For the next five days, Visit Savannah is rolling out the welcome mat for more than 1,200 of its closest colleagues in the tourism marketing business as the U.S. Travel Association’s 39th annual ESTO Conference arrives in town.
ESTO is the annual Educational Seminar for Tourism Organizations – the marketing professionals from cities, states and regions that entice convention organizers, trade associations, travelers and influencers to come to their communities and stay for a while. The conference moves from city to city each year, and the last time ESTO came to Savannah was 13 years ago when the tallest building on the Savannah skyline was the Westin Savannah Harbor, where many of the ESTO attendees will stay during the conference.
Back then, said Visit Savannah’s President Joe Marinelli, Savannah ranked 154th in terms of convention destinations. Now, Savannah has jumped to 71st place and will continue to climb with the expansion of the Savannah Convention Center.
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ESTO’s attendees also will notice a number of other changes, many of those driven by Savannah’s popularity among travelers. Since 2015, the number of overnight and day-trippers to Chatham County has grown by 25.6%. The number of hotel rooms has tracked, rising by 23.6% to 18,549 available rooms – a figure that does not include the proliferation of STVRs and VRBOs during the past decade. According to the hotel benchmarking STR report, Chatham County’s occupancy rate in 2022 was 76%. This year, thus far: 79% — a robust achievement.
Locals used to talk about tourist season being March – when the azaleas begin to bloom – to May, just before it becomes too hot to live. Now, tourist season is a year-round endeavor for Savannah, with brief breaks during January/February and August/September.
The conference arrives during August, what is typically the “valley season” in tourism for the Georgia coast, and the conference is projected to have an $875,000 to $1 million economic impact on the city.
“That keeps people working,” said Marinelli.
Ahead of ESTO’s arrival, Marinelli was excited about showing off Savannah, especially the” off-the-beaten path” places – those sites where a person can experience one of those only-in-Savannah buttery sunsets across a marsh or grasp the subtle distinctions between the white-tablecloth shrimp and grits and the rich roux of a traditional Gullah Geechee version. Immersive experiences offered during the conference includes tours highlighting Savannah’s history and heritage, architecture, and iconic sites. A pop-up show will showcase made-in-Savannah bespoke goods and artisan wares.
The city becomes a living laboratory of “why they are hearing great things,” said Marinelli, “what keeps us on top.”
The purpose of the conference, however, is to learn from one another in the industry. The education portion begins in earnest on Monday with a welcome by Mayor Van Johnson and a “Travel Works” roundtable discussion with Congressman Buddy Carter. Hot topics for attendees this year: qualifying social media brand ambassadors, or “influencers,” and the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), such as ChatGBT, on the tourism industry.