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"Reflections of Bonita" mural in Bonita Springs by Alicia Wilby, photo by Jackie Parker, VCB
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One of our summer campaign "It's a Good Day" spots.
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Hurricane preparedness and summer campaign underway
June 1 is the first day of hurricane season and forecasters, at this time, are predicting 14-21 named storms. With this kind of activity, it is more important than ever to be prepared before, during and after such a crisis.
You are invited to attend the VCB's Annual Tourism Hurricane Workshop from 9-11 a.m. Friday, June 10, at the Lee County Emergency Operations Center, 2665 Ortiz Ave., Fort Myers.
Discussion this year will include preparation and recovery tips. There will be an in-person exercise with the Lee County Emergency Management Team. In addition, VISIT FLORIDA has assembled a catalog of resources to help you prepare an emergency plan and guide your decision-making process should your area face a severe weather threat.
Registration deadline is Thursday, June 9. We look forward to seeing you at this important workshop. If you have questions, please contact Pam Brown, pbrown@leegov.com or 239-533-6709.
At this time, there is a disturbance near the Yucatan Peninsula and Southeastern Gulf of Mexico. The VCB will continue to monitor this event through the Lee County EOC, National Hurricane Center and National Weather Service.
Summer campaigns
Summer is typically a popular time for in-state travel but our marketing efforts continue in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Cincinnati, Cleveland, St. Louis, Columbus, Chattanooga, Peoria, Lexington, Indianapolis and Youngstown. In-state targets include Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Tampa and West Palm Beach. Click on the image at the top of the column to see one of our "It's a Good Day" spots.
Ad placements include streaming video on Amazon, Sojern, YouTube, Vevo and Samsung. Our audio placements include Pandora, Spotify, Tampa radio placements and NPR. We also have ads in Midwest Living magazine, The New York Times and Smithsonian Good News.
Tourism in Lee County continues to be busy and for that we are all very grateful. Have a great month and don't forget to shellebrate June 21, the first day of summer and National Seashell Day!
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Songs from the Sand welcomes Lance Carpenter, June 16
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Be sure to watch Lance Carpenter perform in the next Songs from the Sand virtual concert at 8 p.m. (EDT) Thursday, June 16.
Watch the singer-songwriter on:
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Updates from the Performance Dashboard
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The VCB's new Industry Insights Dashboard provides our partners with the latest Lee County-specific travel data. Partners can use this information to make informed marketing decisions, resource planning, revenue forecasting and more.
How to use the dashboard:
- The dashboard contains data points and trends, including monthly website visitation, county bed tax collection, airport arrivals, traveler origination, key STR hotel and vacation rental metrics, credit card spend and travel booking behavior.
- Data is updated monthly and includes trends with period over period comparisons.
- Users can select a specific month to evaluate.
- Sources include Visa Destinations Insights, KeyData, Sojern, Arrivalist and STR, along with regional data collections from the VCB and Southwest Florida International Airport.
- Moving forward, this eNewsletter will also include highlights and insights based on data within the Industry Insights Dashboard.
This month's insights:
- Flight booking windows did not fluctuate much this year. In April 2022, flights were being booked an average of 45 days in advance, which aligns with April 2019's booking window of 47 days.
- Hotels continue to be booked further in advance than last year. Bookings in April 2022 were an average of 67 days out, compared to an average of 55 days out in April 2021.
- April 2022 vacation rental arrivals mirror the hotel data with 40% of bookings taking place 60-90 days prior to arrival.
- We expect top out-of-state markets for the next month's arrivals to be New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Atlanta and Philadelphia.
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Guests First summer classes begin June 15
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Sign up now for the Guests First Customer Service Training Program's summer session.
Questions? Contact guestsfirst@leegov.com
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Try the Fort Myers Discovery Challenge today
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Rotating photos include:
- (Photo 1) April 5-6: Destination Celebration Kansas City, Jerry Terp, VCB, met with about 60 corporate, association and third-party meeting planners at this client event-style show.
- (Photo 2) April 14-15: Red Sox client event & sales calls, Betsy Bush, VCB, networked on Opening Day at our Red Sox client event with area meeting planners and journalists in Boston.
- (Photos 3) April 23-24: Travel & Adventure Show Atlanta, Annie Banion, VCB, and Shelley Crant, FTM, promoted the destination to about 5,000 potential leisure travelers.
- (Photo 4) April 27-29: Tampa client event & sales calls, Erin Lester, VCB, hosted a client event at Top Golf for some Tampa meeting planners, followed by two days of sales calls in the greater Tampa area.
- (Photo 5) April 30: MAST Conference Destination Education, Jennifer Walla, VCB, gave a destination presentation to 150 travel advisors at the MAST conference at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa.
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Public relations activities
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Rotating photos include:
- (Photo 1) May 3-6: North American Travel Journalists Conference, Judy D'Mello, left, representing the East Hampton (New York) Star, meets with Shelley Crant, Florida Travel Marketing, at the NATJA event in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
- (Photo 2) May 17-20: Unplugged Getaways in Fort Myers Group Press Trip, Betsy Cribb, Southern Living; Dylan York, Matador Network; Olivia Young, Thrillist; Lea Komitzky, MMGY NJF; Annie Banion, VCB, and Bryan Stockbridge, Gulf Coast Kayak.
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Out and about with Visitor Services Tourism Ambassadors
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Tourism Ambassadors continue to take familiarization trips throughout Lee County. This is a great opportunity for them to learn about the destination and help answer questions from visitors at Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW).
We want to thank 'Tween Waters Island Resort & Spa for hosting our Tourism Ambassadors.
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Scenes from Travel Rally - thank you to everyone who joined us at Lakes Park
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Keep your guests in the loop with What To Do
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What To Do gives your guests a quick guide to weekly events in Lee County.
Be sure to display this flyer with our new QR code so everyone can have instant access, all the time.
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PR/Communication earned media results
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22nd annual E Awards call for entries - deadline July 28
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Previous E Award winners.
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Have you experienced unbelievable customer service in the Fort Myers area?
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We know you've met some of our customer service professionals who have made your experience more rewarding because of the outstanding assistance they have provided. Or you have colleagues or staff members who have gone above and beyond what was expected and deserve to be recognized.
No matter the profession - taxi drivers, housekeeping staff, cashiers, police officers, airline agents, nurses, reservationists, front desk clerks and more - if their service made you feel good about being in Lee County, we want to hear about it.
Nominations for the 2022 Elaine McLaughlin Outstanding Hospitality Service Awards, known as the E Awards, are being accepted through July 28.
E Awards
When: 8-10:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 8
Where: Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa, 5001 Coconut Road, Bonita Springs
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2022 TDC meeting schedule
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Tourism Outlook Annual Meeting Nov. 10
The VCB's Tourism Outlook Annual Meeting will be Nov. 10 at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point. Join us as we share results and highlights from 2022 and reveal the new 2022-23 sales and marketing plans.
Registration will open closer to the event date.
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2201 Second Street, Suite 600
Fort Myers, Florida 33901
Toll Free 800.237.6444 | Local 239.338.3500
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