Tourism powers Lee County, celebrate National Travel and Tourism Week

When it comes to tourism, we have a lot to celebrate in Lee County. We hope you enjoy the sing-along video (click on the image above) and recognize a variety of industry partners in so many locales throughout the destination. 

As National Travel and Tourism Week kicks off and runs through May 10, the VCB spotlights the critical role travel plays in our community. It's serious business for those of us charged with the job of promoting the destination. 

In 2024, tourism:

• generated $3.1 billion in direct visitor spending in Lee County
• supported over 42,000 jobs
• saved residents an average of $1,049 per household in taxes

Tourism isn't just about visitors — it's about us. The dollars spent by visitors help fund the places residents love most, from beach renourishment and park maintenance rebuilding the Fort Myers Beach Pier and supporting to spring training facilities that host beloved amateur athletics and local events. Tourism is the engine behind Lee County’s vibrancy fueling jobs, driving economic growth, and enriching our quality of life.

Celebrate with us 
On April 15, the TDC, our industry partners, local residents and businesses joined the VCB at the BOCC meeting for the official proclamation of National Travel and Tourism Week 2025. See the reading by Commissioner Brian Hamman at leegov.com/resources/leetv

And once again, we are inviting Lee County businesses to participate by shining blue lights on their buildings and sharing the photos with us. Please email your photos to jparker2@leegov.com or post them on social media with the hashtag #NTTW25 and be sure to tag @leecountyvcb and instagram.com/leecountyvcb.

Mega Campaign is underway 
We recently launched a Mega Campaign that unites the brand power of Dotdash Meredith and Vrbo to promote vacation rentals throughout the destination.

Key placements include print spreads in Midwest Living, Southern Living, and Travel + Leisure, along with a custom landing page on Midwest Living showcasing iconic and new experiences in our area. The campaign also features a traveler’s hub — a custom Vrbo landing page promoting vacation rental options — with the ultimate goal of inspiring visitors to plan and book their trip.

Additionally, we’ll have social amplification through video and an Expedia Ambassador influencer partnership. The Mega Campaign launched in April and will run through September.

Have a terrific month, be sure to shine blue lights in support of tourism and thank you for all you do. 

82.7% of hotels in Lee County are open for business

Tourism news

• Popular Causeway Islands Park set to reopen after restoration
• Lee County Parks & Recreation to transition paid parking locations to a unified payment system
• RSW announces changes to Concourse C access
• Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux opens in Cape Coral
• Big City Kids indoor playground and coffee shop opens in Bonita Springs
• Jensen's marina, cottages announces official reopening
• Water taxi service from Cape Coral to Fort Myers Beach returns
• Best Western hotel reopens on Fort Myers Beach
• DoubleTree by Hilton hotel opens at Bell Tower Shops following renovation
• Indian Breeze opens in Cape Coral
• Lakes Park boardwalk section to temporarily close for maintenance
• LeeTran activating route changes for River District trolleys and Fort Myers Beach trams

VCB's Performance Dashboard

Explore the Symphony dashboard, developed by the VCB in partnership with Tourism Economics. The dashboard combines all our destination data sources to make data insights more user-friendly and interactive.

Key insights: 

• Hotel room supply and demand for coastal properties in February 2025 increased by 12.8% and increased by 17% YOY, respectively, with hotel revenue increasing by 19.0% compared to February 2024. Source: STR
  
  
• The top 5 out-of-state origins markets in February 2025 were Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Detroit, and Minneapolis. Source: Near
  
  
• Booking Pace in February 2025 was up 14.1% compared to February 2024. Source: Amadeus
  
  
• Visa card spending  in February 2025 for domestic visitors was $164.1M, an increase of 3.8%. For international visitors it was $11.2M, a decrease of 10.1%. Source: Visa Destination Insights

New VCB staff: Jami Smith, sales coordinator

The VCB welcomes Jami Smith as its newest sales coordinator.

In this role, Smith will provide support to the Sales team, assist with trade shows, new business development and lead generation, as well as build and maintain relationships with Lee County hotel, vendor and industry partners. 

Previously, Smith was the resort services manager at Amavida at Lakes Park, where she supervised six service staff. She also served as the sales & executive coordinator at the Alida Hotel in Savannah.

She has over 10 years of hospitality experience and three years in senior living management. Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management from the University of Central Florida – Rosen College of Hospitality Management.

Smith is a Southwest Florida native and has an in-depth understanding of the destination and the importance of tourism to our area.

In her free time, Smith enjoys cooking, going to the beach and spending time with her family, which includes her husband, Devin, their 3-year-old son, August, and their four-legged son, Archie. A self-proclaimed foodie, her favorite restaurant in Lee County is Jungle Bird Tiki.

Kind Traveler provides guests a way to give back

The VCB is excited to be the first DMO in Florida to partner with Kind Traveler on the program that benefits a few of our favorite conservation organizations, including: 

• CROW
• Keep Lee County Beautiful
• Coastal Watch
• Captains for Clean Water

Lodging partners are encouraged to join Kind Traveler’s Every Stay Gives Back program launch and showcase your property’s commitment to Lee County’s future.

NEW Sanibel Wild Mile virtual passport

The Sanibel Wild Mile is a stretch along Sanibel-Captiva Road and the island-wide bike path, home to four prominent conservation and education organizations:

• Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium
• Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW)
• J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge (Friends group)
• Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF)

Together, they aim to foster a deeper connection to the island’s ecosystems through hands-on experiences, exhibits and educational opportunities.

Virtual passport - it's free
The Sanibel Wild Mile Passport encourages visitors to explore each of the partner organizations while collecting points along the way. Participants unlock special incentives and exclusive experiences, making their journey both fun and educational. Designed to enhance engagement with Sanibel’s natural beauty, the passport inspires both residents and tourists to discover and support the island’s unique environment. 

Questions: Contact the VCB's Alison Giesen at agiesen@leegov.com to learn more. 

May paid media placements

We are continuing Q3 FY 24/25 efforts by driving summer visitation and supporting the groups/meetings efforts. Next month, we will also be rolling out new media that includes both digital and traditional out of home (OOH) and integrated custom content campaigns. Below is a snapshot of our paid media placements launching in May.

Consumer:

• Dotdash Meredith – print
• Expedia – display
• Garden & Gun – custom content, email
• Hopper – custom content, native, social
• Sherman's Travel – email
• Carvertise – OOH
• Intersection – OOH
• Outfront – digital OOH
• Clear Channel – digital OOH

Meetings, weddings, travel trade:

• Travel Weekly – display, email

Domestic sales activities

Rotating photos include:

• (Photos 1-2) Smart Meetings, March 9-11: Betsy Bush, VCB, conducted one-on-one appointments promoting the destination to meeting professionals from the corporate and association markets.  Over 500 meeting planners attended this show in Santa Fe.
  
  
• (Photo 3-4) ConferenceDirect Annual Partners Meeting, March 16-20: Lauren Hyps, VCB, met with event planners from ConferenceDirect in Philadelphia, which drew about 3,000 meeting professionals.
  
  
• (Photos 5-7) Peninsula Travel Trade Roadshow, March 17-19: Jennifer Walla, VCB, showcased the destination at travel advisor shows in Atlanta, George; Greenville, South Carolina; and Charlotte, North Carolina The events kicked off with a trade show and wrapped up with roundtable sessions. Jennifer connected with 245 travel advisors — over half of them home-based.
  
  
• (Photo 8) Christian Meeting Conference Association, March 3-7: Candice Cocco, VCB, connected with faith-based meeting planners during a conference in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which drew more than 400 attendees.

International sales activities

Rotating photos include:

• (Panel 1) Swanson’s America Day, Malmö, Sweden, March 1: Sema Eyidogan, VCB Scandinavia, participated in Swanson’s America Day. The event was attended by 25 exhibitors and welcomed 500 consumers interested in a Florida road-trip experience.
  
  
• (Panel 2) ITB Berlin, Germany March 4-6: The VCB team attended ITB Berlin, one of the largest global B2B trade shows, and held 40 meetings with the travel trade and media, conducted a couple radio interviews and hosted our annual Discover Airlines dinner event with the Port Authority and Collier County Convention & Visitors Bureau. 
  
  
• (Photo 3) Urlaub Freizeit Reisen Consumer Show, Friedrichshafen, Germany March 19-23: Nadia Bourgault, VCB Germany, attended the consumer show hosted by German tour operator America Unlimited. The event included destination partners providing presentations daily highlighting regional insights such as accommodations and attractions. Over 55,000 consumers attended the event. From left, Timo Kohlenberg, CEO America Unlimited; Bianca Kolic, VISIT FLORIDA; Vera Sommer, Punta Gorda Englewood Beach; Johanna Tyska, Visit Tampa Bay; Ralf Stüdemann, St. Pete/Clearwater; Nadia Bourgault, VCB Germany.  
  
  
• (Photo 4) Outdoor Adventure Show – Montreal, March 21-23: Jeanette Faria, VCB Canada, participated in the two-day Outdoor Adventure Show that attracted more than 16,000 consumers interested in outdoor activities such as camping, cycling, kayaking, canoeing and especially travelling with their RV campers.
  
  
• (Panel 5) Family Traveller Live and VISIT FLORIDA UK Sales Mission, London, UK, March 22-26: Charm Evans and the VCB's UK team served up a taste of Fort Myers by sponsoring pickleball courts in partnership with Pickleball UK and British Airways at the inaugural Family Traveller Live consumer event at Twickenham Stadium. During the two-day sales activation event, the team was able to drive awareness for the destination to an affluent audience that was unfamiliar with the region. The team also participated in VISIT FLORIDA's UK Sales Mission in partnership with Delta Airlines 100th anniversary. The event included a client appreciation event and travel advisor training sessions providing a two-night prize giveaway courtesy of Sundial Beach Resort & Spa. 
   
• (Photo 6) UK Media and Influencer Event, London, UK, March 26: Charm Evans and the VCB UK team hosted this event to engage and inspire consumer and trade media networks by showcasing the latest news and updates on the destination. Key media representatives from The Times, Conde Nast Traveller, National Geographic Traveller and Wanderlust Travel Media attended.

May sales events

Communications team activities

Dagmar Grutzeck, VISIT FLORIDA press trip, April 5-8: Grutzeck is a German journalist who writes for America Journal, a German travel magazine.

In addition to experiencing downtown Fort Myers, partners included in her visit were:

• Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium
• Boop's by The Bubble Room
• Bruno's of Brooklyn
• Edison and Ford Winter Estates
• Ford's Garage downtown
• Fort Myers Mural Society 
• Rosalita's Cantina Sanibel
• South Seas Resort
• Swamp Cat Brewing Co. 
• YOLO Watersports Captiva

Communications earned media results

Visitor Services activities

Rotating photos include: 

• (Photo panels 1-2) Tourism Ambassador Appreciation Luncheon: We recently celebrated our Tourism Ambassadors at the VCB's annual Tourism Ambassador Appreciation Luncheon at the Marriott Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa. In 2024, our ambassadors worked 30,442 hours and assisted 724,478 visitors and residents while staffing the information booths and roaming the terminal at Southwest Florida International Airport. This is a savings of $968,056 to Lee County, Lee County Port Authority and VCB. Click here for more luncheon photos.
  
  
• (Photo panels 3-4) Where in Southwest Florida have our Tourism Ambassadors been? They attended a familiarization tour at the Wonder Gardens and enjoyed lunch at the Sugarshack Downtown. A big thank you to the destination industry partners for rolling out the welcome mat for our volunteers.

Plant a tree and watch it grow

On April 26, VCB staff and their families joined Keep Lee County Beautiful’s tree-planting event at Sands Park in Cape Coral. Candice Cocco, Natalie Duran, Vanessa Gomez, April Green, and Jami Smith helped plant 50 of the 150 seven-gallon pine trees, supporting efforts to enhance the city’s green spaces.

219 lbs. of PB&J donated through VCB’s team effort

VCB staff donated 219 lbs. of peanut butter and jelly to Community Cooperative’s annual Peanut Butter & Jelly Drive last month. These pantry staples are especially important in the summer months due to their long shelf-life, nutritional value and versatility — providing easy meal options for families and children who may not have access to school meals during vacation. Team members Candice Cocco, Erin Junkin, Jackie Parker, and Jami Smith, along with Tommy Cassel from Sports Development, helped deliver the donation on April 28 to Community Cooperative in Fort Myers.

Digital Presence Workshop, May 13

Optimize your digital presence with VISIT FLORIDA and Miles Partnership. 

You don't need a big marketing budget to stand out in search results or on major travel sites.

Attract more customers organically by enhancing your Google Business Profile and business listing on VISITFLORIDA.com, as well as creating free listings for your business on travel sites like TripAdvisor.

Learn all this and more in our in-person Digital Presence Workshop hosted by industry experts, Miles Partnership. 

When: 1-4 p.m., Tuesday, May 13

Where: DoubleTree by Hilton Fort Myers at Bell Tower Shops, 13051 Bell Tower Drive, Fort Myers 33907

May 14: Attractions Marketing funding webinar

The Attractions Marketing Funding Program opens with a webinar at 3 p.m. Wednesday, May 14. Lee County nonprofit attraction partners are welcome to apply for funding.

This webinar is mandatory to apply for funding. Click here to learn more about this program.

Questions? Contact Alison Giesen at agiesen@leegov.com

Fringe Fort Myers, May 29-June 1

Fringe Fort Myers is back for a third year. This four-day performing arts festival brings local, national and international performers to Fort Myers in this un-juried festival.

Fringe Fort Myers 2025 is dedicated to supporting independent performers and artists while creating opportunities for diverse communities to experience boundary-pushing theatre and live performances at affordable rates.