NEWS

A new study completed by Visit Savannah and Longwoods International reveals that the destination marketing organization’s advertising return on investment (ROI) for 2015 equaled $188 per dollar spent in total visitor spending and $13 per dollar in local and state taxes.
The study also estimates that Visit Savannah’s advertising efforts resulted in 1.2 million trips to the Savannah/Chatham County area, which produced an estimated $174.8 million in incremental visitor spending and $11.6 million in incremental local and state taxes.

“This is the first time we’ve tested our work in this way and we could not be more pleased,” said Joseph Marinelli, Visit Savannah president. “The ROI generated from tourism advertising shows a direct correlation to economic prosperity in our community.”

The study was based on a $929,000 portion of Visit Savannah’s advertising budget, which is allocated for some digital, print and billboard advertising efforts targeting leisure travelers.

To determine the ROI, participants were asked to complete an extensive online travel survey. Those surveyed were travelers from Visit Savannah’s key target advertising markets in the Southeast, Northeast, Midwest and Texas, as well as benchmark destinations in the study including Charleston, S.C., Asheville, N.C., St. Augustine, Fla., Alexandria, Va., and Santa Fe, N.M.

“It’s fascinating to see how the perception of Savannah as a visitor destination stands strong among competing cities. People are very interested in visiting this part of the country and Savannah is often at or near the top of the list of those preferred destinations,” said Marinelli.