New Marketing Director

Lisa Mayo, the new marketing director for the Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau has not wasted any time in getting involved in a wide range of new and existing projects and promotions.

One of the biggest projects is preparing the annual visitors guide that you often see in news racks around the county as well as in many of our member’s businesses. Our goal is always to have it on the street and available before the first of the new year and the 2013 edition is no exception.

In recent years the guide has been 60 pages of photos and information on everything from what to do and see to where to stay and dine. It’s literally our bible in terms of promoting tourism into our area.

Typically, 85,000 to 100,000 copies are printed each year and distributed at industry trade shows around the world, consumer shows throughout Northern California, to a variety of businesses in the Valley, Sacramento and Bay areas and of course to local businesses so visitors can obtain the guide when they arrive.

It’s also available on our web site as a “flip-thru” PDF file. Visit www.yosemitegoldcountry.com and click on the icon for the Visitor’s Guide on the home page.

Bids are coming in now for creating the 2013 edition. Because it’s such an important marketing tool, great care is taken with every aspect starting with the cover (which has to attract interest quickly at shows and events) to the accuracy of the listings (which have to be verified every year) to the design and layout to make it as attractive as possible. The 2012 guide has a show-stopping cover and is our best yet. We want the same or better for 2013!

Some of the other projects in the works right now are the Visitor’s Bureau’s annual report with updated statistics and demographic information on who our visitors are and where they come from. Preparations for trade-show season are underway, kicking off in September with the Outdoor Writers Association of California Fall Conference.

Lisa is also introducing some new initiatives with social media, including Facebook and Pinterest, to reach more potential visitors.
More on all of these activities in the coming weeks.