VIC Information

The Greater Marysville Tulalip

Regional Visitor Information Center

The Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce’s Regional Visitor Information Center is dedicated to supporting and expanding our area’s tourism industry by promoting area businesses and attractions. Located just off of Exit 200 in Tulalip’s Quil Ceda Village, we serve area residents and businesses as well as a myriad of visitors from throughout the county, state, region, nation and world.

Our Center is open seven-days-a-week year round and features free Wi-Fi service that is advertised on I-5 with our Department of Transportation signage. Our VIC is staffed by a Director of Information Services and a dedicated professional group of volunteers that we recruit and train. This corps is complemented by Services Alternative and Goodwill interns who we train in customer service, office procedures, telephone reception, computer skills and more. We offer seasonal support to local schools’ student work study programs.

We vigorously maintain hundreds of resource databases that assist us in responding to the over 20,000 individuals who walk through our doors a year, as well as in answering the thousands of calls, and e-mail requests we receive annually. Last year alone our Center responded to a total of 850,000 inquiries.

Our daily operations are guided by our Center’s Policies & Procedures Manual that we developed when establishing our Center. This manual includes job descriptions, dress codes, statistical tracking sheets, performance review forms, accident report forms, etc.

Unlike many visitor information centers that rely solely on Certified Display to stock their brochure racks with limited to no choice in selection, we stock the majority of our racks privately choosing to place an emphasis on local, county and state brochures rather than the out of state destinations typically stocked by Certified.

We maintain an online Community Events Calendar on our website at www.marysvilletulalipchamber.com that is one of the most extensive in the Puget Sound region, guiding guests and residents to events and festivals throughout Snohomish County.

We provide familiarization (FAM) tours for our Center’s volunteers, interns and students to help them better know and promote Snohomish County’s attractions, hotels and restaurants. We assist our visitors in making hotel/motel reservations and locate RV camp grounds and services throughout the county.

Our volunteer workforce is recognized annually by the White House with individual US Presidential Service Awards that include a gold, silver or bronze service medal/pin based on their annual hours of service, a formal White House certificate of recognition and a signed letter of appreciation from our country’s President.

We keep statistics on our visitors that help guide area businesses in marketing emphasis, and assist greatly in recruiting new businesses. These statistics include: 1) Origin of Visitors by Season; 2) Averaged Week Day Visitor Volumes; and 3) Visitor Information Requests by Category.

The following statistical charts document our Center’s volume and scope - demonstrating our value as a proven economic development tool serving Snohomish County.

Annual VIC Statistic Comparisons	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009 (Jan-July)

Volunteers (Avg.)	20	21	34	24	26	21	24	23
Volunteer Hours	2,136	5,166	2,270	6,100	2,886	3,977	5,787	3,386
Training Hours	92	172	135	192	190	218	297	265
Walk in Visitors	1,706	11,012	5,011	16,339	17,581	16,706	20,983	13,170
Conference Room	520	971	276	675	724	575	1,255	603
Business Relocation	46	131	2	1,604	189	95	219	102
Personal Relocation	147	225	37	46	316	147	355	254
Email Inquiries				12,298	15,454	16,562	27,682	15,086
Web-Site Visits				6,358	31,225	34,503	41,225	29,719
Web-Hit				12,894	401,876	451,989	759,223	473,507

Total All Inquiries	2,419	12,339	5,326	50,214	467,365	520,577	850,942	532,441

Averaged Week Day Visitor Volume	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun

December 2008 - July 2009	38	38	47	46	49	45	30

July-08	73	84	91	102	95	95	59
August-08	91	101	101	120	139	138	93
September-08	46	58	58	78	81	73	63
October-08	48	49	53	52	59	56	38
November-08	43	39	38	42	44	48	21
December-08	41	44	42	42	41	43	11

January-09	23	51	26	29	38	41	10
February-08	22	22	41	30	53	42	14
March-08	34	60	25	59	50	25	18
April-09	61	71	100	88	90	83	50
May-09	69	48	70	71	90	91	51
June-09	117	76	71	153	76	56	42
July-09	97	103	122	123	139	103	67

Origins of Visitors		WA	WA	US	Other
By Season		Local	Other	Other	Areas

Winter	56%		30%	3%	11%
Spring	53%		34%	9%	4%
Summer	40%		26%	19%	15%
Fall	47%		13%	17%	23%

Visitor Information Requests by Category

Local Information	20%
Guest services other	20%
General Directions	20%
Maps	15%
Tulalip Casino	10%
Hotel Information	10%
Seattle Premium Outlets	8%
Restaurants	7%
Canada Information	5%
Other Shopping	4%
Coupons	3%

RV/Camping spikes seasonally	3%

How Do these numbers help your Business?

Referrals & Exposure designed to supplement your marketing budget and extend your advertising shelf-life. Our extensive databases, leading web site presence, high profile, strategically placed Chamber facility and Visitor Information Center have made us THE PRIMARY INFORMATION RESOURCE for area business and community information. That means we are the first stop for 75% of local residents who are looking for a product, service, or advice. Our staff proudly recommends Chamber Member Businesses first to all walk-in visitors and call-in inquiries. Our website promotes you 24/7, world-wide.

Stop Monkeying Around & Realize the Value of your Chamber Membership!

Come to our office, give us a call at (360) 659-7700 or email any of our staff for prompt assistance if you have any questions on making the most of your partnership with

The Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce.

Staff Directory for emails

Your Business is our Most Important Business