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His South American audience was first moved emotionally, and then, Joseph Marinelli hopes, literally.
The president of Visit Savannah recently played the artsy YouTube video “Savannah in 100 Blinks” for Brazilians. It shows Savannah’s Forsyth Park and mossy trees as well as its quirkier sides: Seagulls calling overhead and a woman running on cobblestones.
“And people were like, ‘I’ve got to go there,’” Marinelli said.
That’s good, according to Marinelli and Amir Eylon, vice president of partnerships with Brand USA, which works to draw foreign tourists. The two talked this week about drawing international tourists to the United States. Their tools includes social media; websites in multiple languages; thick, color booklets distributed globally at consulates and embassies; joint marketing between local, regional, state and national destination partners; and visits to other countries.
Only about 9 percent of Savannah’s 13 million visitors are international, but the economic rewards are strong. International tourists spend four times what domestics visitors spend and stay longer, at least 10 days versus 2.4 days, Eylon said.
“That’s four times the tax revenue; that’s four times the spending,” he said.
And Brazilians shell out even more — as much as six times the amount of domestic visitors, Eylon said.
But it seems American appeal has waned or shifted, Marinelli said. Now it’s easier than ever for people to visit China or Kuwait if they want, and the United States has found itself with declining foreign
visitors and needing to market itself to potential overseas tourists.
The United States Travel Promotion Act of 2010 created Brand USA for such purposes.
“Gateway” destinations such as New York City or Hollywood seem to get all the attention from first-time visitors to the States. But if they return, these tourists often choose other “experiences.”
That’s what people travel on, Eylon said, mentioning “the great outdoors,” culinary and Southern experiences.
“You have to get your arms around it,” he said of what tourists want.
And the latter experience, luckily for Savannah, is a hot one now. Tourism in Savannah overall has increased more than 30 percent in the last five years, Marinelli said.
Finding out about the South is appealing in certain markets, Eylon said of countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom.
“The interest in this part of the country is at an all-time high,” Marinelli said, also mentioning Asheville and Charleston.
Locally, the greatest growth in the last two years in international tourism stems from Brazilian and Australian visitors.
“Gosh, the Australians came in like gangbusters last year,” said Erica Backus, Visit Savannah’s public relations director. Appeal comes from Southern hospitality and a chance to unwind and leave behind the car in favor of walking to shops and parks, Marinelli said.
Tourists also want history and culinary experiences.
“You check those boxes perfectly,” he says.
But many people don’t yet know that they want to go to Savannah. They just know they want to go to the South. So he and Visit Savannah are beginning plans for their 2016 collaborative marketing effort.
Their most effective tool?
“The ability to share content,” Eylon said.
And Savannahians and its tourists are more than willing to add to the collection. A couple who drove down from New York City shot the “Savannah in 100 Blinks” video. Other glamorous views shared by Visit Savannah were captured off-the-cuff by locals with smartphones who were struck by the beauty here, which is yet another point of attraction, Marinelli said.
“Savannah is a very photogenic city,” he said.