal.
Why are meetings, sports and tourism important?
Travel and tourism enhances the quality of life for a local community by providing jobs, bringing in tax dollars for improvement of services and infrastructure, and attracting facilities like restaurants, shops, festivals, and cultural and sporting venues that cater to both visitors and locals.
Travel and tourism is one of the world's largest service exports and largest employers. In the United States, for example, travel and tourism is the third biggest retail sales sector. The industry contributes more than $545 billion annually to the nation's economy and generates $94 billion in tax revenues (2001 figures). Indeed, travel and tourism is an economic engine and CVBs are the key drivers.
What is the impact of Rochester meetings, sports and tourism?
In 2004, Rochester will host nearly 82,000 visitors who are attending convention and sports events that have been attracted to the city and state through the efforts of the Rochester Convention & Visitors Bureau and Rochester Amateur Sports Commission. These visitors will directly spend an estimated $9,517,000 in Rochester during their 2004 stay and will contribute an estimated $618,215 in taxes to the State of Minnesota.
Convention and visitor bureaus are not-for-profit organizations charged with representing a specific destination and helping the long-term development of communities through a travel and tourism strategy. Convention and visitor bureaus bring together businesses that rely on tourism and meetings for revenue.
For visitors, CVBs are like a key to the city. As an unbiased resource, CVBs can serve as a broker or an official point of contact for convention and meeting planners, tour operators and visitors. They assist planners with meeting preparation and encourage business travelers and visitors alike to visit local historic, cultural and recreational sites.
Funding for the CVBs, including the Rochester Convention & Visitors Bureau (RCVB), comes from a local lodging tax that is collected from visitors staying in local hotels. The current lodging tax in Rochester is 4% and provides an estimated $1.3 million in funding to the RCVB for its marketing efforts and an additional $1.3 million in funding to the City's General Fund.
The mission of the RCVB is to create a public/private partnership to promote Rochester as a convention, sports and leisure destination in the state, regional and national marketplace.
What is the Rochester Amateur Sports Commission?
The Rochester Amateur Sports Commission (RASC) was created in 1991 as a 501c3 nonprofit organization. The primary objective of the RASC is to promote amateur sports in the Rochester area by attracting amateur athletic events to the city.
The RASC works closely with the Rochester Convention & Visitors Bureau (RCVB) to identify and attract various sports events. While the RCVB helps to attract the events it is the responsibility of the RASC to organize and administer these events. The RCVB employs staff that is designated to run the RASC operations. All operation costs are the responsibility of the RASC. While the objective may be to attract amateur sports this is done with economic impact to the community as a main goal.
Why are meetings, sports and tourism important?
Travel and tourism enhances the quality of life for a local community by providing jobs, bringing in tax dollars for improvement of services and infrastructure, and attracting facilities like restaurants, shops, festivals, and cultural and sporting venues that cater to both visitors and locals.
Travel and tourism is one of the world's largest service exports and largest employers. In the United States, for example, travel and tourism is the third biggest retail sales sector. The industry contributes more than $545 billion annually to the nation's economy and generates $94 billion in tax revenues (2001 figures). Indeed, travel and tourism is an economic engine and CVBs are the key drivers.
What is the impact of Rochester meetings, sports and tourism?
In 2004, Rochester will host nearly 82,000 visitors who are attending convention and sports events that have been attracted to the city and state through the efforts of the Rochester Convention & Visitors Bureau and Rochester Amateur Sports Commission. These visitors will directly spend an estimated $9,517,000 in Rochester during their 2004 stay and will contribute an estimated $618,215 in taxes to the State of Minnesota.
