Every state is different boasting different attractions and facilities, needing to solve different problems, having larger or smaller promotional budgets, approaching travel and tourism in different ways. Even though all of my pertinent experience has been with just one state, I suspect that there aren't that many broad differences from state to state. After all, we're all trying to do exactly the same thing, attract more visitors. So I think you'll find a look at the way we work in Massachusetts to be informative and useful if you're planning a career in state tourism promotion.
Opportunities
The Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism (MOTT) manages a year round advertising and marketing program to increase travel to Massachusetts from domestic and foreign markets and from within the state. In simple terms, our focus is to promote Massachusetts as a travel destination to increase the vacationing public's awareness of what our state has to offer as a vacation destination.
Opportunities are available for energetic, enthusiastic, and motivated people looking to capitalize on a uniquely educational and exciting job or internship experience.
Exactly what you will be doing-on the job or during an internship-will, to a great extent, depend on the specific department to which you apply. MOTT (and most other similar state tourism offices) is divided into the following departments:
Marketing
Domestic Marketing-Oversees a comprehensive marketing campaign including direct response television and print ads, direct mail, special print advertising supplements, familiarization trips, cooperative promotions, and consumer travel publications.
International Marketing-International travelers represent the fastest growing market segment of the state's travel industry. In cooperation with the Massachusetts Port Authority, the New England-USA Foundation and other public and private partners, the Office of Travel and Tourism actively markets Massachusetts in Great Britain, Japan, and France. Activities include trade shows, development of fly/drive packages, public relations, and print advertising supplements. In Britain (our current number one source of overseas visitors), Massachusetts advertises on television with TWA, the other New England states, and the United States Travel and Tourism Administration.
As a marketing assistant in domestic or international marketing, you will assist in the efforts to promote year round travel, do support work in the record-keeping area, and participate in some of the planning involved. One function specific to international marketing is to develop and update a resource book for international vacationing consumers.
Group Tour
Group tour marketing programs include the promotion of Massachusetts at major travel trade shows and conventions, as well as the publication of a group tour manual, newsletter, and sales guide for travel agents. The Office of Travel and Tourism also provides business leads and information about the group tour market to the state's regional tourist councils and to Massachusetts' travel-related businesses.
The main focus of an internship or job in group tour marketing would be to provide information about the activities and attractions in Massachusetts to group tour operators and travel agents so they can, in turn, sell packages or make recommendations to their clients. An assistant in this department would primarily be involved with customer service, compiling, and maintaining mailing lists, updating the Group Tour Manual and assisting in the organization of familiarization trips.
Public Relations
A public relations program provides consumer and trade support for our advertising and marketing efforts. A library of color and black/white photographs and copies of TV ads are available for use by the press, travel agents, and tour operators. Interns would assist in managing this library and maintaining a press clipping file.
In addition to generating substantial regional, national, and international press, public relations activities include special events, press conferences, an industry newsletter, press kits and fact sheets, familiarization trips, coordination of promotional activities with regional tourist councils, co-op programs, public information services, and a minority marketing program.
Publications
The Office of Travel and Tourism publishes a series of consumer and trade publications:
- Massachusetts Accommodations Guide
- Massachusetts Attractions Guide
- Calendar of Events
- Massachusetts Highway Map
- Massachusetts Group Tour Manual
Research
The Office of Travel and Tourism conducts and commissions research programs to track the economic impact of travel on the state's economy, to monitor travel trends, and to evaluate visitor perceptions of Massachusetts. A statewide economic report is published annually based on data from the United States Travel Data Center. Entry- level candidates or interns may be able to work in this area, assisting with tabulation, compilation, and data entry.
What You Can Earn and Learn
Funding for the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism (and other states' similar organizations) comes from the state government. The budget allocated affects the number and extent of programs that can be undertaken and the number of personnel that can be hired.
Salaries for entry-level people are around $20,000 per year. How far and high you go will, to a great extent, depend not only on your own specific capabilities and skills, but also on the particular area in which you specialize. The potential for those of you in public relations or international marketing, for example, may be greater than for those in other areas.
How do these numbers compare with the private sector-working for a hotel, airline, etc.? In general, salaries in the private sector could be 25% (or more) higher than in the public sector (of which we and most other state tourism offices and city/area convention and visitor bureaus are a part).
The Availability of Internships
An internship gives you the chance to work with and define skills applicable to many careers. Attracting visitors to any destination is a fiercely competitive business. Getting people involved in your state is a challenge. In addressing this challenge, you will be developing skills in public relations, advertising, and other communication areas that will help you get your first job in this (or any other) industry.
Approximately sixteen paid internships are offered each year in an office, a number I suspect may not be out of line with other states' tourism departments. Students can work anywhere from fifteen to twenty hours (fall and spring semesters) to thirty- eight hours a week (summers) and are paid hourly. Of course, credit programs through your school would benefit you as much as us, and we're always willing to work out some such arrangement, if your school will. Volunteer positions are extremely unlimited unpaid volunteers are always welcome!
Where Do You Go Next?
PEIER B. LEE has held his current position since July, 1988. His previous experience has been in several different industries, each with a common marketing emphasis, including responsibilities in advertising and financial services.
Mr. Lee has been profiled in several prestigious publications, including Who's Who among Young American Professionals, Who's Who of Emerging Leaders in America, Who's Who in Advertising, and Who's Who in the East. He received a BBA in marketing with an economics minor from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
