Visitor & Convention Bureau Dashboard

Visits to Lee County

Visits to Lee County
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An estimated 5 million visitors contributed $3 billion in direct spending to the Lee County economy during 2015.

Direct spending is a metric used to measure how much a visitor spends in Lee County on such items as hotel, food, car rental, gas, shopping, etc.

The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel - A group of people at a party having drinks.

The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel - Boston Red Sox fans getting autographs from their favorite players.

Visitor Origin
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The number of visitors to Lee County is measured on a quarterly basis, and broken out into domestic, international, and in-state Florida.

Tourism's Impact to Lee County

Visitor Spending
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The Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau (VCB) engages with a research company to conduct visitation research. The group surveys accommodations, attractions, residents, and visitors throughout Lee County to gather data.

The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel - A glance at Times Square on Fort Myers Beach.

Airport Traffic
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Airport traffic is monitored by the Lee County Port Authority (LCPA). Monthly airport traffic reports are received by the VCB in a press release issued by the LCPA.

Tourist Development Tax Collection

Tourist Development Tax Collections
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The Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau (VCB) is funded by a five percent (5%) tourist tax collected on accommodations rented for six months or less.

The VCB is funded solely from the tourist tax collections, and the funding is currently allocated in the following manner:

53.6% - advertising and promotion (VCB operations and Lee County Sports Development operations)

26.4% - beach and shoreline improvements and maintenance

20.0% - stadium debt & major maintenance

Accomodations

Lodging Supply and Occupancy
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As visitor demand increases, so does lodging provider occupancy levels, average daily rate (ADR) and revenue per available room (RevPAR).

The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel - A gorgeous aerial view of Fort Myers Beach.

Average Daily Rates and Revenue Per Available Room
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The VCB subscribes to a service from a proprietary research company, STR, to provide accommodations data for Lee County.

Revenue per available room (RevPAR) is a performance metric used in the hotel industry and is calculated by multiplying a hotel's average daily room rate (ADR) by its occupancy rate.

Sales & Marketing

Sales Leads
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Request for proposals (RFPs) give an excellent overview of groups the VCB sales team is prospecting and the potential economic impact these groups could have in Lee County.

Marketing Impressions Count
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Impressions are important because they indicate the total audience reached from the VCB's paid advertising efforts.

Impressions are measured from online media (digital/ social), broadcast, radio, print, and out-of-home media.

Digital impressions are measured by third party ad servers such as DoubleClick. Broadcast, out-of-home and traditional media are verified by Nielson, Alliance for Audited Media, and BPA.

Social Media Followers
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Social media channels enable visitors to create and share content or engage directly with the VCB before, during and after their visit.

Social Media Engagements
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Social media engagement is the number of people on social media who reacted to, shared, clicked or commented on a post.

Measurement of these interactions helps determine if the Bureau's social media approach is effective and resonates with the audience, as well as if the paid and organic marketing efforts are yielding desired audience growth across all channels.

The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel - Even Stevens performing on the Captiva Cruises sunset cruise during Island Hopper.

The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel -A family enjoying their day by kayaking on Fort Myers Beach.

Website Stats
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Website Leads (Guidebook Requests, eNewsletter Signups)
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Note: Large increase in Fiscal Year 2015-16 due to shell bag promotion and addition of virtual guidebooks.

Public Relations

Media Impressions
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Earned media is the natural result of a strong public relations effort. It includes third-party endorsement of the area, such as media coverage.

All earned (not purchased) domestic and international media coverage of Lee County's tourism partners is measured.

Media coverage of the destination is measured by impressions, which reflect the number of people engaged with the coverage.

Media Visits
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Hospitality Training

Guests First Program Participants
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As a destination, it is important to stay competitive by increasing the level of superior service offered to our visitors. With 1 in 5 residents employed in hospitality, it is vital to keep the industry thriving.

Guests First is a free educational program offering customer service skills to front-line and management professionals. The VCB entered a first-of-its-kind partnership with the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI).

Certified Guests Service Professionals
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As a result of completing the VCB’s Guests First Training Program, participants are eligible to become Certified Guests Service Professional.

Volunteer Tourism Ambassadors Outreach

Volunteer Hours and Visitors Assisted
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In-kind service hours provided by volunteer Tourism Ambassadors saves Lee County over half a million dollars in wages on an annual basis. Tracking provides a realistic gauge of numbers of visitors served, types of questions inquired about, and tangible support to tourism partners.