With the uncertain economy still affecting leisure travel and group bus tours, CVBs still face challenges luring bus tours to their attractions, festivals and fairs, as well as everything else North American destination cities, regions and parks have to offer.

But every challenge is also an opportunity. For CVBs, that means marketing creatively to entice bus tour groups to visit their respective destinations.

Your ABA, always seeking ways to offer new and innovative ways to help your business, is here to help. So we’ve packaged a list of marketing tools for CVBs that can be implemented with ease. Each is designed to get that group tour to your front door. And none costs a single dime in marketing expenses of any kind.

The following tips should provide something for everyone looking for ways to get more bus tours bringing in 55 leisure travelers at a time. Each group that visits and stays over for just one night will, as research shows, infuse the local economy with $11,660 in tourism dollars spent on hotels, restaurants, attractions, shopping, and various sundries. That means enlarging the tax base and creating jobs in your community.

Play To Your Strengths. Every destination is unique, and has something special to offer groups. In 2008, the Dayton, Ohio CVB began a marketing campaign for the Dayton/Montgomery region that embraced its reputation as a “stopover” for motorcoach groups en route somewhere else as a destination city, and turned it into a marketing campaign. “Stopover Central” was an effort to raise awareness among motorcoach operators about all of the area’s offerings to group travelers. Dayton/Montgomery took what could have been a liability and made it an asset to lure more bus tour groups. As a CVB official said, “DAYTON: Stopover Central is an easy-to-remember, appropriate title because of our wealth of attraction, restaurant, and hotel options. If groups are going to stopover in Dayton en route to their destinations, we’ll take ‘em!”

Rebrand Yourself. Dropping “bureau” from public presentation has been a trend for CVBs. Case in point: The Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland in October 2007 reinvented its brand identity as “Positively Cleveland.” Why? The organization’s legal name is a mouthful. It was misunderstood by non-industry consumers (such as reunion planners and tourists) unfamiliar with the term “convention and visitors bureau.” And most obvious, the word “bureau” does not conjure up a sense of hospitality.

Offer Exclusive Excursions. Make travelers feel like VIPs with special “Motorcoach Only” extras. Half-price meals for drivers are great, and always will be. Coupon books for bus tour groups hitting the outlets, or casino bonuses on arrival, will never go out of style. But think of what you can do to make the next bus tour group feel pampered – yet which cost you nothing.

These can be as simple as having one of your staff members greet the tour group at, say, your welcome or visitors center, and then whisking them away “behind the scenes” to show them an insider’s view of a local exhibit at a museum; a special tour of a historical site led by a park ranger that includes a few “off of the regular path” special vistas or points of view; or a simple post-show Q&A with a performing arts group at a local festival, fair or theater.

Use ABA’s Free Trip Planning Resource To Reach Operators. The ABA online tool for bus and tour operators seeking information on motorcoach parking, street access, drop-off points and other critical information about tourism destinations they may be traveling to has topped 50 individual cities, regions and attractions from across North America, thanks to surging use by operators and CVBs, DMOs and state and provincial tourism offices sending their information to ABA to be included on the list and entice operators with their “motorcoach friendly” credentials. Has yours? ABA’s “Operator Trip Planning” page, located at http://www.buses.org/operatortripplanning, is also easily accessed via a right-hand-side button on the buses.org home page. For those CVBs and DMOs who haven’t yet sent their coach guidelines, ABA is delighted to offer this exposure when we are acutely aware of the value of reaching new operators without costing anything. Send yours to abainfo@buses.org and we’ll post it.

Use Regional Tie-Ins To The Top 100 Events. Nominate an event for the ABA annual Top 100 Events In North America. If you missed the 2010 nominations, there is always next year. If you are in an area with no events scheduled, make a few calls to local attractions and pitch them on the business-building opportunity to add their event to a regional tour operator itinerary that will drive business to your region and elevate its appeal to groups.

Make Local Legends & Milestone Stays Into Attractions. Did any president spend a night while in your area? Any Civil War battles take place close by? Any famous author, musician, or other cultural icon hail from your town? That’s an instant new tourist attraction! “Come To Eastwestville, Birthplace Of Beloved Author _________.”

Local Cuisine = Culinary Tour Theme. Complete this sentence with a mouth-watering local flavor found nowhere else, “Proud Home Of …” Find the local eatery offering fare found only locally, and build a undiscovered cuisine theme tour.

Work With Operators To Create Unique Group Tour Packages. Wherever you are doing regional consumer shows more than two hours away from your home, invite an operator from the show’s community to join you and tie the transportation that s/he provides to what you are offering. Operator tie-ins are a great way to create group tour packages by coach.