2024 Annual Impact Report
Melvin Carter, Mayor, City of Saint Paul
A Word From our Board Chair
Marketing and Social Media
VisitSaintPaul.com
- 1,167,315 sessions (up 13% from 2023)
- 909,910 users (up 12% from 2023)
- 2,002,024 pageviews (up 17% from 2023)
- 75,907 outbound clicks to partner listings (up 106% from 2023)
E-mail Marketing
- 2,303 New Subscribers
- 26, 890 total subscribers (9.3% Increase from 2023)
- 41.93% Open Rate
- The GO LIST: 49% open rate | 9.9% Click to open rate
- Dine Saint Paul: 49% open rate | 13.2% Click to open rate
- The Insider: 45% open rate | 12% click to open rate
Social Media
Overall Follower Count
155,111 total followers across all platforms as of January 2025
Leading social platforms:
- Instagram: 73,284
- Facebook: 41,157
- X: 34,243
Views (Organic, Paid, Collaboration)
- Facebook/Meta: 1,498,863
- Instagram Reels: 5,913,569
- Total views: 7,412,432
* For Facebook/Meta, most of our viewership stemmed from ads run during the Saint Paulidays campaign and other advertising boosts throughout the year (~18.7% of views were organic on Facebook).
On Instagram, while we had limited paid sponsorships, most of our viewership was achieved organically through collaborations and organic reach (~4.7% of views on Instagram were paid sponsorships.)
Top Reels on Instagram
Top Organic Videos on Facebook
Chef Reactions Organic Collaboration
Chef Reactions is a foodie influencer that wittily rates and reviews dishes, restaurants and attractions. He reached out to his followers on X to seek suggestions on what to eat at the Minnesota State Fair. These responses then prompted a post requesting to throw the first pitch at a Twins game while he was in town. However, the St. Paul Saints were quick to respond and offered to give him the role at CHS Field instead.
With his interest in coming to the Capital City, we collaborated with The Saint Paul Hotel to provide him with a free stay, offered recommendations for Saint Paul hotspots and gifted him with his first ever swag bag.
His story that gave Visit Saint Paul a shoutout garnered 133,11 views, with 99.2% of the views being from non-followers.
In response to his Twin Cities video, there was a lot of praise for his in-depth coverage of Saint Paul and how well he represented it. We are proud to see that our recommendations were not only taken into consideration but were also received in such a positive light from Chef Reactions and the viewers.
Campaigns
The Fun Side
June 1 - August 25
The Summer Fun Side Campaign was created to make Saint Paul a “Category of One” brand among all Minnesota destinations. This campaign explored new channels and markets (Chicago, Milwaukee and Iowa), worked to establish consistent engagement amongst our broader target markets each month and helped develop necessary frameworks for optimizing organic and paid content, all while showcasing the diverse collection of events occurring in the city.
- Across all platforms, Illinois visitors dominated engagement by a wide margin, followed by Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota
- 17+ million impressions
- 53,000+ new, unique visitors to VisitSaintPaul.com
- 90,000 clicks on ad content
- Over 3,000 new email sign ups
Campaign Metrics
- Campaign Attributed Visits: 14,757
- Unique Visitors: 5,498
- Conversion Rate: 0.23%
- Cost Per Visit: $4.73
Metric Data by State
- Illinois: 5,539
- Wisconsin: 4,051
- Iowa: 3,453
- North Dakota: 929
- Minnesota: 785
Top Performing Social Event Ads
- Pride Festival Social Ad (June 1-15) at a 1.34% CTR
- Jazz Festival Social Ad (June 14-23): 32,952 Total Clicks
- Ludacris Weekend Giveaway Ad: 1.26% CTR
- Chance the Rapper Weekend Giveaway Ad: 7,665 Total Clicks
Saint Paulidays
The week before Thanksgiving through New Years Day
The Saint Paulidays Campaign was created to drive awareness of the holiday events, shopping, theater, cultural celebrations and seasonal excitement in the Capital City.
- Impressions: 1,148,991
- Clicks: 23,698
- A giveaway in collaboration with GLOW Holiday Festival, the Ordway, Herbie’s on the Park and Courtyard Downtown St. Paul, that ushered in over 3,600 new email sign-ups
1,656 Total Leads
- These leads included the following actions:
- Insider’s Guide requests
- Email sign-ups
- “Plan a Trip”
- “Hotels”
- “Meetings”
- “Contact Us”
Passports
Dumpling Passport
The Dumpling Passport features a collection of over 30 delicious eateries across the Capital City that feature dumplings on their menus. This pass invites locals and visitors to try new cuisines, explore different neighborhoods and discover hidden gems.
Feature on MPR | Restaurant passport gives a taste of dozens of dumplings across St. Paul | MPR News
Feature in the Pioneer Press | St. Paul Dumpling Passport
December-Present
- 720 Sign Ups
- 790 Check ins across all 34 location
Power Play Hockey Passport
This passport highlights over 20 iconic Saint Paul hockey restaurants, shops and landmarks for visitors to explore and take part in the city's hockey pride.
Continuation from 2023-April 2024
- 208 Sign Ups
- 252 Check Ins across all 20 locations
October 2024-Present
- 174 Sign Ups
- 142 Check Ins across all 20 locations
Patio Passport
The Patio Passport showcases 20 restaurant patios across the city for locals and visitors alike to enjoy the fresh air, warm sunshine and soak in summer's FUN.
Memorial Day Weekend-Labor Day Weekend
- 1,067 Sign Ups
- 563 Check Ins across all 20 locations
Festival Marketing Support
Visit Saint Paul allocated marketing funds to support over 25 community and cultural festivals in the city. Promotional efforts included features on our website, newsletters (The Insider, Go List and Dine Saint Paul), social media, MPR underwriting, digital billboards and onsite photography, resulting in:
- Nearly 230,000 webpage sessions
- 25,500 referral clicks to event page websites
- Over 4.5M billboard impressions
- Almost 450,000 mobile retargeting impressions
- 3500 clicks on mobile retargeting ads
- 370 MPR Highlights with 4,270,500 On-Air Impressions
- 35,000 delivered Star Tribute Entertainment Newsletters
- 4 million impressions and 1,050 clicks on the Star Tribune Going Out + State Fair Newsletters
Sales Bookings
In 2024, the Visit Saint Paul sales team booked 122 groups resulting in 54,469 future room nights. The estimated economic impact of these future bookings is $58.1 Million.
Some of the key events:
PWHL 2024 Draft
Roy Wilkins Auditorium
June 2024
Red Bull Heavy Metal
Minnesota State Capitol
February 2025
Hotel Performance
- Occupancy: 53.1% (up 2%) Average Daily Rate: $145 (up 1.5% from 2023)
- RevPar: $77 (up 3.5% from 2023)
- Demand: 450,800 (up 12% from 2023)
- Revenue: $65.2 million (up 13.7% from 2023)
Compared to 2019, the occupancy is 14.4% lower and the average daily rate has decreased by 3.3%. However, the overall demand has increased by 22.9% and the revenue is up by 18.8%.
2024 Partnership Highlights
- 6 MyVSP events with average registration over 100 attendees (25% increase YOY)
- 41 new members
- The addition of a Partnership Manager, Cristina Archilla
- 500+ attendees at our signature Taste of Saint Paul event in December
- National Travel & Tourism Week Celebration with events at Rafiki Coffee & Cafe, Wrestaurant at the Palace and Palace Theatre
2024 MyVSP Member Meetings
In 2024 we had the opportunity to connect and collaborate with our members over the course of six events. Each meeting was held at a different location in Saint Paul to highlight our wonderful partners and showcase the unique meeting spaces we have in the Capital City.
January
Historic Fort Snelling | Red Bull Heavy Metal, Championship Tournaments & new city council members
March
Abrazar | St. Patrick’s Day, NCHC and NCAA Frozen Four
May
Tourism Celebration at Palace Theatre | National Travel & Tourism Week and Festivals + Events
July
CHS Field | Festivals + Events (Dragon Festival, Rondo Days, Little Africa Festival)
September
Can Can Wonderland | Twin Cities in Motion (Twin Cities Marathon), Minnesota Wild and Minnesota Frost
November
Union Depot | Saint Paulidays and Saint Paul Winter Carnival
2024 Visit Saint Paul Board of Directors
Emma Burns
Chair
Saint Paul Downtown Alliance
Mimi Daly Larson
Vice Chair
Nonprofit Strategy Solutions
Rich Ginsberg
Secretary
Rotunda Group
Michael Solomon
Treasurer
Saint Paul Port Authority
Liz Xiong
Past Chair
LIUNA
Michael Bauerle
Delta Air Lines
Anika Bowie
Saint Paul City Council
Krystle Cruz-Williams
City of Saint Paul
Sara Daggett
Minnesota United FC
Richard Dobransky
Morrissey Hospitality
Trisha Duncan
Xcel Energy
Amanda Heu
Commander of Saint Paul Police Department
Monique Linder
OMG Media Solutions
Wade Luneburg
UNITE HERE Minnesota
Rebecca Noecker
Saint Paul City Council
Connie Shaver
Ordway Center
Holland Tudor
InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront
About Visit Saint Paul
The RiverCentre Convention and Visitor Authority (RCVA), operating as Visit Saint Paul, serves as the official convention and visitors bureau for Saint Paul, Minnesota's capital city. Our primary goal is to drive economic growth in Saint Paul by effectively promoting the RiverCentre campus, Saint Paul, and the region as a premier convention and tourism destination for diverse cultures and groups.
Working under contract with the city of Saint Paul, Visit Saint Paul manages the city-owned convention center and ramp while also acting as the Destination Marketing entity, showcasing Saint Paul’s brand to attract visitors and secure conventions, meetings, and events for the city.
Saint Paul Arena Company is engaged by Visit Saint Paul to oversee the Saint Paul RiverCentre, the renowned Roy Wilkins Auditorium, and the RiverCentre Ramp. Our combined efforts contribute to the community by fostering economic growth and positioning the city as a top choice for conventions and tourism.
Through our partnership with the city, our teams leverage our expertise in destination knowledge, brand management, facility operations, and promotional activities to attract, market, sell, and engage with potential visitors. By focusing on initiatives that drive visitor traffic, we enhance Saint Paul's economic standing and vibrancy, creating opportunities for all residents of the city. Our vision is to enrich our community by boldly and creatively evolving the positive impact Visit Saint Paul creates as we invite the world to fall in love with our vibrant city. We do this work in alignment with our values of Integrity, Optimism, Belonging and Creativity.
