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Celebrating travel, IPW, new destination webcams and welcome back, sea turtles
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The VCB has a lot going on in May, so here's a quick roundup of some of the highlights:
National Travel and Tourism Week, May 7-13
National Travel and Tourism Week (NTTW) is a 40-year tradition of celebrating travel’s essential role in stimulating economic growth, cultivating vibrant communities, creating quality job opportunities, inspiring new businesses and elevating quality of life.
We are proud to share with you our 2022 Value of Tourism infographic, highlighting the combined impact our industry made on Lee County’s economy last year. Together, we continue moving forward. #TravelForward
IPW San Antonio, May 20-24
Members of the VCB will be traveling to San Antonio to meet with buyers and journalists to share destination updates at U.S. Travel Association's IPW. This leading international travel tradeshow gives us a platform to showcase the destination on a global stage.
Webcams go live
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Exploring Lee County with live webcams is the next best thing to being here. Viewers can catch the sun setting in downtown Fort Myers, spot butterflies in Cape Coral or watch the tide roll off Pine Island.
On visitfortmyers.com/webcams, viewers can see their favorite places and learn about new ones. The first four webcams are live and several more will follow in the coming months.
Sea turtle nesting season
While many snowbirds are returning to their homes up north, we welcome the return of the sea turtles.
Turtle nesting season runs now through Oct. 31. The most common to Southwest Florida is the loggerhead sea turtle, which lives to be 40-60 years old.
Like our visitors, who return year after year to enjoy our beautiful beaches, the loggerheads return to the same beach to deposit their eggs. Our destination is known for its wildlife. That’s why turtle nesting season is so special to those of us who live here as well as to the visitors who travel from all over the world to experience it.
For more information about turtle nesting season and how you can help, contact the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation at sccf.org/our-work/sea-turtles or Turtle Time, Inc. at turtletime.org.
We hope all of our industry partners have a wonderful month and we thank you for all that you do to promote our slice of paradise.
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Alison Giesen, product development coordinator
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The VCB welcomes Alison Giesen as its new product development coordinator.
Among her duties and responsibilities, Giesen will assist with managing all aspects of tourism product development initiatives, including Tourist Development Council grant funding programs.
Most recently, Giesen worked as director of culture, parks and recreation for the Town of Fort Myers Beach, and also as museum director at Mound House.
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Before that, she was chief curator at Edison and Ford Winter Estates, and assistant director/curator of collections at Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
A 1998 graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Giesen has a master’s degree in museology/museum studies. She earned her bachelor's degree at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in sociology and anthropology.
Giesen lives in Lee County with her husband of 20 years and their rescue dog Ace. She and her husband enjoy exploring the waterways and natural beauty of Florida.
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May paid media placements
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Still in the early stages of recovery phase three (April-September), we continue to ramp up marketing to increase consideration and help drive summer leisure visitation, as well as support the groups/meeting business. Here is a snapshot of our paid media placements launching in May.
Consumer:
- DotDash Meredith – Midwest Living and Southern Living native content, digital display, social
- Expedia – digital display
- Garden & Gun – print advertorial, summer travel guide
- Shermans Travel – email
- TripAdvisor – custom content
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Meetings, weddings, travel trade:
- Association Conventions & Facilities – print, email, digital display, newsletter
- Bridal Guide – Instagram Stories takeover, Pinterest “idea” pin, native ad feature
- Connect Meetings – video
- Convention South – virtual tour
- ePro – email
- eTarget – email, weddings
- Florida Society of Association Executives – print, email, digital display
- Northstar Agent At Home – newsletter
- Northstar Meetings Group – print, email, social
- Northstar Travel Weekly – newsletter, email
- The Knot – newsletter, email
- Travel Market Report – newsletter
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If you're an industry partner and would like to be considered for a VCB Partner Spotlight, please contact Miriam Dotson, VCB communications manager, at mdotson@leegov.com
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Sun Saver has launched – get your FREE pass now
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The VCB is excited to share the launch of the Sun Saver Passport, a collection of mobile-exclusive discounts for visitors and locals to enjoy throughout the destination.
Sun Saver provides instant access to a variety of deals and experiences from area attractions, restaurants, and more across four categories – Dine, Play, Shop and Sip.
There is no app to download and signup is simple and 100% free for both users and industry partners. Passports are instantly delivered to phones via text and email. Sign up now to start saving!
If you are a business owner and would like your business to be included in this fun digital savings pass, please contact the VCB's Vanessa Gomez at vgomez@leegov.com.
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Domestic sales activities
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Rotating photos include:
- (Photos 1-2) Florida Peninsula Shows, Feb. 27-March 1: Jennifer Walla, VCB, conducted roundtable destination presentations to over 250 travel advisors in Tampa, Orlando and Melbourne.
(Photo 3) DC client event, March 20: Betsy Bush, VCB, co-hosted a client event in Washington, D.C., with area meeting planners. (Photo 4) ConferenceDirect Annual Partners Meeting, March 26-30: Sandra Keneven, Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village, and Erin Lester, VCB, conducted one-on-one appointments and attended networking events with about 450 meeting planners in Louisville, Kentucky.
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International sales activities
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Rotating photos include:
(Photo 1) Swanson’s America Day Peninsula Shows, March 4: Jens Juliussen, Hanna Johansson, Nordic VCB contractor, and Tommy Swanson, Swanson’s TravelSwedish. Exhibitors from the U.S., as well as airline and cruise line partners, presented their products to over 800 visitors.
(Photos 2-3) ITB Berlin, March 7-9: Nadia Bourgault, Germany VCB team; Tamara Pigott, VCB, and Gabi Kuminek, Germany VCB team. The VCB team and Carol Obermeier and Brian Solis, Lee County Port Authority, co-hosted Eurowings Discover representatives and conducted one-on-one meetings, radio and TV interviews. Discussions focused on post-hurricane conditions, which local businesses are open, the status of coastal properties as well as familiarization tours.
(Photo 4) Travel Bulletin Showcase, Chester and Harrogate, March 14: Thomas Futter, UK VCB team, conducted roundtable discussions and gave over 50 travel agents the latest destination updates.
(Photo 5-6): 2023 VISIT FLORIDA Canada sales mission, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal, March 27-30: Jeanette Faria, VCB Canada team, with VISIT FLORIDA and participating Florida partners. She participated with seven partners from across the state to provide an update on the destination to more than 200 advisors.
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Travel journalists in-destination
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Rotating photos include:
(Photo 1) April 11-23: Freelance videographer Charles Schultz filmed wildlife at J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island for a upcoming "Moment in Nature" segment on "CBS Sunday Morning."
(Photo 2) April 9-11: Paul and Lorraine Zander, Faze Media, visited the destination as part of a VISIT FLORIDA familiarization tour.
(Photo 3) April 22-27: Mark Porter, Daily Mail; Barry Cooper, Nottingham Post; David Cesario, Margaritaville Fort Myers Beach general manager; Georgie Holman, Chiswick Herald; Rosie Bateman, VCB's UK contractor and Ben Kempton, Daily Telegraph, visited the destination as part of a UK fam.
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Out and about with Visitor Services Tourism Ambassadors
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Tourism Ambassadors were honored at the 33rd Annual Tourism Ambassador Appreciation Luncheon, April 12 at the Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village.
Rotating photos include:
(Photo 1) Alan Salmanowitz, Benecia Toyloy, Ron Forman and Moira Larkin
(Photo 2) Jim and Judy Miller, Tommy Cassel, Valerie and Bob Lindner
(Photo 3) Greg and Ronni Haston
(Photo 4) Charlotte Yager and Joy Veatch
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TDC Attractions Marketing webinar May 17
Nonprofit attractions in Lee County are invited to apply for funding. The application cycle opens with a webinar on May 17.
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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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