In Newport, Measuring Direct Benefits from Recent Tourism Awards is Tricky

Over the past several years, the buzz about Newport’s place as a top American tourism destination has been strong.

Earlier this month, Condé Nast Traveler, for the second year in a row, named Newport one of the best small cities in the U.S. This year, they also picked The Chanler at Cliff Walk, Forty 1 North and Castle Hill Inn as three of the top hotels in New England based on the results of a major national survey of more than 128,000 travelers.

Newport has been mentioned by the Today Show, CBS, Travel & Leisure, Yankee Magazine, Coastal Living, the Huffington Post, the New York Daily News, USA Today and on and on — this year alone.

So what is the direct benefit to earning a reader’s choice award or travel publication accolade? Can it be quantified?

“There is no no quantifiable way to measure the impact of these awards,” said Evan Smith, president and CEO of Discover Newport. But, he said, “when an award happens, we can see an uptick in the number of times our phone rings and sometimes through the number of user hits on our website.”

It’s not a perfect measurement, but ”we can feel it” when Newport graces a list of top destinations, especially when it comes from a major respected publication.

The people who answer Discover Newport’s 1-800 number do say they see an increase in calls in the 72 hour period after the Condé Nast awards, for example, but winning awards “goes beyond that,” Smith said.

“One of the things that’s really important is that it keeps the buzz going,” Smith said. “For destinations, one of the real fears they should have is fear that they can become stale. They’re not reinventing themselves.”

Without constant work keeping Newport’s marketing and promotion fresh, along with support from businesses in the tourism industry themselves, “people would say, ‘I’ve been to Newport, saw The Breakers, been there done that,” Smith said.

“We constantly need to be refreshing our product and what our posture is so we’re offering dozens of reasons to keep coming back, keeping our messaging fresh, whether it be spas or culinary or ecotourism or heritage tourism, we’ve got to keep the buzz going,” Smith said. “That’s one of the main benefits of these accolades — it keeps us to the forefront.”

So what does it take to actually win an award?

There is no secret sauce used by Discover Newport to earn nominations, nor do they spend all that much time trying to stuff ballot boxes or steer visitors to online surveys that result in awards. The true prize is a distinction bestowed by an editorial board from a major travel publication, or, in the case of Condé Nast, a blend of traveler reviews and editor discretion. Some awards have a lot more validity than others, which means they have a better chance at getting phones ringing and hotel beds booked.

“We don’t have anything to do with it other than being a well-respected destination,” Smith said.

The real work is performed by the hotels, restaurants, museums and shopkeepers who deliver the product that Discover Newport is marketing.

The private sector “deserves all the credit for all of these awards,” Smith said. The awards come from ”when people come here and have a positive experience staying at a B&B, and they have a positive interaction with our attractions, our community and are inspired by our restaurants, if they enjoy shopping on the waterfront, if they enjoy the many forms of recreation — biking, sportfishing.”

A destination is only as strong as its weakest link and here, which attracts more than 3 million visitors per year, “our industry is consistently delivering at a very high level, a very high experience and that’s the really notable thing.”

Comparing the bevy of tourism businesses working together like musicians in an orchestra, Smith said that the tennis hall of fame is a “great place,” but imagine it “without hotels and restaurants and attractions and recreation to go with it.”

Businesses here, at least the successful ones, are always trying to improve their businesses. One small renovation project at a time — or big ones.

Consider the recent $40 million renovation at the Newport Marriot. The Hyatt also had a major renovation in recent years. The International Tennis Hall of Fame itself invested $3 million in a renovation.

“Everyone is investing in the product,” Smith said.

What happens when a destination stagnates? Just take a look south toward Atlantic City in New Jersey.

“Atlantic City let itself go and is now in a major thrust of redoing itself,” Smith said. “They fell down because they became stale and let themselves go.”

That city is finding a new spirit and hoping to reinvent itself. It will take years, if not decades, if whatever plan they develop has a chance at succeeding. Meanwhile, places like Newport and other destinations that are already one step ahead will keep speeding ahead, too.

“When you take your foot off the pedal, someone is going to pass you,” Smith said.

Newport hasn’t been without challenges.

Consider the state of Newport’s tourism industry 10 years ago. At the time, the city was grappling with the closure of Hammersmith Farm as a major attraction. Belcourt Castle was closed. Beechwood closed.

“Those were setbacks for us,” Smith said. “Those were things that happened that did not make the destination better.”

Then this year, with the closure of the Newport Yachting Center, Smith said there was major concern that there would be a major negative impact. But resiliency and good weather prevailed — two of the seven sectors of the tourism industry set all time records in Newport this past summer, and they’re the key ones: food and beverage and lodging.

Smith said the good weather played a role, so did low gas prices, the improving national economy and consumer confidence.

“Then the fourth thing is the strength of the programming,” Smith said. “Kudos here should go to our industry for the energy and resources, both human and financial, they invest to stay top notch. Our ability to be successful and remain successful today and for tomorrow has everything to do with that.”