German Markets (Germany/Austria/Switzerland) Trade and PR Representation

The State of Utah Division of Purchasing, through the Governor's Office of Economic Development, is seeking a qualified vendor through a Request for Statement of Qualifications (RFSQ) under Utah Procurement Code 63G-6a Part 15 to provide German Markets (Germany/Austria/Switzerland) Trade and Public Relations Representation services for the Utah Office of Tourism on a five-year contract term. The vendor must possess demonstrated experience in public relations for consumer and travel trade media, consumer awareness campaigns, social media management, and travel trade operations within a tourism environment, along with the ability to maintain offices or an account manager in the primary market and travel to the United States. Key deliverables include developing annual travel trade and marketing plans, executing a minimum of 40 training and education sales calls annually with tour operators and travel agencies, developing at least two cooperative marketing programs per fiscal year, organizing familiarization tours for travel trade and media professionals, providing quarterly reporting on trade outreach and media effectiveness, and managing in-market social media channels with 3-4 weekly posts during peak travel planning periods. The evaluation process occurs in three stages: Stage 1 assesses mandatory minimum requirements; Stage 2 evaluates technical criteria across eight categories (public relations experience, consumer awareness, social media experience, travel trade experience, dedicated account manager assignment, Utah and U.S. product knowledge, demonstrated return on investment, and a comprehensive 2026-2027 marketing plan with a $150,000 budget) on a 500-point scale with 350 technical points and 150 interview points, requiring a minimum 70 percent technical score (245 points) to advance; and Stage 3 involves a 45-minute virtual interview where the proposed account manager presents the marketing plan. Vendors must submit qualifications by June 4, 2026, without including pricing information, and the highest-ranked vendor will be selected for contract negotiations at fair and reasonable compensation to be determined by the state.

No set-aside designations or restrictions on organization types are specified in the procurement documents, and no incumbent vendors or current contractors are identified. Successful contractors must maintain fluency in Salesforce CRM and Asana project management systems, participate in bi-weekly meetings with the market manager, attend the annual Utah Tourism Conference with costs covered by the UOT head office budget, and comply with all mandatory requirements including workers' compensation and commercial liability insurance with minimum limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $3,000,000 aggregate. All personnel assigned to the account team must be approved by the Utah Office of Tourism, with the state retaining the right to request replacements for any reason and requiring written notification of personnel changes. Vendors must submit three client letters of recommendation and disclose any client litigation or legal proceedings, and contract work product and custom deliverables remain the property of the State of Utah. The annual budget for contract performance will be determined each fiscal year by the Board of Tourism Development and UOT staff, with specific award values not disclosed in the solicitation materials.