Q&A: Bruce Hyde Vermont Tourism and Marketing Commissioner

Bruce Hyde, 56, was appointed Commissioner of the Department of Tourism and Marketing by Governor Jim Douglas in January 2003. He has owned and operated the Hyde Away Inn and Restaurant in Waitsfield since 1987. He served in the Vermont Legislature from 1994 to 2000 representing Mad River Valley.

He holds a bachelor of science degree in biology from Bucknell University and taught high school chemistry and physics for 10 years. He is the organizer and director of the Mad River Valley Century Ride, a 100 mile bike ride through Central Vermont that is in its 19th year.

He is a member of the governor’s Travel and Recreation Council, Chairman of the Governor’s Lake Champlain Quadricentennial Commission, the Connecticut River National Scenic Byways Committee, the Lake Champlain Byways Committee, the Vermont Agency of Transportation Enhancement Grant Committee, and has served on the Governor’s Commission on the Future of State Parks. He was recently elected to the executive committee of the National Council of State Tourism Directors and is a past chairman of Discover New England.

For recreation Hyde skies with his 5-year-old daughter, tries to do some road and mountain biking, though not as much as in past years, and plays a little golf. He has two grown sons, and lives with his wife Margaret in Granville.

VBM: Let’s start with you explaining what your responsibility is as Commissioner of Tourism and Marketing.

Hyde: I oversee the entire promotional budget for the state of Vermont. We spend almost all of our dollars in out-of-state marketing and promotion. For the last few years we have done some in-state promotions to try to keep Vermonters vacationing in state, to keep somebody from going to Maine or the Adirondacks. We are partners in state government with Agriculture, Parks and Fish and Wildlife to coordinate our promotional efforts.

VBM: How big a staff do you have?

Hyde: We are at nine

VBM: And your budget is what size?

Hyde: This year it was $3.6 million.

VBM: You also are connected with Vermont Life magazine, right?

Hyde: We also oversee Vermont Life, and they have about nine or 10 employees also.

VBM: When you advertise out-of-state, are there any particular areas that you focus on that we seem to draw the most tourists from?

Hyde: Absolutely. We get 40 percent of our visitors from the other New England states, and another 40 percent from the New York metropolitan area, so those are the areas we really focus on in marketing. We enhance our $2 million media budget by partnerships with Cabot, the Vermont Skiers Association, and the Manchester Designer Outlets. We will develop a partnership with an organization or business that goes after out-of-state travelers to come to Vermont.

VBM: Do you do any international marketing of the state?

Hyde: We do. For the last five years I’ve been chair of Discover New England which is the six New England states working co-operatively in a unique partnership. The board is comprised of the six tourism directors from each state. We do not delegate our roles to anybody else. We meet as the six directors and we focus on primarily the United Kingdom and Germany markets. For over 15 years we’ve also had a small contract in Japan. During the last couple of years we’ve also worked very closely with France.

VBM: It seems we see quite a few busloads of Japanese tourists, particularly during foliage season.

Hyde: Most of our international visitors come during foliage season. Certainly we are very well known in Germany for Indian Summer as they call it, which is our peak foliage season. International travelers really do flock to Vermont during foliage season. We also get a great deal of auto coach business from domestic areas like Texas and California.

VBM: Personally, how did you come to this position as commissioner? What’s your background?

Hyde: For the last 23 years I’ve owned and operated the Hyde Away Inn in Waitsfield, which is a 10 room Inn and 50 seat restaurant and active tavern which really attracts locals. We are a mile from Sugarbush and two miles from Mad River Glen, so it’s a great location. During the early 1990s I was head of the Sugarbush Chamber of Commerce. That got me involved in politics, which I had not been involved with before. Through some snowmaking wars that were going on with Sugarbush on a pretty environmentally friendly pond that they were putting in, I got more involved politically and ran for the Legislature. I was a member of the House from 1994 to 2000.

VBM: You became commissioner when?

Hyde: I was appointed by Governor Douglas in 2002.

VBM: You’re looking at this position from two sides. You’re a businessman in the tourist industry, and you also oversee the industry for state government. How does that shape your perspective on tourism in Vermont?

Hyde: I think it’s invaluable to be somebody who has been in the trenches and still is in the trenches running a very tourism dependent business. Also, to have served in the Legislature and to understand how that whole process works, really does enhance my role, I think, knowing how the budgetary system works, how taxes are created. Having known many of the players in the legislature has certainly been a help, but I guess on occasion it could be a hindrance.

VBM: How has tourism been affected by the economy over the last couple of years? Are things better? Are things worse?

Hyde: Over the last year the rooms and meals revenue, which is probably the strongest indicator and certainly one that we can measure year to year and even month to month, has been down five to six percent. Considering the economy and considering the weather, both of those are intricately tied to how well we perform, those numbers are not bad. When you look at major destinations like the Rockies, Las Vegas or Florida, they are way into double digits, some down as much as 30 or 40 percent. Nationally the figures are down for travelers in the teens. Vermont is extremely dependent upon tourism, and the rest of our state revenues are performing much worse than the tourist industry.

VBM: What do you foresee for this coming winter?

Hyde: The very fortunate thing is that we talk about 80 million people living within a day’s drive of Vermont. That includes Toronto, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Washington DC, Virginia. That drive market is certainly a great market to have. Folks aren’t taking the big expensive vacations, they are jumping in the car a lot more and staying closer to home. On the flipside of that, the drive market is very dependent on the weather. When it snows, and when it doesn’t rain in the summertime, we do get a great deal of business. Over the country and the world people are making a lot more last-minute decisions regarding travel plans. You can’t look at where you were five years ago on September 1 and forecast what you’re going to do this foliage season. At this point, people are much more apt to make those reservations the week they are traveling rather than a month or two before.

VBM: One of the things that I’ve noticed changing over the last decade or so is that we’ve lost some ski areas, we’ve consolidated ski areas, and most of the remaining ski areas are trying to develop into year-round resorts. Okemo, Bromley and Stratton in my part of the state are doing that. Do you see this all over Vermont?

Hyde: Absolutely. You look at the development taking place at Jay Peak and Killington, and you see that the ski areas recognize that the infrastructure they have, the employees, and just the ongoing expenses, that they really do need to be a year-round destination. We see that development taking place. But there are ski areas that remain very dependent just on the winter. Mad River Glen for example, a co-op that certainly has no aspirations to become a year-round resort, but they have a very unique situation. They have 2000 or so co-op members who pay upfront every year for season passes. So they are not as dependent on tourism as some other ski areas might be.

VBM: We see the ski areas adapting, but what else does Vermont tourism need to be looking at down the road in order to remain successful? Do you see changes that should be made in the next few years in the industry itself as well as change from the government side?

Hyde: We continue to try to target a more outdoor, environmentally recreational conscious visitor. Certainly that’s the brand and that’s the niche that we are in, whether it’s hiking or bicycling, it’s the active lifestyle. A lot of our marketing is targeted toward those folks, young families. We’re still a great family destination. We compete with the cruise lines and Disney, but it’s a much different experience coming to Vermont.

Certainly the state can assist in that. We can continue to upgrade our infrastructure. If all our roads are crumbling in, we’re not going to get the bicycles, for example. So we should continue to make sure that our infrastructure is up-to-date and that people can have a great experience when they come here.

VBM: Maybe you can put on your innkeeper’s hat now. It seems to me that the tourism industry is fairly highly taxed in Vermont. Do you see that as an issue?

Hyde: Our rooms and meals taxes are some of the highest in the country. I need to qualify that just a little bit. Our state taxes are probably the highest in the country but some of the other states have much more of a county or regional tax structure. We’re one of the states that doesn’t have a dedicated funding source where a percentage of the rooms tax would go into promotion. The industry has looked at that for many years, and while there was a funding scheme that was in statute for many years, it was never implemented. What’s more difficult is when you start looking at property taxes, the cost of utilities, some of the other taxes that fall not only on the tourist industry but on small businesses that make it challenging. Worker’s Compensation rates have stabilized somewhat, but again it’s the whole package that makes it difficult to make that bottom line.

VBM: When I travel, I want my cell phone to work and I want to be able to get online and access my e-mails and that sort of thing. How is Vermont doing as far as becoming a fully wired state for Internet and cell phone access?

Hyde: I’m excited that we seem to still be on track for having high-speed Internet access, which is again critical for small businesses, especially tourism. If you are a bed and breakfast in an area that has no Internet connections it really does impact any kind of marketing potential that you have, because so much is on the Internet. I’m encouraged with the Telecommunications Authority going out and really looking like they are only a year or two away from having the entire state wired. Hopefully, with some of this stimulus money and the commitment the governor has had, that will happen.

You know, we’re not in much different shape than a lot of our neighbors and a lot of resort communities. If you go to New Hampshire or into the Adirondacks in New York, you have no cell phone coverage. In Vermont most of the resorts have cell phone coverage but there are a lot of areas in the state that don’t. We have to make sure that it is available. So many people for their work have to stay wired even if they’re on vacation or traveling, so it is a critical need. I think we’re making good progress on it.

VBM: One of the areas getting a lot of emphasis in recent years as far as travel and tourism is rail. Are more tourists traveling by railroad, and if so, how is the rail infrastructure?

Hyde: I think there is a lot of potential for rail when you can get to Rutland on a ski train just five and a half hours from Penn Station. That certainly is a good asset. We continue to struggle with Amtrak, although I think they’ve made the commitment now to allow skis and snowboard on for anyone traveling to Vermont from New York, Philadelphia or Washington. There were people that were getting turned away over the years because the train was too full. Trains are certainly an important way to get to Vermont. Amtrak and the Feds seem to be committed to some high-speed rail which would absolutely help us out. There’s a lot more potential there. It’s a little more challenging on the eastern side of the state to get folks to come up to Vermont from New York. The lines in Vermont have some of the most increasing rail passenger service that Amtrak has in the country.

VBM: My office in Bellows Falls sits right beside the tunnel that goes under The Square. They just increased the size of the tunnel to take double-decker cars, but I think that was more for freight trains and not passenger trains.

Hyde: Bellows Falls, that’s an interesting town. You look at the renaissance Bellows Falls has gone through in the last 10 or 15 years, becoming really an artist’s community. Certainly they are looking to take the next step in trying to attract more restaurants, and I know that the plans for the Windham Hotel, which stands right over that train tunnel, have been in the works for some time. I think from a tourist’s perspective being able to have full services and hotel lodging right downtown with restaurants is certainly something that would draw a lot more people.

VBM: Are other towns using the arts the way Bellows Falls has, as part of the engine driving economic development?

Hyde: There are quite a few examples of that. If you look just down the road in Brattleboro, they have certainly become much more an eclectic artist type community. I think Burlington has come a long way. The culinary aspects of what Hartford is going through right now has a positive future.

VBM: Do you see any trends happening with regard to tourism that are starting to affect Vermont?

Hyde: I think one thing we have to be very careful with was that there was talk last February about eliminating the Department of Tourism, to put that out to the private sector. I think that would be a major blow to Vermont if we did not have the department or a committed entity that is promoting Vermont. We promote Vermont. We promote the brand of Vermont. We promote Vermont as a destination. To eliminate funding and go back and provide that to local Chambers of Commerce, I think we would lose an incredible amount of brand identity. This is the plan that Peter Shumlin and Shap Smith put forward back in February.

We right now have arguably the lowest promotional budget in the country. The average budget in the United States for promotion is $15 or $20 million. New Hampshire has a budget that’s going to be $7 million and going up. Maine right now has a $10 or $11 million budget. These are our direct competitors. You look at New York and Pennsylvania with $30 or $40 million budgets. We are very effective. As a state the highest percentage of our budget goes into out-of-state marketing. We go out and form these alliances that are the envy of other states. We worked with Cabot and got $1 million to go out to promote cheese and tourism. That’s a relationship that has been going on for many years. To take our $2 million of public money and be able to enhance that with $1 million of private partnership money is really a credit to Vermont businesses. Vermont really sells. Whether it’s maple syrup from Vermont that commands a 15% or 20% higher price or other products across the board.

Vermont is known for its quality, its environmental ethic, it’s a great destination, it has great skiing, and if we don’t get that word out of state we’re going to lose a lot of that impact.

VBM: From my point of view, the Vermont brand, what that stands for, is a very strong brand. Now that may just be because I live here and I love Vermont. Do you find that that is really true about the Vermont label?

Hyde: It’s absolutely true. Wherever I go and whoever I talk to, whether it’s Oregon, California or Texas, people hear Vermont and go, boy how did you ever develop that? It’s something that we have hammered on for many years. We do have our quirky politics in Vermont that gets us some national attention, but whether you’re in the United Kingdom or in Germany, people know about Vermont. There were a group of Japanese that I just met with yesterday that know about Vermont. In fact, one of the major products in Japan is called Vermont Curry. The Japanese are big into curry, and this product is called Vermont Curry because it’s made with apples and honey. Not necessarily apples and honey from Vermont, but more importantly they name it Vermont Curry because they know the name Vermont means quality and an environmental ethic.

VBM: We have one major commercial airport in Vermont, up in the Burlington area. What impact does it have on travel and tourism?

Hyde: The airport is critical. We’re going through some shakeups right now with some carriers, and some decline for the first time in a long time in passenger traffic, but I’m sure that is going to come back. We’re not nearly in the shape of some airports of comparable size where the airlines have pulled out or cut services. It’s critically important that people from all over the country can get to Burlington, Vermont most of the time with just one stop. It’s a very important asset that we have. I would like to be able to promote it more nationally, but with a limited budget we really have to fish where the fish are.

VBM: Is there any area that we’ve missed that you’d like to have as part of this interview?

Hyde: I think you’ve covered a great deal of it. There is one thing that Vermont is a leader in where a lot of other states are looking at us, in the area of social media. Whether it’s Facebook or Twitter or YouTube, we are very involved in that. I look at that as a very low cost way of getting the word out, especially to the demographic that we are seeking. I was just at a national conference where I saw that we are way beyond the ABCs of social media. I have a young person on our staff, Patrick O’Donnell, who was just incredible. You can’t be doing tweeting and Facebook with just promotional activities. You’ve got to be smart and you’ve got to be more providing information that those folks there are wanting. If you’re just going to be promotional, you’re not going to get anywhere near the traffic. We’re really working hard on that.

Another thing we’re very concerned about in Vermont is the shift in our demographic. We have an aging population and we have our youths moving out of state. I think through tourism, and getting the word out to the smart, young entrepreneurs that are in their 20s and 30s, that encourages them to take another look at Vermont. That is another benefit that I think we get from promoting the state. Once again, it’s a high cost of living state and it’s a heavily taxed state, so it’s a challenge. We have the most college students per capita of any state, and yet we’re number one in those college students moving out of state. So we’re trying to work more closely with the higher education folks, but I can blame a lot of these kids that have huge debt when they graduate and when they look for jobs they can make a lot more in Boston, Atlanta, New York or Chicago then they can here. But if we can hit a lot of these graduates up five or 10 years later and say come back to Vermont, they’ve paid off some debt, they’ve been successful, and hopefully they’ll come back and set up shop in Vermont. It’s a huge selling point. We have clean air, a clean environment, great people.

A real selling point that we have in selling the tourism industry, is that we are an incredibly accommodating population. I continue to go around the state and talk to Chambers. We do a hospitality training where folks can get certified, and we really push customer service. Give the customer what they are looking for, it pays back in dividends. Too many places you go it’s my way or the highway, and people hang up the phone or go elsewhere.

Robert Smith is a writer and photographer living in Westminster, VT. He is the editor of The Messenger, a weekly paper published out of Bellows Falls, VT. He can be reached at robfs52@yahoo.com.