Delaware might be the second-smallest state, but the first state to ratify the Constitution is big on meetings and conventions.
Three counties—the fewest of any state—run north-south for 100 miles, conveniently splitting Delaware into three distinct, easily accessible tourism regions.
"Each area is unique," says Esther Lovlie, director of sales and marketing, meetings, events and group tours at the Greater Wilmington CVB. "Greater Wilmington has the culture and history, Dover—the Capital Region—has gaming and NASCAR, and Southern Delaware has the beaches. And having no sales tax is big for us."
Delaware is one of only five states without a sales tax. That means no state sales tax on meeting room rental, food and beverage, and for attendees, no sales tax on shopping, dining and entertainment.
Additionally, Wilmington and Dover, the state’s two largest cities, are promoting new incentive programs to attract meetings and conventions to their regions, while Tourism Delaware is also stepping up efforts to court the group market.
Last October, the Delaware Tourism Office formed a marketing group composed of the state’s larger venues. Called Meetings Delaware, the entity uses the slogan, "More Choices, Less Taxing," with the aim of significantly growing the meetings and conventions market. This past summer, it embarked on its first co-op advertising campaign, and the Delaware Tourism Office appointed a sales person dedicated to the market.
At HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings, Exhibition and Conference last month in Washington, D.C., Meetings Delaware took a block of booths for the first time at a trade event.
"We’re affordable and accessible and we fill a niche," says Linda Parkowski, director of the Delaware Tourism Office. "We see meetings and conventions as being of value, and now we are working together to bring them to the state."
Greater Wilmington
Located at the confluence of the Brandywine and Christina rivers off Interstate 95, 20 minutes south of Philadelphia International Airport, Wilmington is the seat of New Castle County.
A financial services and corporate hub, it boasts a revitalized downtown and riverfront, a metro area with more than 6,500 guest rooms and the tagline, "Greater Wilmington & Brandywine Valley—America’s Cultural Gem."
"We’re seen as an alternative to larger cities," Lovlie says. "We’re perfect for midsize groups. Everything is compact and it is not a logistical nightmare to get around."
Wilmington’s gem, the rejuvenated Christina Riverfront, was reborn with a 1.3-mile landscaped lighted walkway dotted with parks, attractions, shops and restaurants. A wildlife refuge anchoring its southern end will open a new attraction, the Dupont Environmental Education Center, Oct. 10. At the northern end is a restored Amtrak station handling 80 passenger trains a day.
Visitors enjoy free summer concerts, a water taxi service, and the tax-free brand-name outlets at Shipyard Shops. The Delaware Theatre Company and Delaware Center for the Performing Arts are also highlights. New this year is the Riverboat Queen, a cruise vessel group option, while the Delaware Children’s Museum opens next spring.
The riverfront is also home base of Kalmar Nyckel, a re-creation of the tall ship that bought Swedes to Wilmington in 1628. It is available for charter and features a museum, the New Sweden Centre.
The Chase Center on the Riverfront is the destination’s primary group venue, with more than 87,000 square feet of space. The center accommodates up to 1,600 people. The adjacent Frawley Stadium, home of the minor-league Wilmington Blue Rocks, can handle gatherings of 2,000 people.
Within two miles of the Chase Center are 800 guest rooms in a handful of downtown hotels with a combined 57,000 square feet of meeting space, including the historic Hotel du Pont and Doubletree Hotel Downtown Wilmington. Also, the Doubletree Hotel Wilmington is situated adjacent to the Concord Mall.
The CVB has a transportation cash incentive program for New Castle County bookings made this fiscal year for meetings and events of 100 room nights or more held through May 15, 2011. Lovlie says the promotion is attracting lots of interest.
With corporate business and meetings filling hotels Mondays through Wednesdays, the CVB focuses on attracting SMERF and association groups Thursdays through Sundays.
"We started this about three years ago and we’ve been building on it," she says. "For SMERF groups, we have lots of attractions."
New Castle is a historic small town six miles from downtown. With a handful of museums, Delaware’s first capital is said to be second only to Williamsburg in its number of authentic historical structures. The Doubletree New Castle offers 20,000 square feet of meeting space, and the Clarion Hotel-The Belle, opened in 2008, has a 6,050-square-foot ballroom.
Newark, 16 miles southwest, features the University of Delaware’s Clayton Hall Conference Center, which has an adjacent Marriott Courtyard that can handle groups of 1,200 people.
The area, Lovlie adds, is fortunate to have former estates of the du Pont family, which manufactured gunpowder from 1802 to 1921, as attractions and off-site venues. They include Winterthur Museum & Country Estate, Longwood Gardens and Hagley Museum & Library, where gunpowder was manufactured from 1802 to 1921. Another, which does not have event facilities, is Nemours Mansion & Gardens. It reopened in May 2008 after a $39 million renovation.
Among the destination’s other off-site options are the Delaware Museum of Natural History and the Delaware Art Museum.
Dover
Dover, 48 miles south of Wilmington, combines a history-rich state capital with casino gaming and the Dover International Speedway–The Monster Mile, which features a harness horseracing track. In June and September, NASCAR races each traditionally attract 100,000 spectators.
For non-high-octane pursuits, the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge and a countryside loaded with attractions and Amish culture are nearby.
"We’re booking lots of reunions and religious groups and are getting into the sports market, but associations are No. 1. Our big push now is the Fab Four [promotion]," says Kimberly Bailey-Thomas, director of convention sales and marketing for the Kent County and Greater Dover CVB, adding that in addition to tax-free shopping and free hotel parking, more than 20 museums offer free admission.
Launched in summer, the CVB’s Fab Four campaign promotes meetings incentives such as rebates, room upgrades and value-added components at three primary meetings properties of the dozen Kent County hotels with meeting space. Bookings must be made by year’s end for stays through 2010.
Two of the Fab Four programs—one for smaller meetings, one for larger meetings—are at Delaware’s largest hotel, the 500-room Dover Downs Hotel & Casino.
With more than 35,000 square feet of meeting space, the hotel completed the $50 million final phase of a multiyear expansion last year.
The other two programs are for two other raceway area hotels: Sheraton Dover Hotel & Conference Center, with 21,000 square feet of meeting space, and the Hilton Garden Inn, which is Kent County’s newest hotel and features a 2,000-square-foot ballroom.
Opened last December, the Hilton Garden Inn was the last of six new properties entering the market within two years, adding 750 new rooms and bringing the county’s total to 2,900. Others include a Residence Inn, a Country Inn & Suites, a Mainstay Suites and a Sleep Inn, all in Dover, as well as a Best Western, 13 miles north in Smyrna.
Delaware State University across from Dover Downs has meeting facilities for up to 3,000 people. To the south, Dover Air Force Base’s Air Mobility Command Museum has 68 aircraft on display.
Between Dover Downs and Dover Air Force Base, downtown awaits groups with plenty of diversions. Its historic district, which is centered on The Green, has a collection of historical buildings, including the Biggs Museum of Art, which has function space. The Schwartz Center for the Arts, constructed in 1904 as an opera house, takes groups of up to 250.
South of Dover in Harrington, the Delaware State Fairgrounds, adjacent to Harrington Raceway & Casino, has space for up to 2,000 people.
Southern Delaware
Bordering Delaware Bay and the Atlantic, with 25 miles of beaches sprawling down to the Maryland border, half of the stretch located within state parks, is Southern Delaware/Sussex County.
Of its beach communities, two cities stand out as meetings destinations: Lewes and Rehoboth Beach, seven miles apart and separated on the coast by Cape Henlopen State Park.
Rehoboth Beach has a mile-long boardwalk, a Tanger Outlets and meetings hotels such as Atlantic Sands Hotel and Conference Center, Boardwalk Plaza Hotel and the Heritage Inn & Golf Club.
The area is endowed with retreat options such as Rehoboth’s Bellmore Inn, Lewes’ Hotel Rodney, Inn at Canal Square and the University of Delaware’s Virden Retreat Center. Georgetown, a historic town 15 miles inland, delivers the renovated Brick Hotel on the Circle.
Celebration Mall, opened in July last year in a former historic church, has a restaurant and lounge, seven retail outlets and the 320-seat Rehoboth Beach Theatre of the Arts, featuring Broadway-style entertainment. It is available for event rental.
For larger groups, downtown’s Rehoboth Beach Convention Center has a capacity for 1,000 theater style, and Ruddertown’s Baycenter in nearby Dewey Beach can host 600 people for banquets.
Sussex County has 12 public golf courses. Heritage Shores resort community, 30 miles from Rehoboth, has an Arthur Hills-designed golf course and a clubhouse with space for corporate meetings and for dinners, seating 450 guests.
"Southern Delaware has a nearby-faraway feel to it," says Aubrey Manzo, tourism marketing manager at Southern Delaware Tourism. "Visitors feel a world apart from metropolitan areas just a few hours drive away."
For groups, the Cape May-Lewes Ferry’s M.V. Twin Capes can cater to groups of 100 people, she says, while brewery and winery tours are popular, as are pontoon boat tours of Cypress Swamp at Trap Pond State Park. Additionally, the county’s agriculture has paved the way for visitors to experience working farms, creameries, farmers’ markets and specialty food markets.
