Guest View-John Musolf: MTCVB Activities In Report Are Not Oro Valley Specific

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The Metropolitan Tucson Convention Visitors Bureau ("MTCVB") presented their third quarter report at the May 2 Oro Valley Town Council Meeting.  As John Musolf notes in this "Guest View" There is very little in this report that directly relates to Oro Valley.

The Council's reaction to this report was favorable.

Mayor Hiremath was quick to ask the towns economic development department with the impact has been on our Valley based on some of the activities that have occurred here, activities that are purported to have occurred because of MTCVB's actions, such as the USA Triathlon Federation's Duathlon National Championships held in Oro Valley. The department estimated this to be $2 Million. There was no support provided for this.

The relationship among Lynn Ericson, who is President Of MTCVB and General Manager Of the Hilton El Conquistador, is very cozy.  Erickson and the managers El Consquistador contributed to Mayor Hiremath's 2010 campaign.   Council Member Snider is a member of the MTCVB Board.   There is simply too much inbreeding going on here.

Council Member Garner was the only council member to even attempt to question the MTCVB report. He asked that it be pulled from the "consent agenda" so that it could be discussed. It was. He noted that report is not specific to Oro Valley. He asked MTCVB to provide reports that demonstrate direct benefit to Oro Valley. Council Member Garner would like to see the total impact on Oro Valley. As you will note from John's comments, this report, like other MTCVB reports, don't that.
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Item B on the consent portion on the Town Council Agenda on May 2, 2012 was for approving the ("MTCVB") third quarter report of performance in relation to the Town of Oro Valley. This report is incomplete and warrants the full attention of the members of the Oro Valley Town Council.  



Let me provide a few examples of why this consent agenda item should be discussed by Council in more detail.

• The report is not routine or non-controversial.

  The shows 83 sales leads and 17 site inspections.
• The report does not provide any examples of the purported 83 sales leads.  Are they all from the same source? Do they count call-backs as 2 leads?  
• Nor does it provide information on the seventeen site inspections. Shouldn't the town ask for a couple of examples of the 17 site inspections for Oro Valley Properties? Who asked for the site inspections? Where and when did the inspections take place?

Another page in the report is “Public Relations Key Measures of Performance for Oro Valley”. It states there were 2 articles pertaining to Oro Valley.

• Arizona Republic (Media Print Article) “Day Trip to Tucson” Makes no mention of Oro Valley
• Explorer Newspapers, Inc.  (Media Internet) Each year the Explorer solicits input from its readers on the “Best of the Northwest” (examples: restaurant, hotel, retirement community, etc.) It then publishes them in its print and on-line versions and some mention Oro Valley. There is no apparent connection between this Explorer Survey and MTCVB. What does MTCVB have to do directly with this activity?

Another page then provides some statistics:

• Events - 6.  None of the events mentioned Oro Valley
• Sports Development - 5.  The 8th Annual Arizona Distance Classic was held on March 25, 2012 in Oro Valley. It does not mention what role MTCVB played in this sports development.
• Convention –  1. Plasma Spectro Chemistry Convention was held at the Hilton El Conquistador January 8-13 in Oro Valley.  Lynn Ericksen is General Manager of the Hilton El Conquistador. Mr. Eriksen is also the Chair of the Board of MTCVB. Was this convention a result of touting of Oro Valley by MTCVB?
• Marketing – 6. None of these marketing efforts mention Oro Valley
• Mexico –  MTCVB states they opened a second visitor center. There is no apparent connection to what it does specifically for Oro Valley. How many citizens of Mexico asked for information or came to Oro Valley as a result of this second visitor center?
• Film – MTCVB touts that they created 3 films. There is no mention whether Oro Valley is highlighted or even mentioned in any of them.
• Air Service – Southwest offers seasonal service between Tucson and Washington D. C./Baltimore. What impact does this specifically have on Oro Valley?

Then MTCVB includes supporting exhibits to illustrate MTCVB performance.

• The first exhibit was an article in the Arizona Republic titled “Day Trip to Tucson”. There is no mention of Oro Valley.
• The second exhibit was from the Explorer Newspaper. Each year the Explorer solicits input from its readers on the “Best of the Northwest” (examples: restaurant, hotel, retirement community, etc.) It then publishes them in its print and on-line versions and some mention Oro Valley. There is no apparent connection between this survey and MTCVB. What does MTCVB have to do with this activity?
• The third exhibit was an article from Media Monitoring titled “Arizona – Where Service Shines Like the Sun”. There is no mention of Oro Valley.
• The fourth exhibit was an article from the Arizona Star titled “Get Moving Tucson”. It mentions the 8th Annual Arizona Distance Classic held on March 25, 2012 in Oro Valley. It does not mention what role MTCVB played in this sports development.
• The fifth exhibit was from Hotel Business Magazine. The Hilton Tucson El Conquistador is extolled by Lynn Ericksen, General Manager of the Hilton Tucson El Conquistador. Mr. Eriksen is also the Chair of the Board of MTCVB.
• The sixth exhibit is from SN news source that promotes Geotourism in Southern Arizona. There is no mention of Oro Valley.
• The seventh exhibit is from SN news source that repeats what the fourth exhibit from the Arizona Star titled “Get Moving Tucson”. It mentions the 8th Annual Arizona Distance Classic held on March 25, 2012 in Oro Valley. It does not mention what role MTCVB played in this sports development.
• The eighth exhibit is from the Dodgers.com web site that talks about an Oro Valley Benefit Game for the Christina-Taylor Green Memorial Foundation. What role did MTCVB play in this activity? 
• The ninth exhibit is from the “Vin Scully Is My Home Boy” web site that talks about an Oro Valley Benefit Game for the Christina-Taylor Green Memorial Foundation. . What role did MTCVB play in this activity?
• The tenth exhibit is from News 4 Tucson that talks about the new attraction in Oro Valley which is the future upgrading of the aquatics capability for national and international swim competition.

There is no indication of how MTCVB was responsible for performance in any exhibits listed or how they helped Oro Valley’s economic development.

Summary
The point is: The MTCVB third quarter report should not be a "consent agenda" item. MTCVB’s performance should be fully vetted by council in view of the citizens of Oro Valley on a regular agenda item.
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