|
Tourism: #1 Industry in Lee County
Feb 26, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 26, 2007 CONTACTS: Nancy Hamilton, Lee Rose, Jessica Grace (239)338-3500 Tourism: No. 1 industry in Lee County LEE COUNTY, FL – With its white, sandy beaches, sparkling water, major attractions and year-round pleasant weather, Florida is one of the most tourism-friendly places in the world today. These attributes, which are key to the appeal of The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel, face continued competition from the marketing efforts of well-funded top U.S. destinations. Although Florida is the number two destination in the United States, it has lagged behind Hawaii, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia for public funding of tourism marketing. In stark contrast to Florida's stagnant funding of tourism advertising, the California Travel and Tourism Commission was awarded a $75 million increase in public funding over the next two years. Furthermore, Las Vegas spends more than $46 million in advertising domestically with an $8.7 million increase in the past year. What is the importance of the tourism industry to The Beaches of Fort Myers area? The tourism industry is of vital importance to The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel. Consider the following facts: More than 43,100 people are employed in the tourism industry in Lee County. More than $1.4 million in wages are generated by tourism. More than 15.7 percent of the working labor force is employed directly or indirectly in tourism. In 2006, sales and use taxes collected from tourists and visitors totaled $113,157, 197. Each household in Lee County has a tax savings of $449 each year from tourism. As the No. 1 industry in Florida, tourism creates tax revenues to provide the necessary funding for road construction, education, health care and other vital programs. In 2005, sales tax revenues related to tourism generated $3.7 billion for Florida's economy. Florida's tourism industry produces a larger economic impact than any other private sector industry in the Sunshine State. The return on investment (ROI) for marketing efforts indicated that each $1 invested in Visit Florida generates more than $3 of additional sales tax revenue, paid by visitors, not residents. What is the role of tourism marketing? As an industry leader, the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau markets the area nationally and internationally, facilitates travel to the area and preserves and protects the area's natural attributes for the benefit of its residents, the local economy and the travel and tourism industry. Its mission is to increase tourism in the off season and to increase awareness about Lee County as a vacation destination through advertising, research, sales and promotions, communications, newsletters, visitor services, media familiarization tours, travel trade and consumer shows, visitors guide, web site and other marketing programs. How will the community benefit from an increased Visit Florida budget? The additional $34.3 million in public funding will enable Visit Florida to enhance its marketing program with strength in television, direct marketing, advertising, public relations, promotions, sales and visitor service activities. Most importantly, Visit Florida will integrate network television advertising into its campaign, which has not been previously incorporated due to budget limitations. Depending upon allocation, these additional dollars will provide funding for marketing efforts to promote the area's niche markets during off-season periods. The funding should allow for new and exciting opportunities for the Lee County VCB and its tourism industry to participate in programs and cooperative advertising on a national level. An increase in the budget is necessary if the industry is going to attract new visitors and have any chance maintain its repeat visitors. Southwest Florida, as does all of Florida, continues to suffer from the stigma created by two years of hurricanes. The months of July through September remain areas of concern in regards to occupancy. An ongoing education of the media is necessary to combat this mentality. To further complicate matters, destinations with much larger state budgets are constantly appealing to the consumer and meeting planner to consider destinations that are not threatened by hurricanes. |