Apr 27, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                   

CONTACTS:  Nancy Hamilton, Lee Rose, Jessica Grace (239)338-3500

Lee County VCB hosts Annual Tourism Appreciation Breakfast May 4 at Harborside Event Center

LEE COUNTY, FL- (APRIL 27, 2007) As the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau (VCB) celebrates the value of tourism during its annual appreciation breakfast on May 4 with motivational speaker Lou Heckler; it examines what tourism means to the area and sites expectations of Visit Florida's proposed $34.3 million budget increase.

Florida motivational speaker and management trainer, Lou Heckler, will speak on "The Hero Lies in You," at the VCB Annual Tourism Appreciation, May 4, 8 a.m. at the Harborside Event Center in Fort Myers. For reservations, visit www.LeeVCB.com.

As a former television and print journalist, Heckler brings his unique and stimulating point of view to the area's tourism industry at a time when it is very concerned with the future of Florida tourism.

Also that morning, the VCB will present its Junonia awards. They were created to recognize those individuals who have positively impacted the local tourism community by demonstrating unique capabilities, leadership, commitment, and dedication. Selected as a symbol of the award due to its rarity, the Junonia shell is highly treasured.
 The state's tourism promotion organization, Visit Florida has proposed a $34.3 million budget increase that hopefully will allow the state to strengthen its marketing program to compete against well-funded domestic and international destinations. With its white, sandy beaches, sparkling water, natural attractions and year-round pleasant weather, southwest Florida has many tourism-friendly attributes that appeal to visitors from all over the world.  Despite these positive draws, The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel, along with the entire state, face continued competition from the marketing efforts of well-funded top U.S. destinations.

Although Florida is the number two destination in the U.S., 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.  

As Visit Florida seeks to increase public funding for tourism to $59 million during the 2007 legislative session, the additional $34.3 million 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 assist in promoting Lee County area's niche markets (upscale, luxury, cultural, nature, heritage) during off-season periods.  The funding should allow for new and exciting opportunities for the VCB and its tourism industry to participate in additional programs and cooperative advertising in order to enhance its current efforts 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.
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 Lee County's tourism industry.

• More than $1.4 billion in wages are generated by tourism in Lee County

• 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.  

As an industry leader, the VCB 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.

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