Request for Proposals (RFP) for Tourism Strategic Planning Services
Download the RFP packet here. | Download the ADDENDUM here.
Allegany County Tourism, is requesting proposals from qualified agencies and professionals for the creation of an Allegany County, the Mountain Side of Maryland, Tourism Strategic Plan. The selected firm will enter into a price agreement for strategic planning services.
Proposals are due by email to Ashli Workman, aworkman@alleganygov.org, by 4:00 PM EST on Friday, November 15, 2024.
Questions regarding the Request for Proposals (RFP) shall be addressed to Ashli Workman, Director of Tourism by email only, aworkman@alleganygov.org.
The Request for Proposal includes the following sections:
1. Summary
2. Scope of Services
3. Submission Requirements
4. Evaluation
5. Proposed Timeline
6. Proposal Terms
SUMMARY
Allegany County, the Mountain Side of Maryland, seeks to engage the services of a qualified agency or professional for the creation of a strategic plan.
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
Allegany County, the Mountain Side of Maryland, is a three-dimensional destination promoting an authentic and memorable visitor experience through outdoor recreation, history and heritage, arts and culture, and natural scenic beauty.
As the official destination marketing organization for Allegany County, Maryland, Allegany County Tourism is a local government sub-department to Allegany County Economic and Community Development. Allegany County Tourism is funded by a portion of the visitor-paid hotel/motel tax and acts as good stewards of this tax by reinvesting into destination promotion and awareness. The office is an all-inclusive model for businesses in Allegany County; however, they operate under a regional approach and work with partners with out-of-county businesses and opportunities, with the ultimate goal of promoting Allegany County, Maryland. Since 2017, the office has grown from one full-time employee to three full-time employees with the mission of enhancing the quality of life in Allegany County, Maryland, and strengthening destination awareness through promotion, development, and services that attract visitors to stay longer and spend more in our community.
The office has made great strides in establishing the county’s tourism brand and gaining the trust of tourism stakeholders. Allegany County Tourism puts great emphasis on working with strategic partners in the community to achieve program goals. Not only has the office grown the region as a mountain destination, but the department has played an impactful role in tourism economic development projects and growth.
The goal of this plan would be to organize strategic goals and implementation strategies to guide future tourism marketing and destination development efforts.
SCOPE OF SERVICES
Please note, this is NOT an RFP for marketing services.
Allegany County Tourism seeks an experienced consulting firm with a successful track record of creating strategic plans that include dealing with the complexities of multiple public and private stakeholders.
PURPOSE OF PLAN
The strategic plan will provide Allegany County Tourism with a roadmap to maintain, enhance, and inspire Allegany County, the Mountain Side of Maryland’s competitive positioning relative to the destination’s markets. The plan will also establish clear goals and objectives as they relate to the mission
of the office, which is to ‘enhance the quality of life in Allegany County, Maryland, and strengthen destination awareness through promotion, development, and services that attract visitors to stay longer and spend more in our community.’
INITIAL SCOPE OF WORK
The selected firm will be required to ensure the following:
1. Inventory and Research. Identify and inventory Allegany County Tourism’s assets. This could include but is not limited to events, activities, cultural resources, arts and entertainment, natural resources, attractions, history, recreation, and/or business. This should also include events, attractions, and/or opportunities in the surrounding region that Allegany County Tourism can pull from or capitalize upon.
2. Stakeholder Engagement. Identify and interview stakeholders, influencers, and partners. Understand needs, concerns, issues, opportunities, how funds are used, etc. from a variety of potentially conflicting perspectives. Stakeholder survey(s) to establish current perceptions and explore opportunities and direction.
3. Assessment. Assess the current state of Allegany County Tourism.
4. Benchmarking. Identify other similar destinations to benchmark current practice and future success against. Conduct comparative analysis with similar destinations.
5. SWOT. Perform SWOT analysis. Develop lists/descriptions of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats for Allegany County Tourism’s efforts.
6. Gap Analysis. Perform gap analysis to understand what missing/underdeveloped infrastructure and/or attractions, etc. are needed if developed. The project will require the firm to specifically look at and provide a Hotel Lodging analysis to interpret our current hotel/lodging and airbnb market, demand, and future needs.
7. Visitor Profile Study. Revisit our 2019 completed Visitor Profile Study and re-engage with our visitor database to provide some post-COVID updates to the data.
8. Recommendations. Report on findings and provide recommendations for a 5-year Tourism Strategic Plan to a variety of audiences/stakeholders.
DELIVERABLES:
Desired deliverables include:
1. Research, reports, and/or best practices to establish a common foundation of information among stakeholders and decision makers.
2. An iterative draft and final plan incorporating specific goals, objectives, strategies and timelines for both short- and long-term implementation.
3. A feedback mechanism and plan for reporting outcomes and updates to stakeholders. 4. Engagement and communications plan for discussion and dissemination of strategic plan. 5. Timeline. This project must be completed by May 1, 2025.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
All applications must be submitted digitally. Electronic submissions should be emailed to Ashli Workman, Director of Tourism, aworkman@alleganygov.org, with the subject line “Allegany County Tourism Strategic Plan Proposal.” Any email sent after 4:00 PM EST on the RFP deadline will be excluded.
Please limit total pages to 20 or less.
1. Cover Letter: Date of submission, name of the firm, a contact person for questions during the RFP process with contact information including phone number, address, and e-mail. 2. Project Manager & Key Staff: Provide a list of the proposed project manager and key staff who will be directly involved with the execution of the proposed work. Include a resume for the project manager indicating experience on related projects. Short bios of key staff should be included.
3. Experience/References: Provide a brief description of three (3) projects completed that relate to the proposed work. Each project listed should demonstrate the firm’s experience related to the scope of work presented in our RFP. For each project listed, provide a reference including contact’s name, phone number, email, and what year the project was completed.
4. Project Approach: Include a general synopsis of the firm’s approach and understanding of the work required.
5. Cost and Fee Schedule: Include a fee structure for the project outlining hours and cost for each phase of the project.
6. Timeline: Please describe how your firm will complete the project by May 1, 2025. 7. Other Supporting Data: Include any other information that you feel to be relevant to the selection of your firm.
Please submit proposals by 4:00 PM EST on Friday, November 15, 2024, to Ashli Workman, at aworkman@alleganygov.org, with the subject line “Allegany County Tourism Strategic Plan Proposal.”
EVALUATION AND SELECTION
A joint review team of Tourism Committee members will evaluate each firm’s submission and the ability to execute the services. Following the evaluation process, the team will select the firm considered most qualified and recommend approval of a contract to the Board of County Commissioners of Allegany County, Maryland. Firms will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria listed below:
Qualification and Capacity (10 points) Firm/Team’s Experience (25 points) Firm’s Approach (25 points) Firm’s References (15 points)
Proposal Cost (10 points) Timeline (10 points) Understanding of Allegany County Tourism Culture (5 points)
PROPOSED TIMELINE
October 18, 2024 - RFP issue date.
November 1, 2024 - Deadline for questions. All questions are due by 4:00 pm EST. November 15, 2024 - Deadline to submit RFP. All proposals are due by 4:00 pm EST. November-December 2024 - Review committee process.
December 2024 - Awarding of contract by Board of County Commissioners.
January 6, 2025 - Project start date.
May 1, 2025 - Project completion date.
PROPOSAL TERMS
● Allegany County reserves the right to reject any and all proposals received as a result of this RFP. If a proposal is selected, it will be the most advantageous regarding price, quality of service, number of capabilities and functionalities delivered, contractor qualifications and other factors that the County may consider.
● Allegany County reserves the right to consider proposals for modifications at any time before a contract would be awarded, and negotiations would be undertaken with that individual whose proposal is deemed to best meet Allegany County’s specifications and needs.
● In the event it becomes necessary to revise any part of the RFP, an addenda will be provided. Deadlines for submission of proposals may be adjusted to allow for revisions.
● Late or incomplete proposals will not be considered.
ADDENDUM (11.1.24)
These questions and answers are hereby incorporated into and are considered to be an integral part of Allegany County, Maryland’s Tourism Request for Proposal for Tourism Strategic Planning Services.
- Are you open to receiving proposals from firms outside Allegany County?
- Could you please share the budget and resource parameters we should consider as we design our proposal?
- Allegany County Tourism was awarded a grant through the Maryland Department of Commerce Office of Tourism in the amount of $112,320. These funds will aid Allegany County Tourism in developing a strategic plan and implementation process of the plan. The allocation of funds for strategic plan vs implementation are not yet formally allocated.
- Is this the first time a strategic plan is being developed, or are you building upon an existing framework?
- This is the first time our office is putting together a strategic plan specific to Allegany County Tourism. In 2019, the Allegany County Economic and Community Development office finalized and released a strategic plan for the county, in which tourism was part of.
- Could you please share who completed the original 2019 Visitor Profile Study? Will the update entail conducting a full Visitor Profile Study with new survey data collection, or should we plan to enhance the existing data with post-COVID insights?
- Could you please provide insight into what destinations you currently benchmark to?
- Not upfront. We feel like this is essential information that we work through with the consultant upfront. I can share, that we look towards mountainous communities within ample outdoor recreation/trail attractions and assets.
- Do you have any data around tourist demographics you would be able to share with us?
- Can you please provide the average number of tourists you receive a year to Allegany County?
- Are there specific groups or individuals Allegany County would like us to engage?
- Yes. Our office will work with the consultant to identify the stakeholders and partner organizations we would want to engage with through the process.
- Will the 2019 Visitor Profile Study data be available for reference, or should we plan to collect new data independently?
- Are there particular data points or metrics Allegany County would like emphasized within the hotel/lodging analysis?
- Our office will be able to provide access to our AirDNA data, and historical STR reports, to the awarded consultant. We are looking at what is our destination’s demand and capacity building. We have seen a significant growth on short term rentals and what does that do/look like for our region in terms of strategic growth.