A season to celebrate, support and shine

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the VCB’s Annual Meeting on Nov. 12. The photo above – our VCB team in green – captures this year's theme of "Growing Together" and reflects the unity and momentum across our tourism community.

Please be sure to take a look at our event recap, which includes the full Sales & Marketing Plan, highlights from the keynote address and additional resources shared during the program.

And as you make holiday plans with family and friends, check out these special events and activities:

• 50th Annual Holiday Nights at Edison and Ford Winter Estates
  Now through Jan. 4

• Christmas Eve Boat Ride to visit Santa
  Adventures in Paradise Cruise to a nearby island on Dec. 24 for a magical meet-and-greet with Santa.

• “A Christmas Story, the Musical” at Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre
  Through Dec. 25

• Holiday Stroll at Riverside Park, Bonita Springs
  Through Jan. 1

• Holiday Express Train, Lakes Park, Fort Myers
  Dec. 12-30

• Annual Lighting of the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse & Museum
  Dec. 13

• Cape Coral Holiday Boat-a-Long and Christmas Movie
  Dec. 20
  Four Freedoms Park

• Holiday House at Langford-Kingston House, downtown Fort Myers
  Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday through Dec. 18

• "The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge," Florida Rep
  Through Dec. 21

• Holiday Lights on Pine Loop Trail, Calusa Nature Center & Planetarium, Fort Myers
  Friday, Saturday, Sunday nights in December

Support local

As you do your holiday shopping, remember to shop local. From restaurants and shops to attractions and galleries, your support strengthens our community and offers truly unique gift ideas.

From all of us here at the VCB, we wish everyone a Merry Christmas and thank you for all you do to make our destination a very special place.

84.8% of hotels in Lee County are open for business

Kind Traveler provides guests a way to give back

The VCB is proud to be the first destination marketing organization in Florida to partner with Kind Traveler, a socially conscious booking platform that gives back to the community. This collaboration supports several of our local conservation partners. 

Confirmed participating hotels and their associated nonprofit partners include: 

• Sanibel Siesta Beach Resort and CROW
  
• Sea Gypsy Vacation Rentals and Keep Lee County Beautiful
• 'Tween Waters Inn & Marina and CROW

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

As part of the program, your property will be featured on this landing page. 

• RSW reports record-breaking October traffic
• Allegiant Air starts service into RSW
• New Big Carlos Pass Bridge opens to traffic on Fort Myers Beach
• Wonder Gardens receives $1.3 million, greenlights planned event center
• Sanibel wraps up a year of celebration: Honoring 50 years as a city
• New Captiva sand protects island — but blocks iconic view

Bubba's Roadhouse & Saloon

New air service at Southwest Florida International Airport

Allegiant (new airline — flights started in November)

• Allentown, Pennsylvania (ABE)
• Appleton, Wisconsin (ATW)
• Des Moines (DSM)

American Airlines

• Phoenix (PHX), daily through Dec. 3; daily Dec. 19-Jan. 6 and seasonal daily Feb. 12-April 6

Breeze Airways

• Albany, NY (ALB), weekly, starting Dec. 17
• Rochester, NY (ROC), weekly, starting Jan. 8, 2026

Delta Air Lines

• Salt Lake City (SLC), daily, starting Dec. 20

JetBlue Airways

• Islip-Long Island (ISP), weekly, starting Dec. 18

Porter Airlines

• Toronto, Canada (YYZ), weekly, now year-round

Southwest Airlines

• Chicago-O'Hare (ORD), weekly
• Austin (AUS), weekly, March 5-April 6

Sun Country

• Appleton (ATW), weekly, starting Jan. 30

United Airlines

• Los Angeles (LAX), weekly Dec. 6-March 2
• San Francisco (SFO), weekly through March 4
  
  

International sales activities

Rotating photos include:

• (Photo 1) Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA) Summit, Montreal, Oct. 1: Renée Wilson, VCB Canada, connected with more than 200 travel advisors while sharing destination updates through the event's theme of "The Future: Empowering & Elevating the Modern Travel Advisor".

• (Photo 2) Tour America Red Cow Show, Dublin, Oct. 5: Lucy Bairstow, VCB UK, met with Irish travelers and agents at Tour America’s milestone 25th consumer show spotlighting U.S. destinations.

• (Photos 3-4) VISIT FLORIDA’s Germany Roadshow, 5 German cities, Oct. 6-10: Nadia Bourgault, VCB Germany, met with nearly 200 agents across five cities, providing regional updates through market sessions and roundtable workshops.
  
  
• (Photos 5-6) TravelBrands Agent Appreciation Event, Toronto and Montreal, Oct. 8-9: The VCB Canada team connected with over 1,100 advisors across Toronto and Montreal as TravelBrands highlighted new products, tools and travel industry trends.
  
  
• (Photo 7) Visit USA UK Roadshow, Glasgow and Gatwick, Oct. 8-9: Lucy Bairstow, VCB UK, led a series of 10-minute destination workshops for 110 agents, helping deepen their knowledge of U.S. travel offerings.
  
  
• (Photo 8) Discover America Nordic Roadshow, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Oct. 14-16: The VCB Nordic team met with key tour operators in Oslo, Helsinki and Stockholm to strengthen relationships and explore new collaboration opportunities.
  
  
• (Photo 9) Expipoint Around the World Roadshow, Linz and Salzburg, Oct. 22-23: Nadia Bourgault, VCB Germany, joined travel consultants in Linz and Salzburg to share destination updates and highlight what’s new in the region.
  
  
• (Photo 10) 2025 VISIT FLORIDA’s Quality Travel Alliance (QTA) Reisesommer, Mainz, Germany, Oct. 25: Gabriele Kuminek, VCB Germany, engaged with an audience of 1,500 travel industry professionals, showcasing the destination at this major annual event.

Domestic sales activities

Rotating photos include:

• (Photos 1-2) CONFAB for Planners, Washington, D.C., Oct. 21: Betsy Bush, VCB, attended CONFAB for Planners and spoke with Zi’na Humphries from American British Global Meeting and Events.
  
  
• (Photo 3) Smart Meetings, Oct. 26-28: Lauren Hyps, VCB, met several planners during Smart Meetings’ Epicurean Experience.
  
  
• (Photo 4) Meetings Made Easy Experience, Oct. 27-30: Erin Lester, VCB, connected with Sarah Buchbinder, Regional Director at Meetings Made Easy.

December sales events

Communications team activities

Rotating photos include: 

• (Panels 1-2) Wildlife Adventure press trip, Nov. 3-6: Miriam Dotson, VCB, kayaking with Kinga Philipps and Tarpon Bay Explorers at J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge. The group of four travel writers representing Birds and Blooms Magazine, KTLA, National Geographic, Matador Network, Lonely Planet and The Boston Globe also saw an alligator at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, tried the local fare at Traders with Miriam Dotson, VCB, and at Mudbugs Cajun Kitchen with Jackie Parker, VCB.   
  
  

  WATCH COVERAGE BY KINGA PHILLIPS ON KTLA

  
  
• (Panel 3, left photo) Sallie Lewis, Garden & Gun, Nov. 10-12: Sallie made a quick visit to the destination to write an essay celebrating the 70th anniversary of "Gift from the Sea" by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. With Jackie Parker, VCB, at Old Captiva House.  
  
  
• (Panel 3, right photo) Dan Donovan, Ottawa Life Magazine, Nov. 16-18: Tony Lapi, 'Tween Waters Inn & Marina; Karen Taylor Donovan, Dan Donovan, publisher & editor of this Canadian lifestyle magazine; and Jackie Parker, VCB, at the property's historic marker. 

Communications team earned media results

December paid media placements

In FY25/26 Q1, we have a comprehensive mix of dedicated emails, print, and traditional display placements to help drive winter travel to the destination. Below is a snapshot of our upcoming paid media placements launching in December.

Consumer

• VISIT FLORIDA Co-op – print
• Kenney Communications – print

Meetings, weddings, travel trade:

• Corporate & Incentive Travel – dedicated email, display, enewsletter
• Northstar AGENTatHOME – dedicated email
• Northstar Meetings Group – native
• Insider Travel Report – dedicated email
• Recommend – dedicated email
• Mobilefuse – display

Visitor Services activities

Where in Southwest Florida have our Tourism Ambassadors been?

They enjoyed their visits to:

• Best Western Plus Beach Resort

• Captiva Cruises and Cabbage Key

• Crowne Plaza Ft. Myers Gulf Coast

• DiamondHead Beach Resort

A big thank you to our destination industry partners for hosting our volunteers.

Go out and support these TDC-funded events

50th Annual Edison and Ford Winter Estates Holiday Nights, Fort Myers, through Jan. 4

Luminary Stroll, Sanibel & Captiva islands, Dec. 5-6