Tourism takes off in Cedar Park
Tourism takes off in Cedar Park
Written by Mark Collins Thursday, 17 April 2008
With big projects on the horizon, Cedar Park and Leander are beginning to explore tourism for the first time.
“We want a city of destination, and we are getting closer to that with the entertainment center,” Cedar Park city council member Mitch Fuller said.
A city of destination uses a tourist feature to draw people from outside of the region and encourage them to stay in the city overnight.
“The primary goal for building an event center is the city council’s desire to make Cedar Park a self-sustaining city where people can live, work and play,” Cedar Park Communications Manager Melanie Carr said. “The event center will definitely offer our residents an entertainment option. Bringing in tourists will be a big perk.”
The proposed water park would also be a large draw for tourists.
“The implications of a water park would be a tremendous boost for tourism,” Carr said. “That would be something that would set us apart from most communities and would be a real reason why people would travel to, and spend the night, in Cedar Park.”
Branding
The Cedar Park Tourism Advisory Board, a seven member team appointed by city council and charged with promoting tourism in the city, recently extended its contract with marketing firm Marketing Edge Ventures to continue its marketing strategy and branding campaign to advertise Cedar Park as a tourist destination.
“Our initial strategy was realizing that even though we didn’t have a lot of typical tourist attractions, we have a whole lot coming that are very geared towards families,” said Marketing Edge Ventures co-owner Amy Stevens. “Our strategy has been built around the slogan ‘Cedar Park – where families come for fun.’”
That strategy included the launching of a new website, www.cedarparkfun.com. The site includes a listing of local events and downloadable trip itineraries with events in and around Cedar Park. The site is intended for travelers, but has proven to be a good resource for locals looking for activities as well.
Branding, or making the Cedar Park name recognizable, is also an important part of what Marketing Edge Ventures does.
“I want to be really careful that we don’t become ‘that place northwest of Austin,’” Stevens said. “I want people to know it’s called Cedar Park.”
Stevens used the city of Grapevine as an example of successful branding. Grapevine is nestled in the shadow of Ft. Worth and is lower in population than Cedar Park, yet the city is well known across the state for its water parks and hotels.
As part of the branding effort, the event center will bear Cedar Park’s name. Hicks Cedar Park, the firm behind the event center, can sell the naming rights to the building, but the final name must include the words: Cedar Park.
“Tourism and marketing have been an area that hasn’t had much attention in the past due to the lack of attractions, but both our Council and Tourism Advisory Board realize that this area will soon be of utmost importance,” said Carr. “It’s critical that we have a marketing strategy in place in order to handle the tourists we expect to start flooding our way when new attractions open.”
Tourism in Leander
Leander has gotten its first taste of tourism in recent years by hosting the kite festival in March, car show in July and bluegrass festival in September. In only its third year, the bluegrass festival has garnered interest from out-of-state bands looking to participate. The kite festival, in its second year, had more than 600 citizens partake in the festivities.
“We’re starting small and it’s growing,” Leander Parks and Recreation Director Steve Bosak said. “We try an event and if it is well received and we get good feedback, then we will continue it.”
“When we first started [talking about] tourism, people laughed,” Leander Chamber of Commerce President Mary Bradshaw said. “But we need to start thinking about this now because it’s coming, and when it comes it will hit fast. We really need to start thinking about tourism and be prepared for it.”
“There have been some hotel people nudging around for a while,” Clennan said. “Lately [the developers] have been a little more serious. You can tell they are starting to have a lot more interest in the area.”
Hotels are typically built in a city when it reaches a population of 30,000 to 32,000. Leander’s current population is estimated to be a little more than 24,000.
“It would be nice to have something come in with a conference space,” Clennan said. “It doesn’t have to be huge, just enough room to host some events and get some people to stay the night.”
Bradshaw is hoping Leander gets a place for tourists to stay. Money collected from the hotel occupancy tax would give the city it’s first ever tourism budget.
“If we got a hotel, even if it was a 35-room Days Inn, we would start collecting some hotel tax money,” Bradshaw said. “We could put together a brochure, have it distributed locally and eventually start shipping them in small quantities to all of the 12 welcome centers all over the state and that becomes huge.”
Hotel Occupancy Tax
Tourism is funded primarily through the hotel occupancy tax, a tax levied on any traveler who pays for a room or space with a cost of $2 or more per day. The hotel tax rate is decided on by the city council and must pass before it can be charged.
In Cedar Park, the current hotel occupancy tax is seven percent.
Funds collected from the hotel occupancy tax are required by law to pass a two-part test before they are spent.
Marketing Edge Ventures is funded entirely by money from the hotel occupancy tax. Cedar Park also uses the money to fund advertisements, posters and banners to promote city events, and gives money to local organizations.
What: Texas X Park is a $66 million extreme sports complex spanning 110 acres of land. Plans include a 200,000 sq. ft. skate park, 2,500 seat amphitheater, tow cable lake for wakeboarding and pro shop. Up to 24 different activities will be available. Later phases include a hotel and retail space. Where: Corner of Bagdad Road and San Gabriel Parkway in Leander. When: Construction will begin in 2008 with completion expected in 2009. Later phases do not have a timeline. | What: The Water Park is a $200 million major attraction with water slides, pools, lazy river and aquarium that allows visitors to swim with tropical fish. The development may include a 500-room hotel, tree-house suites and conference space. Plans include an adjacent high-density, upscale housing complex. Where: South side of RM 1431 between Parmer Lane and Sam Bass Road. When: No timeline available; plans and negotiations are being finalized. | What: The Cedar Park Entertainment Center is a 6,800 fixed seat (expandable to 9,000 seats) multi-purpose event center with 24 luxury suites, center-hung scoreboard, banquet space and concessions. Phase two will include a 16 acre mixed-use development with 91,000 sq. ft. of retail and 91,000 sq. ft. of commercial space. Where: Northwest corner of New Hope Drive and Toll 183A in Cedar Park. When: Construction will begin on phase one in June 2008 and take 16 months to complete. The grand opening is September 2009. |
How tourism is funded
Step 1: City council votes on a hotel occupancy tax rate. In Cedar Park that rate is seven percent. Leander does not have any hotels so it does not have a rate.
Step 2: Travelers who stay in a space costing $2 or more per night must pay the hotel occupancy tax.
Step 3: Hotels submit the hotel occupancy tax directly to the city once a month. The money goes into a seperate tourism account.
Step 4: The city spends money on flyers, promotions etc. to generate more tourism. Expenditures must, by law, pass a two-part test to be valid.
Two-part test for tourism spending
1: Every expenditure must directly enhance and promote tourism and the convention and hotel industry.
2: Every expenditure must clearly fit into one of six statutorily provided categories for expenditure of local hotel occupancy tax revenues.
- Fund the establishment, improvement or maintenance of a convention center or visitor information center.
- Paying the administrative costs for facilitating convention registration.
- Paying for advertising, solicitations and promotions that attract tourists and convention delegates to the city or its vicinity.
- Expenditures that promote the arts.
- Funding historical restoration or preservation programs.
- Funding costs in certain counties to hold sporting events that substantially increase hotel activity.
Source: Melanie Carr, Cedar Park communications manager
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