Eureka Springs Press
EUREKA SPRINGS GROUP COOP ANNOUNCES 2005 GOALS - 50,000 MORE ATTENDEES TO THE GREAT PASSION PLAY (EUREKA SPRINGS, AR)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Eureka Springs Group Coop has announced that in 2005 its goal will be to drive attendance to The Great Passion Play an additional 50,000 attendees. "So many people have been speaking to Eureka Springs as a troubled destination as numbers have been essentially flat over the course of the past four years, however, when one identifies attendance to the play as fallen over the same period by 125,000 people it is quick to see that this "flat" destination would be the continued star of tourism for the state and region. In 2005, we will continue to drive markets that have provided such growth and rebuild the EXPERIENCE of the Great Passion Play and grounds," stated Jed Bullock from the Eureka Inn and co-chair of the coop.
The group coop consists of five leading lodging properties, The Passion Play, The ES&NA Railway, Ozark Mountain Hoe-down, Blue Spring Heritage Center, Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, The Advertising and Promotion Commission and the Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce. "We take pride in that over the past five years, not one lodging member is down in room sales and most have seen dramatic expansion," stated Jack Moyer General Manager of the Crescent and Basin Park Hotels. "By adding growth in the Great Passion Play through an aggressive on-line strategy, a public relation program that speaks to the experience, through encouragement of the play to evolve its product to the consumer and by recruiting groups both via motor coach and of a corporate nature, we see a way to expand our summer season and redevelop the family market even further than exists today."
The Great Passion Play has operated since 1968 and is open five days per week beginning in late April and running through the final week in October. "What we feel has been missing is that our strategy of making every experience unique has been cancelled by a (same old play mentality). In fact, we have various choral groups who visit each year, the museum rotates art displays and artists regularly, we often have unique displays including our 2005 Museum of Earth History and our play has received improvement every year. The message that the story is the same, but the experience is never the same, will drive our 2005 efforts and help the play and the coop achieve this aggressive goal." State Mardell Bland from The Great Passion Play.
In fact, the coop has already helped. The Beyond Dickens celebration has been invigorated in 2004 through marketing, product redevelopment, interactive skits and guided museum tours. The Coop and CAPC added to efforts in partnership with the city's new agency Stone and Ward to boost the holiday season through an aggressive public relations plan, familiarization trips for over 20 Branson Tour & Travel Operators and filming trip from Parks & Tourism to add images into the state's marketing plan on Eureka Springs' Christmas. Furthermore the Coop continues to support efforts through direct sales over the hotel front desks and visitor centers with plans to add to such efforts in 2005 during the regular season.
To learn more of the Eureka Springs Coop, The Great Passion Play or Beyond Dickens, visit www.eureka-springs.org or The Great Passion Play at www.greatpassionplay.com.
For more information, contact:
Mr. Jack Moyer
Eureka Springs Group Coop
75 Prospect Ave
Eureka Springs, AR 72632
479-981-1332
jackmoyer@gmail.com
