ESBD_434421_1752167724929_301-25-5244 Part A_FINAL.pdf

STATE OF TEXAS

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

for

TOURISM ECONOMIC IMPACT

Solicitation No. 301-25-05244

NIGP CLASS ITEMS

956-05 961-28 956-35 961-53

Response Date and Due Time: August 12, 2025 no later than 2:00 pm CT

Point of Contact

Jodie Johnston, CTCD, CTCM

CTCD/CTCM 1900041692/1900041693

Contract Manager Office of the Governor of Texas

Financial Services Division

P.O. Box 12428

Austin, TX 78711-2878

512-936-6745

Jodie.Johnston@gov.texas.gov

PART A: SPECIFIC TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Solicitation No. 301-25-05244 - Part A

1. STRUCTURE OF SOLICITATION

This Solicitation is composed of three parts:

Part A: Specific Terms and Conditions, including exhibits and other attachments and appendices, if any;

Part B: Standard Terms and Conditions; and

Part C: Provisions Governing the Solicitation Process.

Resolution of Conflicting Provisions. In the event an instruction or term in Part A conflicts with an instruction or term in Part B or Part C, the instruction or term in Part A prevails. Any addenda or amendment to Part A, Part B, or Part C control over their original versions, respectively.

2. GLOSSARY OF TERMS

This Glossary assigns definitions to the listed terms which are not otherwise defined in this

Solicitation.

Monthly Service Fee

The firm fixed monthly fee that will be charged by the Contractor to fully compensate the

Contractor, and supporting subcontractors if applicable, for the costs of all of the Contractor’s in-house services and administrative expenses required to complete all work under the Contract. Such expenses include, but are not limited to, all research services; required reports; labor (e.g., all agency account service time); project and contract management; accounting and billing services;

administrative support; website development and hosting; legal services and fees; facilities;

equipment; and all incidental and normal business operating expenses, such as local and long distance phone (landline and mobile) calls; facsimile; publication costs; software or other licensing; routine travel; postage; local courier service; internal copying; supplies; materials;

parking and other ongoing services performed or required for routine performance. The Monthly

Service Fee does not include any reimbursement for operating expenses or out-of-pocket expenses.

Performance Period

Each annual period of the Contract Term, running contemporaneously with a Fiscal Year, during which the Contractor will perform the required services under the Contract. Each Performance

Period will be separately budgeted by the OOG, subject to available appropriations.

Travel Texas

A program within the OOG that is responsible for promoting travel to and enhancing tourism development in Texas (also formerly known as “Texas Tourism”).

3. GENERAL INFORMATION

Purpose of Procurement.

The OOG seeks written proposals from qualified Respondents in accordance with the specifications contained in this Solicitation for access to one or more datasets providing economic impact of tourism data. Under the terms of this Solicitation, the OOG intends to select one or more qualified firms to provide the OOG with economic impact of tourism data. These services are intended to be used primarily by Travel Texas, which is responsible for marketing Texas as a premier travel destination in out-of-state domestic and international markets, generating non Texan travel to the state in order to create revenue and jobs.

Respondents shall be required to demonstrate ability to perform the services specified in this

Solicitation and shall fully understand the Travel Texas program, organization, mission and targeted audience. Respondents are encouraged to review the information located at https://travel.texas.gov and https://www.traveltexas.com.

Procurement Authority

The OOG is authorized by Texas Government Code, Section 481.172, as the primary state governmental entity with the duty to utilize current market research to develop a tourism marketing plan to increase travel to the state by domestic and international visitors; develop methods to attract tourist attractions to the state; and assist communities to develop tourist attractions. The OOG has been delegated authority to contract for these services by the Texas Comptroller’s Statewide

Procurement Division under Texas Government Code, Section 2155.131.

Term of Contract

3.3.1. Primary Term

The primary term of any Contract awarded as the result of this Solicitation shall commence on September 1, 2025 (“Effective Date”), and shall terminate on August 31, 2026, unless terminated earlier pursuant to the terms of the Contract. The primary term plus any renewal terms or extensions, if any, shall constitute the “Contract Term.”

3.3.2. Renewal Term

The OOG shall have the right to renew the term of the Contract for up to three additional twelve month periods through August 31, 2029 with consideration to

Contractor performance. The OOG shall provide the Contractor with written notice of its intention to renew the term of the Contract in writing at least thirty days prior to the

Contract termination date.

https://www.traveltexas.com/

3.3.3. Optional Extension

Upon the exhaustion of any and all renewal terms, the OOG may, in its sole discretion, extend the term of the Contract in any increment of months for up to six months if the

OOG determines that an extension is necessary to facilitate a transition to a new vendor.

Any compensation to the Contractor for this extension period would be based upon negotiated rates between the OOG and the Contractor and/or the reimbursement for actual expenses.

Office of the Governor’s Point of Contact Information. The mailing address of the

OOG for all notices is:

Jodie Johnston, CTCD, CTCM

CTCD/CTCM 1900041692/1900041693

Contract Manager

Office of the Governor of Texas

Financial Services Division

P.O. Box 12428

Austin, TX 78711-2878

512-936-6745

Jodie.Johnston@gov.texas.gov

Captions and Headings

The captions to the sections of this Solicitation are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction or interpretation of the Solicitation’s substantive terms.

4. STATEMENT OF WORK – SERVICE REQUIREMENTS

Deliverables

Deliverables shall include, but are not limited to, the requirements contained in this Solicitation.

Deliverables set forth that contain the words “must” or “shall” are mandatory and must be provided as specified with no alteration, modification, or exception. Deliverables set forth that contain the words “may” or “can” allow Respondents to offer alternatives to the manner in which the

Deliverables are provided.

The OOG strives to use innovative and cost-effective advertising and marketing programs to raise awareness on a state, national, and international level of Texas as a premier travel destination. In support of this mission, the OOG requires the most current market research to inform its tourism marketing effort. Data is also required to develop methods to attract tourism attractions to the state and to assist communities in establishing tourism attractions.

The successful Respondent must provide economic impact of tourism data to the OOG consistent with the following objectives:

a. Research should have well-formulated procedures.

b. Research approach should be well-designed and well-executed.

c. Research data and assumptions should be methodologically sound.

d. Research findings should be useful to advance knowledge of the Texas tourism industry.

e. Research implications and recommendations should logically follow from the findings and be explained thoroughly.

f. Research documentation should be accurate, cogent and understandable to non-technical readers.

g. Research should be relevant to OOG and other stakeholders.

h. Research should be objective, independent and balanced.

i. Research should be verifiable and defensible to peer review or audit.

Required Services

A. Data

The Contractor shall provide economic impact of tourism data that includes:

• Total direct traveler spending and related economic impacts;

• visitor spending by accommodation type, commodity purchased, and traveler origin;

• tourism impact on Gross State Product (GSP);

• direct and secondary employment and earnings; and federal, state and local taxes generated by tourism.

• Estimates of economic impact on the United States, Texas, Texas regions, Texas legislative districts, Texas Metropolitan Areas, Texas counties, and Texas cities based on data availability and as agreed upon between the Contractor and the OOG.

Contractor may include additional data and analysis. Comparable data for previous years must be provided along with current estimates. All estimates should be comparable to the Travel and

Tourism Satellite Account estimates calculated at the national level by the U.S. Department of

Commerce.

B. Project Schedule

The Contractor shall provide a signed Project Schedule within 10 Business Days after the OOG issues a Purchase Order that includes:

1) Deliverable date of April 1 for an annual report including preliminary economic impact of tourism data for the prior calendar year. Contractor shall notify the OOG, in writing, if there are any concerns with the data sources or any other issues with the methodology and recommend solutions prior to this date. The Contractor may provide more frequent reporting for interim periods based on data availability and as agreed upon by

Contractor and OOG.

2) Monthly/Regularly Scheduled Status Meetings. The Contractor will be required to participate in monthly (or, at the OOG’s sole discretion, regularly scheduled) status calls and provide a written monthly (or, if applicable, regularly scheduled) summary status report in electronic form for each such call relating to Works in progress at the time of the particular Monthly/Regularly Scheduled call, and, if requested by the OOG, and if tangible, copies of such Works in draft or final form.

C. Website

The Contractor must maintain economic impact of tourism data on a publicly-available interactive website for access by Travel Texas and as a resource for Texas communities and the Texas travel industry.

D. Annual Report

The Contractor must deliver an annual report with economic impact of tourism data for the prior calendar year by April 1 during the Performance Period.

1) The report shall be prepared in standard publication format and should include a brief executive summary at the beginning of the report that explains the research and a discussion of any external events or trends that may have affected the research; a table of contents; a list of figures; the body of the text divided into chapters as appropriate;

and a bibliography, if appropriate. The report shall include appropriate graphs, charts, data tables, and discussion of the data including time series comparisons by month, quarter, year-to-date and year-to-year, as appropriate.

2) The report must contain an appendix that contains the data and methodologies used.

The appendix must be able to be clearly referenced and understood by non-technical readers.

3) If the Contractor uses survey data in the reports, the Contractor shall clearly state the level of confidence associated with this data and the point range associated with this confidence level based on varying sample sizes so that it can be clearly understood by non-technical readers.

The Contractor shall provide a professional quality, formal presentation of the study's findings if requested by OOG staff at a Texas location to be determined by the OOG. The date and time for a presentation shall be determined by the parties, however the presentation shall be completed prior to the last business day of August during the Performance Period. The presentation shall include use of handouts and audio/visual and/or projection equipment and materials, as appropriate. The Contractor shall include additional time following the Contractor’s presentation to allow for a question and answer session.

Intellectual Property Licenses and Releases

The Contractor shall be responsible for securing the Intellectual Property Rights for all Works

(including the goods and services) to be provided to the OOG under the Contract, including, but not limited to, all releases, licenses, waivers, permits, model releases for use of talent, copyrighted or trademarked materials, information, sound and/or images that are or may be subject to

Intellectual Property Rights. The Contractor shall be solely and exclusively responsible for any contracts, agreements, licenses, releases, fees, or negotiations needed to obtain the necessary

Intellectual Property Rights for such Works.

Responsibility for Correction of Errors and Oversights

The Contractor shall be responsible for ensuring that there are no errors or oversights in the final

Works.

If any Works are not delivered or performed in accordance with the applicable Service

Requirements approved by the OOG, the Contractor will remedy in a timely manner any such errors, oversights, deficiencies, Contract noncompliance, or audit exceptions. A “timely manner” is not longer than thirty (30) calendar days, although this time period may be reduced in the OOG’s sole discretion depending on the circumstances. Such remedy may include a refund or offset of

Contract payments or any other appropriate corrective actions deemed necessary by the OOG. The

Contractor’s failure to comply to timely remedy such errors and oversights may be grounds for termination of the Contract by reason of default. The Contractor shall be solely and exclusively responsible for bearing all costs associated with correcting the Contractor’s errors and oversights.

Contractor’s Relationship to the OOG

The OOG is a part of the executive branch of Texas state government, and does not relinquish control over decisions related to the Deliverables specified in Part A of this Solicitation to the

Contractor. Rather, the Contractor shall provide all Deliverables under the Contract with the

OOG’s prior approval.

Contracted Account Staff

The Contractor shall dedicate qualified professional staff who have demonstrated experience in providing the Deliverables necessary for the completion of Contract requirements. The Contractor must dedicate an Account Manager to oversee all activities of the Contract including, but not limited to, the management, accounting for the entire Contract, billing and reporting. The Account

Manager will be the OOG’s primary day-to-day contact. The OOG reserves the right to approve and accept key professional staff, including the Account Manager. The Contractor must notify the

OOG in writing if key professional staff cannot continue on the account, and the OOG must approve replacement personnel.

End of Contract Transition

Upon any termination of the Contract, beginning at a time determined solely by the OOG, the

OOG may require the Contractor to provide all necessary work products to ensure account transition, account familiarization, and transfer of work to any new vendor of the OOG. The OOG may, in its sole discretion, maintain concurrent contracts for a limited period in order to facilitate this transition.

5. FINANCIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Maximum Contract Amount

The OOG’s maximum liability to the Contractor, in consideration for the full, satisfactory and timely performance of all its duties, responsibilities and obligations as set forth in the Contract or arising out of any performance as the result of this Solicitation, shall not exceed _____________

AND NO/100 DOLLARS ($_______.00) (amount to be determined at time of Contract award)

(“Maximum Contract Amount”) for the initial Performance Period beginning Effective Date. The

Contractor will not be compensated for Deliverables provided before the Effective Date of the

Contract. The Contractor shall have no entitlement to payment of the Maximum Contract Amount.

6. TIMELINE FOR SOLICITATION

Calendar of Events

Time is of the essence in the providing the Deliverables required by the Contract. The OOG may require the Contractor to provide Deliverables according to a date-sensitive schedule.

The OOG reserves the right to revise any of the time periods listed below and will post all changes by published Addendum on the ESBD at http://www.txsmartbuy.com/esbd.

Event Date

Solicitation Posting Date July 10, 2025

HSP Pre-Bid Conference (optional) July 14, 2025 10:00AM CST

Deadline for Respondent Submission of Solicitation

Questions

July 16, 2025

The OOG’s Response to Questions Posted on the ESBD July 22, 2025

Deadline for HSP Courtesy Review Request July 24, 2025

OOG’s HSP Courtesy Review to be provided to

Respondent(s)

July 28, 2025

Deadline for Respondent Submission of Response August 12, 2025

Anticipated Start Date September 1, 2025

HSP Pre-Bid Conference will be conducted on July 14, 2025, 10AM

CST via Microsoft TEAMS per the link below.

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Join the meeting now

Meeting ID: 222 795 839 689 7

Passcode: gm6MZ7hz

Dial in by phone

+1 469-480-5267,,210264304# United States, Dallas

Phone conference ID: 210 264 304#

7. EVALUATION SCORING CRITERIA

Weighted Evaluation Scoring Criteria. The OOG will evaluate Responses using the following weighted scoring criteria, subject to overall best value considerations as http://www.txsmartbuy.com/esbd https://aka.ms/JoinTeamsMeeting?omkt=en-US https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_OTUxZGE5ZjUtYjExMy00NGYxLWJhYzgtZDIwYjhlZDU3Y2M5%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2254cb5da6-c734-4242-bbc2-5c947e85fb2c%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22b77cb151-06c5-4a72-9ae7-fbb1d63f648d%22%7d tel:+14694805267,,210264304 authorized by law. The evaluation process and criteria are further described in-depth in

Part C of the Solicitation.

The OOG intends to evaluate any clarifications, negotiations, and/or BAFOs using the following weighted scoring criteria, subject to overall best value considerations as authorized by law:

Criteria Weight

Company Information/Financial Responsibility 5%

Experience/Qualifications/References 20%

Proposal Content and Responsiveness 45%

Monthly Service Fees 30%

Total 100%

Detailed Evaluation Criteria. The OOG will use the following standards:

7.2.1. Evaluation of Company Information. All proposals will be evaluated based on company information and Financial Responsibility (as provided in Tab 3 of the proposal), including a review of the Respondent’s demonstrated financial capacity to provide the services described in Section 4 of Part A of the Solicitation.

7.2.2. Evaluation of Experience, Qualifications and References. Responsive proposals will be evaluated based on the qualifications, experience and resources of each Respondent, and each Respondent’s past experience in servicing accounts of similar type and scope as required by the OOG (as provided in Tabs 4, 5, and 6 of the proposal). This evaluation may include, but is not limited to, demonstrated success in providing similar Deliverables, provided work samples, proposed account personnel, past performance as referenced in Section 2.6 of Part C of the

Solicitation, and each Respondent’s resources and capability to provide the

Deliverables.

7.2.3. Evaluation of Proposal Content and Responsiveness. Responsive proposals will be evaluated based on their quality and response to the specifications in the

Solicitation. This may include, but is not limited to, the comprehensiveness of the proposal, including, but not limited to, the extent to which the proposal addresses the specifications in the Solicitation, the incorporation of non-negotiable elements, and the feasibility of the Respondent’s response. A Contractor will be selected based on demonstrated knowledge and experience and compatibility with the goals and objectives of the OOG.

7.2.4. Evaluation of Monthly Service Fee. Responsive proposals will be evaluated based on their proposed Monthly Service Fee. This evaluation will include consideration of all work and costs to be included in the Monthly Service Fee.

Respondents must clearly specify any services that are considered to be excluded from a Monthly Service Fee. The OOG will more favorably consider those proposals that offer best value to the State of Texas for the Monthly Service Fee.

8. HUB SUBCONTRACTING

In addition to the information pertaining to HUBs in Part C of this Solicitation, the

OOG has identified potential subcontracting opportunities under this Solicitation:

CLASS 956: LIBRARY AND SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES, INCLUDING

RESEARCH SERVICES, INTERNET AND PERIODICAL SUBSCRIPTIONS

Item Number and Commodity Descriptions:

956-05 Business Research Services

956-35 Internet Database Subscriptions

CLASS 961: MISCELLANEOUS SERVICES, NO. 1 (NOT OTHERWISE

CLASSIFIED)

Item Number and Commodity Descriptions:

961-28 Economic Development, Domestic and Foreign