Otte-Coleman - City Magazine

“State tourism”
CM: has had a lot of
good advertising themes and
slogans over the years. Do
you have a favorite?
Otte-COleman: My
favorite is “Legendary,”
which was developed around
research. We aren’t a place
of landmarks. We
needed a statement
about the whole
state that we could
live up to and
deliver on. When
you start thinking
about what people
know us for, it’s
the history and the
legends. The slogan
is based on the key
legends: Theodore
Roosevelt, Custer,
Sakakawea, Lewis
and Clark and
Sitting Bull.
The slogan is
applicable to many
different areas. We
can have legendary
golfing. We can
have legendary
sunsets. It works
well.
CM: Define
tourism as
an “industry.”
Otte-COleman: People
don’t think of tourism as
an industry; they think of
it as an activity. They forget
about the infrastructure–the
buildings and the services
out there for people to use.
Without that, you wouldn’t
be able to travel. The obvious
big players are hotels, gas
stations, airports, restaurants
and shopping outlets. But,
it goes beyond that to
the outdoor recreational
opportunities we have here,
including state and national
parks and wildlife refuges.
Then, there are all the
service providers such as all
the folks at the smaller resorts
and all the businesses that
feed into that. The tourism
industry is not always visible.
You don’t see us like you see
SARA OTTE-COLEMAN
Title: Director of Tourism, N.D. Department
of Commerce
DOB: July 17, 1963
High School: Century High School,
Class of 1981
College: Minnesota State University
Moorhead, bachelor’s degree in business
administration with major in marketing,
advertising and public relations
Family: Husband, Clark, married 24 years;
Chloe, 14; Clint and Cooper (twins), 10
Hobbies: Running, hiking, horseback riding,
boating, water and snow skiing, cooking
Most recently read book: “Unclutter Your
Mind,” by Donna Smallin
Favorite quote: “Be joyful always; pray
continually; give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is God’s will for you in Jesus Christ.”
-1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18
What people would be surprised to learn
about you: “I’m a farm wife.”
the wind turbines and the oil
rigs, but we’re there. We’re in
every community and every
county throughout the whole
state.
How has a “down”
CM: economy affected
tourism nationally and
locally?
Otte-COleman: N.D.
has fared much better than
the region, or nation, as a
whole. One difference is the
Canadian traffic—we’re down
considerably this year. Last
year, when the dollar was at
par, we saw huge increases.
But, if you look at the fiveyear
average, we’re still good.
We positioned ourselves
as “AAA’s most affordable
state” and really hit that hard.
We also tried to overcome
objections like gas prices.
Nationally,
researchers and
economists say
people didn’t quit
traveling. The
media talked about
“stay-cations” and
“nay-cations” but,
when you look
at it, people still
travelled. They’re
still taking as
many trips as
before, just not
spending as much
money in sectors
like shopping and
dining. Also, people
are shopping for
“deals” rather than
“destinations.”
CM: What
makes
an attractive
tourism
destination?
Otte-COleman:
Uniqueness. If you need
people to drive there
from a distance, it can’t be
something they are able to
find in their own backyard.
Quality is really important,
and being able to deliver
on the service—giving the
people what they expect. It’s
also about partnering, and
figuring out what else you can
do in the region or the area,
and combining those into
packages because people don’t
have a lot of time to plan.
November 2009 7