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Highlights from the VCB's exhibitor's booth at IPW in Orlando.


July brings many reasons to celebrate

We have lots of reasons to celebrate July 4 this year. Just the fact that we can get out and celebrate is one good reason. Many of our favorite events are back and they are all over Lee County.

SAMPLING OF JULY 4 FIREWORKS IN LEE COUNTY

Telling the world about the Fort Myers area
Along with Lee Board of County Commission Chairman and Tourist Development Council Chairman Cecil Pendergrass and members of the VCB team, I’ve recently returned from the 53rd annual IPW held in Orlando.

IPW is the premiere international marketplace and largest generator of travel to the U.S. With 4,800 delegates attending, this year's show offered domestic suppliers such as our destination an opportunity to reach buyers and journalists from more than 60 countries. There were some takeaways and lots of good news: 

  • The VCB had 124 appointments with the international travel trade and more than 20 travel media.

  • The travel trade reports there is strong interest in returning to the U.S., particularly among families who are interested in visiting Florida.

  • And welcome news: pre-departure COVID testing to take a flight to the U.S. has been dropped by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This marks a return of strong international visitation to the U.S. and a rebuilding of the global travel industry.

  • There are indications of a growing interest in secondary markets by Brazilians who have historically visited the largest cities in the state of Florida and are now looking to explore other locations.

  • Brand USA expects both 2022 and 2023 will be rebounding years for international travel to the U.S., with pre-pandemic numbers not being seen until 2024. Judging from the level of interest in our destination, I suspect we will likely see pre-pandemic numbers in our area a bit sooner than this projection. 

Save the dates: Co-op Advertising Program rollout
The Lee County Cooperative Advertising Program rollout for 2022-23 includes a few key dates:

  • Aug. 3: Official Co-op rollout 2-4:30 p.m., Admin East Building, Room 118, 2201 Second St., Fort Myers.
  • Aug. 18: Co-op program opens for industry orders.

This rollout is a great opportunity for accommodation and attraction partners to learn more about a variety of marketing opportunities that leverage great exposure at an exceptional value. We will have more information registration soon and we look forward to seeing you there.

Reminder
No July TDC meeting. The next Tourist Development Council meeting will be 9 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 11.

Keep cool and have a terrific Fourth of July. Thank you for all you do.

 
Executive Director
 
 

 

Industry Partner News

Lai elected second vice chair of VISIT FLORIDA board

Congratulations to John Lai, president and CEO of the Sanibel-Captiva Chamber of Commerce, for being elected as second vice chair of the VISIT FLORIDA board of directors. 

The board of directors is VISIT FLORIDA's private sector governing body that provides guidance, input and insight into the evolution of its marketing programs.

“We are thrilled to have John Lai serve as second vice chair of Visit Florida’s board of directors for fiscal year 2022-2023,” said Dana Young, Visit Florida president and CEO. “The Sanibel and Captiva area is invaluable to Florida’s tourism industry, and John’s knowledge and expertise have been an asset to Visit Florida throughout his tenure. We greatly appreciate his service to our organization and are looking forward to working with him in his new role.”

The board, which is appointed by Enterprise Florida, Inc., in conjunction with the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, is comprised of representative from key sectors of the tourism industry and is balanced geographically throughout the state. 

Lai was originally appointed to the board July 1, 2021 and his term runs through June 30, 2025. 

DiamondHead Beach Resort receives a sleek new style

DiamondHead Beach Resort has completed a $5 million, multi-phase renovation of the property's suites. All 121 suites received new furniture throughout the living, dining and bedroom areas. 

READ MORE ABOUT DIAMONDHEAD'S RENOVATION

IHG Hotels & Resorts honors the Holiday Inn Fort Myers Airport & Town Center with Spirit of True Hospitality Award

Lee County News

Updates from the Performance Dashboard

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. 

This month's insights:

  • Overall demand from out-of-state travel is expected to increase by approximately 15% from May to June. Top out-of-state markets are expected to be Chicago, New York City, Atlanta, Cincinnati and Cleveland.
  • Average booking lead times for flights increased by 10% month over month, sitting at 52 days for May travel, while hotel booking windows saw compression by a full week, decreasing from 67 days in April to 60 days in May. Hotels continue to be booked further out than in 2021 by about 1.5 weeks.
  • ADR continues its strong performance with both April hotel and vacation-rental ADR up 28% over 2021. Recent occupancy rates struggle to keep up with both hotel and vacation rental occupancy down between 2% to 5% in April 2022 vs. 2021.

Hurricane preparedness resources

Videos: Determine your risk

Develop an Evacuation Plan

CATALOG OF HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS VIDEOS

Songs from the Sand features Lance Carpenter

The June 16 edition of Songs from the Sand featured Lance Carpenter ("Love Me Like You Mean It"). Hosted by Jackie Parker, VCB, the virtual concert series was recorded at The Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village in Cape Coral. Songs from the Sand is a great way to preview performers who will be part of Island Hopper Songwriter Fest, Sept. 16-25.

Look for the next performance of Songs from the Sand on Aug. 18.

Where to watch Songs from the Sand and Sofa:

ISLAND HOPPER SONGWRITER FEST, SEPT 16-25

Try the Fort Myers Discovery Challenge today

Sales activities

Rotating photos include:

  • (Photo 1) May 6: AMPs Golf Tournament & client event, Betsy Bush, VCB, had fun in the intermittent rain as a hole sponsor and networked with members of the Association of Meeting Professionals at the annual event in Woodbridge, Virginia. 
  • (Photo 2) May 9-12: HelmsBriscoe ABC, (left to right) Tamara Parker, Marriott Sanibel Harbour Resort, and Erin Lester, VCB, strike a pose before their meetings at the HB Annual Business Conference at which there were over 1,200 attendees. 
  • (Photo 3) May 17-19: East Coast Florida travel agency sale mission, (left to right), Lee Clayton, Courtyard by Marriott; Jamie Wylie, Hyatt Regency Coconut Point; Crystal Ward, Westin Cape Coral; Jennifer Walla, VCB; Tom Albrecht, Fairfield Inn Bonita Springs; and John Dillis, South Seas Island Resort, promoted the destination to 27 travel agencies on Florida's east coast from Melbourne to Miami. 
  • (Photo 4) May 20: ASTA Central Florida Chapter Event, Jennifer Walla, VCB, and Crystal Ward, Westin Cape Coral Resort, gave a destination presentation to members of the Central Florida American Society of Travel Advisors in Tampa at their monthly association event. 
  • (Photo 5) May 20-22: San Francisco Travel & Adventure Show, Holly Morris, Florida Travel Marketing, promoted the destination to over 3,600 potential visitors who showed great interest in the United Airlines nonstop service from SFO to RSW. 
  • (Photo 6) May 25: HelmsBriscoe client dinner, Betsy Bush, VCB, gave a destination presentation over dinner to seven Washington D.C.-area HelmsBriscoe meeting planners.  

Upcoming sales events

Public relations activities

Rotating photos include:

  • (Photo 1) June 3-6: Captiva Pride FAM, (left to right) Anthony Morales, Visuality board member; Amanda Auer, VCB; Arlene Goldberg, Visuality co-founder; Annie Banion, VCB; Alex Gonzalo, Rascals entertainment director & local drag queen; Ravi Roth, @RaviRoundTheWorld influencer; and Andrew Villagomez, Edge Media at The Gathering Place, a Fort Myers LGBTQ-owned restaurant.
  • (Photo 2) June 2-8: German press trip, (left to right) Andreas Sander, Sander Creative Network; Jackie Parker, VCB; Harald Wigge and Klaus Diether Hartmann, both of Sander Creative Network.
  • (Photo 3) June 6-11: icelolly.com and VISIT FLORIDA Influencer FAM, Chloe Gunning, @WanderlustChloe, and Macca Sherifi, @AnAdventurousWorld, spend some time at The Bubble Room on Captiva Island.
  • (Photo 4) June 22-26: Travel Media Association of Canada Conference, Chris Mitchell, travelingmitch.com, and Jackie Parker, VCB. Parker met one-on-one with 30 Canadian writers at the TMAC conference in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. 

Out and about with Visitor Services Tourism Ambassadors

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 Luminary Hotel & Co. for hosting our Tourism Ambassadors.

Celebrating National Seashell Day at RSW

Harriette the manatee and Sally the dolphin visited travelers at RSW on June 21, National Seashell Day, and our Tourism Ambassadors gave travelers shell necklaces to help shellebrate

Public relations/communications earned media results

E Awards call for entries - deadline July 28

Esther Castillo was one of last year's E Award winners. 

Have you provided unbelievable customer service in Fort Myers' Islands, Beaches and Neighborhoods? Make sure you are nominated for the E Awards by July 28. Don't forget to recognize your colleagues or staff members who have gone above and beyond what was expected for your customers. 

No matter your profession taxi drivers, housekeeping staff, cashiers, police, airline agents, nurses, reservationists, front desk clerks and others if your service made someone feel good about being in Lee County, we want to hear about it. 

Looking for additional ways to promote the E Awards? Check out our new tool kit full of ways to make sure your exceptional staff gets nominated.

E AWARDS TOOL KIT

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

2022 TDC meeting schedule

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.

Red tide resources

Local

LEE COUNTY WATER QUALITY RESOURCES
RED TIDE FACT SHEET

State

FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION DAILY RED TIDE SAMPLE MAP
FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION RED TIDE FAQS
RED TIDE RESPIRATORY FORECAST TOOL
Chambers of Commerce
BOCA GRANDE
CAPE CORAL
EAST LEE COUNTY
GREATER ESTERO
FORT MYERS BEACH
GREATER FORT MYERS
GREATER PINE ISLAND
NORTH FORT MYERS
SANIBEL & CAPTIVA ISLANDS
SWFL INC.
   

2201 Second Street, Suite 600
Fort Myers, Florida 33901
Toll Free 800.237.6444  |  Local 239.338.3500

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