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Dear Industry Partners:
Thanks to those who joined today’s call. Plan on 9 a.m. Friday, Aug. 28, for the next call. Watch for an invitation with the details.
Here is the call summary:
Courtney Hersl, VCB Content Marketing Manager, gave an overview of the VCB’s new #BeachReadySpiritWeek Social Campaign, launching Monday, Aug. 24. We know many people may have mixed feelings about travel right now and we are hopeful this campaign will give people a fun way to engage with our destination and get excited about future travel to The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel.
In order to make this a success, we would like to invite you to join in on the fun — something we are calling our Beach Ready Spirit Week!
For one month, we will host different challenges on our social media channels. Each week we will provide a different content theme with details on how to participate.
It’s easy to take part. Share a photo on your Facebook, Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #BeachReadySpiritWeek. The VCB is also partnering with influencers to create and share content on their channels to help extend the reach of the campaign and raise awareness for the destination.
Carol Obermeier, Director of Air Service Development, Lee County Port Authority, said Fort Myers is westward bound with new service to Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) by Alaska Airlines. Starting Nov. 20 there will be four weekly nonstop flights from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and starting Nov. 21, there will be four weekly nonstop flights from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).
United is adding new service to RSW:
Nov. 6 – Daily nonstop service to Boston, Cleveland and New York - LaGuardia
Dec. 17 – Daily nonstop service to Columbus, Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh
jetBlue service to RSW:
New Philadelphia weekly nonstop service started Aug. 8
Daily Cleveland and New York LaGuardia nonstop service start Oct. 1
Tamara Pigott, Executive Director, Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau, noted that analysis by the U.S. Travel Association shows travel spending rose 5% last week, its fifth-consecutive week of expansion.
July 2020 STR data for Lee County
- Occupancy – 49.6%, down 24.4%
- ADR – $140.78, up 4.6%
- RevPAR – $69.76, down 20.9%
Lee County STR data for week of Aug. 9
- Occupancy – 47.1%, down 18.4%
- ADR (Average Daily Rate) – $119.87, up 8.9%
- RevPAR (Revenue Per Available Room) – $56.51, down 11.1%
The VCB is closely monitoring the activity in the Gulf of Mexico and will keep industry partners informed.
Stay in touch and let us know if we can help. Visit LeeVCB.com for updates. Thank you for all you do. Have a safe weekend.
Tamara Pigott
Executive Director
Lee County VCB
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