Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Legislative Report Slams Visit Jackson

The PEER Committee issued the following statement about Visit Jackson.

House Bill 1637 (2018 Regular Session) requires the PEER Committee to conduct a review of the Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau (JCVB) to include accounting practices, office operations, administration, staffing, resource utilization and other best practices of facility management.

Some of the Committee’s major findings include:

As of September 30, 2018, the City of Jackson mayor had not complied with House Bill 1637 by making certain appointments to the JCVB board of directors within 90 days of the effective date of the bill—i.e., July 12.

While JCVB operates multiple programs to foster tourism in Jackson, bureau managers do not utilize performance metrics to guide the bureau’s operations and gauge its effectiveness. In addition, the JCVB does not calculate its return on investment in a manner that conforms with the industry’s best practices.

Over the period FY 2012 through FY 2017, JCVB expenditures increased $1.3 million, from $2.8 million to $4.1 million, while its cash reserves decreased by $783,413.

The destination marketing consultant contracted by PEER concludes that the JCVB must focus its sales effort on the Jackson Convention Complex (JCC) in order to achieve a higher return on investment and increase higher occupancy levels for the JCC and hotels.

The consultant also noted that the City of Jackson does not have scheduled signature events, similar to the Jubilee Jam previously held annually in the city. The consultant believes such events would attract new visitors to Jackson.


Tourism-related stakeholders contend that the JCVB should be more proactive in developing a comprehensive tourism plan for the city, improving its communication with stakeholders, and providing training and technical assistance for them.





32 comments:

Anonymous said...

3 ... 2 ... 1 before some lackey apologist shows up to exonerate Lumumba from responsibility for anything.

Beau STILL knows Diddly Squat said...

Tough spot to put anybody in to promote the Jackson Convention Complex when the damn thing should have never been built in the first place.

Wiseowl said...

another boon doggle..who would have thought?

Baby Chok said...

If we radicalize it, they will come.

Anonymous said...

Jubilee Jam who is going to line up the corporate sponsors # 1, can you deal with a loss year in year out #2?

Anonymous said...

The consultant also noted that the City of Jackson does not have scheduled signature events, similar to the Jubilee Jam previously held annually in the city. The consultant believes such events would attract new visitors to Jackson. Tourism-related stakeholders contend that the JCVB should be more proactive in developing a comprehensive tourism plan for the city, improving its communication with stakeholders, and providing training and technical assistance for them.

3.......2.......1 - what's attractive about Mississippi, where a person must put it on their travel destination list? What's attractive about Jackson, that makes it a cut above the other big cities in the southeast? I am asking these questions as a resident of Mississippi first and as a Jackson resident second? I am not trying to be condescending, but its amazing people find this sh*t funny? They rather joke about this sh*t than come up with solutions in order to turn this show around and start wheeling in some cash for this state and its economy.

Anonymous said...

"The destination marketing consultant contracted by PEER concludes that the JCVB must focus its sales effort on the Jackson Convention Complex (JCC) in order to achieve a higher return on investment and increase higher occupancy levels for the JCC and hotels."

Has anyone ever done business with the JCC? They are incompetent. They will send you bill after bill with tons of revised parts that you don't agree with. They give you an entertainment tax on top of the regular tax and then throw a 22% tax on top of that. They make you pay a down payment and then casually forget to include that in your final statement. When you try to contact them about it they completely ignore your calls. Good luck trying to go down there too. The offices are closed most days.

Anonymous said...

Jacksonians do not like Jackson.

Hard for a Jacksonian to sell a product he does not like.

If we ever decide to get over black this and white that....then maybe...but until then.....Jackson is doomed....

Anonymous said...

Wyatt Emmerich sensibly railed against the convention center (deserves no caps) for a long while. No listeners.

Anonymous said...

Sad & depressing times for Jackson.

Anonymous said...

10:05 is the first person to bring up race then, predictably, attributes the problem to race.

Anonymous said...

Beef plant > Convention Center 🤔

Anonymous said...

Emmerich wasn't a lone voice but was one of the very few media voices warning that the convention center would be a mistake.

Anonymous said...

10:38 AM

So race is not an issue in Jackson?

Thanks for telling everyone!

Anonymous said...

@ December 4, 2018 at 10:45 AM

You do know they are building a convention center out in Brandon too?

Guess who was there with his little hard hat and Tonka style shovel at the groundbreaking ceremony?

Taterous Maximus Thotimus a.k.a Triple Cheese Tater Burger a.k.a the mini-gubnor

Anonymous said...

I do not know about how hard they are to do business with or the ridiculous taxes they impose, but I work downtown and there is something going on there almost every single day.

From the layman's perspective there is no way they should be losing money

Macy Hanson said...

I am from Arizona, but have lived in the Jackson area for six or seven years now. Related to the above comments, I would like to state, that from my view, Wyatt Emmerich should win a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on the JCC and the Kemper County Power Plant.

This public-private partnership concept is disastrous. There is a lot of socialism for the rich/well-connected; and capitalism for the poor. The solution is free-market capitalism as the rule for EVERYONE.

Anonymous said...

I think the state republicans have the correct answers for Jackson's tourism woes. That answer is shopping malls and tax credits for the developers of those shopping malls. If you build enough shopping malls, the tourists will flock in by the millions and solve all the city's issues. If you build it they will come!!!

Anonymous said...

Public-private partnership is another term for wealth redistribution.

Anonymous said...

11:18...please post a link to this convention center that is being built in Brandon

Anonymous said...

11:18 - it’s a conference center. Smaller but could compete with the JCC for many (but not all) of the events JCC currently hosts.

Anonymous said...

And it’s in Flowood, not Brandon.

PittPanther said...

Convention center is being built in Flowood, not Brandon. On airport Road.
It is confusing that if the ACC is under utilized, why did Flowood see a need to build their own convention center?

PittPanther said...

Here's my free tip for the day.
Jackson should have a college football bowl game every year. Considering that Shreveport and Birmingham both have bowls, I see no reason for Jackson not to be on this train.

For sure it brings people from out of town, meaning hotel rooms and restaurants get used. The stadium is walking distance to all the Fondren restaurants and the new hotels being built there. Trustman is big enough to pay naming rights, and get national exposure. And we get to see some real college football in this town, not FCS, or Div 2.

Theca Jones of the Roguish Gent Podcast said...

Jackson Indie Music Week is an incredibly great week long festival that should have been supported by Visit Jxn!

Anonymous said...

2:37 Great idea. The Dixie Bowl. It will really put us on the map and in the national news. Especially when all the NCAA affiliated schools refuse to play in a state flying a confederate battle flag. Great!

Anonymous said...

"It’s a conference center. Smaller but could compete with the JCC for many (but not all) of the events JCC currently hosts. December 4, 2018 at 2:10 PM"

2:10 - On account of my ignorance, will you please list ten events the Jackson venue has hosted in the past three years? And don't count those that they had to rope off half the place to keep guests from wandering off and venturing into.

Anonymous said...

Melvin, that won't work because they want to generate some actual revenue. Puffery and hype doesn't pay the bills.

Anonymous said...

DOING BUSINESS WITH THE CITY

December 13, 2018
6:00p.m. - 9:00p.m.
Jackson Convention Center
Events
- Announcements by Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba
- Find Out More About Bid Opportunities

Break Out Sessions
- Developer’s Roundtable
- Update From The Department of Public Works

Please RSVP With The Department of Planning and Development at (601) 960-1638 or email SHarden@city.jackson.ms.us

Anonymous said...

I can see why you'd want an update from Miller at a "Doing Business With the City" session considering how often basic services are unavailable in Jackson.

Brass Casings, LLC said...

The City of Jackson is actually paying rent on the Convention Center to make a presentation on 'Doing Business With The City'?

Meanwhile, please turn your attention to another thread on this blog titled '28 Rounds'.....

Anonymous said...

1. Nick Apostle had it right. Convention Center is terrible.
2. For the love of God....Bowl Games? Last time there was a major event at Memorial Stadium, thousands couldn't get to their seats by the middle of the third quarter. Ineffective traffic flow, boondoggled Fondren, F-'d up State Street from Meadowbrook Rd. (for years).
3. I own a business in Jackson, not the mayors fault. City council is seriously lacking in any real fortitude. All ya'll "s" talking about Jackson, but you took you tax dollars north and east, what the hell we supposed to do? Then you come back to town every day for work and complain.
4. any new hires in the city proper of Jackson, should have a class on "How to give a care about who pays your salary".
5. If only we could fill the potholes with all the horsecrap thrown from the surrounding communities that nurse at the capital city teet.



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