Annual Report – Fiscal Year 2013
Table&of&Contents&
INTRODUCTION!...... !2! 2013 BOARD OF DIRECTORS!...... !4! 2013 VISITORS AND CONVENTION BUREAU COMMITTEES!...... !5! 2013 VISITORS AND CONVENTION BUREAU STAFF!...... !5! LODGING PERFORMANCE OVERVIEW!...... !7! ST. JOHNS COUNTY BED TAX COLLECTIONS!...... !14! GOLF TOURISM ROI!...... !15! VISITORS AND CONVENTION BUREAU OPERATING BUDGET!...... !16! ADVERTISING AND MARKETING REPORT!...... !18! WEBSITE ANALYTICS REPORT!...... !28! VCB PARTNER CO-OPERATIVE OPPORTUNITIES REPORT!...... !32! PARTNERSHIPS AND INDUSTRY PROGRAMS REPORT!...... !33! COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT REPORT!...... !34! PROMOTION AND STRATEGIC ALLIANCES REPORT!...... !40! SPECIAL EVENTS REPORT!...... !45! SALES DEPARTMENT REPORT!...... !49! BRAND RESEARCH!...... !52! TOURISTIC DEVELOPMENT REPORT!...... !53! !
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Introduction FY2013 Richard Goldman, Executive Director
St. Johns County tourism, in its 500th year, exceeded expectations and previous years’ performance on every major objective measure. Despite economic uncertainty and slow growth statewide, the VCB accomplished its mission to market Florida’s Historic Coast® (FHC) as a premier leisure, convention and incentive, and beach and golf destination. The VCB’s performance metrics tell the tale, as they were consistently up and setting new records in some months (TDT collections, Hotel Occupancy, ADR and Demand) even when compared to the strong growth of FY2012.
While some of the physical results are still taking shape, the VCB actively assisted partners with the development and facilitation of new touristic assets for St. Johns County in FY2013, including the Ponce Overlook at 30 degrees 8 minutes in the GTM, the Colonial Quarter and a revitalized Downtown Visitor Information Center.
In its advertising, the VCB continued to invest in and expand its award-winning “Red Couch Chronicles” campaign with the over-arching and differentiating brand message “Our History Is Not The Same Old Story.” This campaign has won multiple industry awards, including a Gold HSMAI Adrian Award, multiple Bronze Flagler Awards, plus a Gold at Travel Weekly’s Magellan Awards. And in 2013, the campaign enjoyed more robust participation from lodging and attraction partners who have increasingly taken advantage of strategically targeted and affordable, cooperative marketing opportunities.
FY2013 was also a big year in the digital arena, with online enhancements to advertising, publicity and web sites. The VCB achieved broader reach with well-performing ad networks and placements on high-traffic sites like TripAdvisor, Google and Facebook. The redesigned website, launched late in FY2011, and new mobile site continue to show increased visitation and engagement with gains in all metrics including visits, page views and, particularly, partner profile views. The Flavors of Florida’s Historic Coast web site won a Silver Flagler Award at this year’s Governor’s Conference on Tourism. Bi-monthly e-mail communications to the growing database, and vastly expanded social media presence have also built engagement between consumers, the destination and its partner businesses.
Sales and publicity programs aimed at boosting international visitation paid off significantly in 2013 when FHC hosted Florida Huddle and nearly 500 tour operators, travel influencers and international media. Marketing the 500th anniversary of the European discovery of La Florida (1513), begun in earnest in late FY2012, also paid off beyond our grandest expectations as the world saw Florida’s Historic Coast capture most of the media attention and major events associated with this momentous occasion. The long-range planning, cultivation of relationships and plain hard work of the staff was essential to the destination’s success leveraging the 500th.
ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 2! ! !
Introduction (cont’d.) FY2013 Richard Goldman, Executive Director
The VCB, in partnership with the experts at MMGY Global and Miles Media Group, along with local, regional and statewide tourism-related organizations, strives to maximize and refine its marketing efforts on all fronts. Please review this report for details of how the entire VCB staff accomplished their key objectives in 2013. And, stay tuned as the team is looking forward to more success in driving tourism to Florida’s Historic Coast in 2014.
Sincerely,
Richard Goldman Executive Director St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches Visitors & Convention Bureau
ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 3! ! !
St. Johns County Visitors and Convention Bureau
FY2013 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Executive Committee Officers Chairman: David Mariotti, General Manager, The Lodge & Club at Ponte Vedra [email protected] 607 Ponte Vedra Blvd, Ponte Vedra, FL 32082 Vice Chairman: Jeffrey Oliasami, General Manager, Renaissance World Golf Resort [email protected] 500 South Legacy Trail, St. Augustine, FL 32092 Past Chairman: Bob O’Neill, General Manager, Hilton St. Augustine Historic Bayfront bob_o'[email protected] 32 Avenida Menendez, St. Augustine, FL 32084 Secretary: Kathy Fleming, Executive Director St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum [email protected] 81 Lighthouse Ave, St. Augustine, FL 32080 Treasurer: Joe Finnegan, Owner St. Francis Inn [email protected] 279 St. George St., St. Augustine, FL 32084
Board Members Charles Cox, Owner, San Sebastian Winery [email protected]; 157 King Street, St. Augustine, FL 32084 John Fraser, Owner, Fountain of Youth Archeological Park [email protected]; 11 Magnolia Street, St. Augustine, FL 32084 Shannon Lake, General Manager, Beacher’s Lodge Resort [email protected]; 6970 A1A Highway, South, St. Augustine FL 32080 Virginia Whetstone, Owner, Whetstone Chocolates [email protected]; 1 Dolphin Drive, St. Augustine, FL 32084
Government Liaisons and Ex-Officio Mayor Joe Boles, City of St. Augustine Commissioner Rachel Bennett, St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners Commissioner Rich O’Brien, St. Augustine Beach City Commission Kirk Wendland, Executive Director, St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 4! ! !
FY2013 VISITORS AND CONVENTION BUREAU COMMITTEES
Conference Sales Committee • Scott Selvaggi, Chair, Renaissance World Golf Village Resort • Anthony Lazzara, Casa Monica Hotel • Chris Bracken, Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa • Clay Buchanan, Ponte Vedra Inn & Club • Chris Quinlan, Hilton Historic Bayfront
Leisure Sales Committee • Tina Klinkenberg, Chair, Hilton Historic Bayfront • Gina Villacorta, Days Inn Historic • Michele Kuziola, Courtyard & Fairfield • Adam Shockey, Tour Saint Augustine, Inc. • Joyce Ochocki, Holiday Isle Oceanfront Resort • Cindy Stavely, St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum • Amanda Sims, St. Augustine Ocean & Racquet Club
Advertising Committee • Joe Finnegan, St. Francis Inn • Kathy Fleming, St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum • David Mariotti, Lodge & Club at Ponte Vedra • Jeffrey Oliasami, Renaissance World Golf Village Resort • Bob O’Neill, Hilton Historic Bayfront
FY2013 VISITORS AND CONVENTION BUREAU STAFF
Administration Richard Goldman, Executive Director [email protected] 904.209.4426 Carey Cramer, Office Manager [email protected] 904.209.4421 Promotions and Data Base Rick Hensler, Director of Promotions and Strategic Alliances [email protected] 904.209.4430 Erin Masters, Special Events/Database Manager [email protected] 904.209.4422 Database and Website Administration, Annual Florida's Birding & PhotoFest, Photography Workshops
ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 5! ! !
FY2013 VISITORS AND CONVENTION BUREAU STAFF (CONT’D)
Communications Department Kathy Catron, Communications Director [email protected] 904.209.4424 Media Relations, Travel Press Communications, Editorial, Social Media Barbara Golden, Communications Manager [email protected] 904.209.4425 Calendar of Events Coordinator, Media Relations, Travel Press Communications, Publicity & Promotions
Sales Department Evelyn Vazquez, Director of Leisure Sales [email protected] 904.209.4431 Travel Industry, Leisure, Religious & International Sales Glenn Graham, Director of Conference Sales [email protected] 904.209.4432 Corporate & Association Meetings & Incentives Sales Jaya Larkin, Sales & Services Manager [email protected] 904.209.4429 Executive Group Sales (35 rooms & less peak night, all segments; all military, reunion, government meetings & weddings.)
Advertising Stacey Sather, Creative & Advertising Manager [email protected] 904.209.4434 Collateral, Print, Web Site and Email Advertising Development and Production
St. Augustine Beach Visitor Center Anna Helfinstine, Visitor Center Staff Robert Ziets, Visitor Center Staff Robert MacDowell, Visitor Center Staff
ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 6! ! !
Lodging Performance Overview FY2013
Smith Travel Reports The VCB subscribes to Smith Travel Research (STR), recognized leader for lodging industry benchmarking and research and the world’s foremost source of historical lodging performance trends providing valuable market share analysis for hotels in our destination. The data provided by STR allows the VCB to track monthly performance in Occupancy, Average Daily Rate, RevPAR, Demand and Room Revenue of 42 reporting hotel properties in St. Johns County. It does not include B&Bs, Vacation Rentals, Condos or Campgrounds.
Occupancy Average Occupancy grew 1.4% to a fiscal year average of 59.7%. The largest monthly increases for SJC were in February (up 6.5%), August (up 4.4%) and January (up 4.2%). Only three months saw declines in occupancy over 2012. April was down 2.9% to 65.8%, July was down 2.3% to 64.4% and October 2012 was down 2.1% to 54.6%.
Average!Occupancy!by!Month! 80.0! 70.0! 60.0! 50.0! 40.0! 30.0! 20.0! 10.0! 0.0! Oct! Nov! Dec! Jan! Feb! Mar! Apr! May! Jun! Jul! Aug! Sep!
2012! 2013!
Source: Smith Travel Research
ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 7! ! !
Occupancy!Year!over!Year! 60.0!
59.0!
58.0!
57.0!
56.0!
55.0!
54.0! 2011! 2012! 2013!
Source: Smith Travel Research
ADR The Average Daily Rate (ADR) exceeded last year’s growth of 4.6% to reach 5.3%, the final FY2013 average closing at $110.36. September showed the highest percentage change growing 10.7% over 2012 ($97.48 to $107.86) with Mumford & Sons concertgoers adding to the rising demand for September stays. April (up 7.5%) and February (up 7.1%) round out the top three months for growth in ADR. For the third year in a row, there were no months that exhibited declines in ADR.
ADR!by!Month! $140! $120! $100! $80! $60! $40! $20! $0! Oct! Nov! Dec! Jan! Feb! Mar! Apr! May! Jun! Jul! Aug! Sep!
2012! 2013!
Source: Smith Travel Research
ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 8! ! !
ADR!Year!over!Year! $112! $110! $108! $106! $104! $102! $100! $98! $96! $94! 2011! 2012! 2013!
Source: Smith Travel Research
RevPAR Revenue per available room showed improvement every month of FY2013 except October 2012 (which declined by $.05) and closed out $4.21 higher than 2012 and more than $9 higher than 2011 at an average of $65.92. September, February and August saw the highest gains with double-digit growth over 2012. Overall, 2013 RevPAR grew an average of 6.8%.
RevPar!by!Month! $100!
$80!
$60!
$40!
$20!
$0! Oct! Nov! Dec! Jan! Feb! Mar! Apr! May! Jun! Jul! Aug! Sep!
2012! 2013!
Source: Smith Travel Research
ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 9! ! !
RevPAR!Year!over!Year! $68! $66! $64! $62! $60! $58! $56! $54! $52! $50! 2011! 2012! 2013!
Source: Smith Travel Research
Demand Demand (room nights sold) continued its upward trend in 2013. Only July, April and October saw very small declines YOY and, like Occupancy in those same months, was likely due to aggressive pricing by hotels in those months. Nevertheless, overall demand finished the fiscal year up 1.8%.
Demand!by!Month! (Rooms!Nights!Sold)!
140,000! 120,000! 100,000! 80,000! 60,000! 40,000! 20,000! 0! Oct! Nov! Dec! Jan! Feb! Mar! Apr! May! Jun! Jul! Aug! Sep!
2012! 2013!
Source: Smith Travel Research
ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 10! ! !
Annual!Demand! 1,240,000!
1,220,000!
1,200,000!
1,180,000!
1,160,000!
1,140,000!
1,120,000! 2011! 2012! 2013!
Source: Smith Travel Research
Room Revenue Monthly room revenue reported by STR closed the year at $135,143,032, 7.2% higher than 2012’s $126,038,135. September showed the highest percent increase, up 15.8% (due to Mumford & Sons), followed closely by February and August, up 14.1% and 12.3%, respectively. As usual, the single largest producing month was March at $15,580,732.
Room!Revenue!by!Month! $16,000,000! $14,000,000! $12,000,000! $10,000,000! $8,000,000! $6,000,000! $4,000,000! Oct! Nov! Dec! Jan! Feb! Mar! Apr! May! Jun! Jul! Aug! Sep!
2012! 2013!
Source: Smith Travel Research
ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 11! ! !
Annual!Room!Revenue! $140,000,000!
$135,000,000!
$130,000,000!
$125,000,000!
$120,000,000!
$115,000,000!
$110,000,000!
$105,000,000! 2011! 2012! 2013!
Source: Smith Travel Research
Lodging Performance Summary All indicators continue to show strong positive growth for the industry in FY2013, with most monthly metrics at or exceeding pre-recession numbers.
Trending the three indicators shows that December, May, August and September gains in RevPAR were driven by ADR growth and, to a slightly lesser extent, increased Occupancy. The opposite was true in January. Larger ADR gains with more modest occupancy growth drove higher RevPAR. November and February exhibited the most balanced gains with ADR matching occupancy growth for incrementally higher RevPAR.
Monthly!Percent!Change! 20.0!
15.0!
10.0!
5.0!
0.0!
E5.0! Oct! Nov! Dec! Jan! Feb! Mar! Apr! May! Jun! Jul! Aug! Sep!
Occupancy! ADR! RevPAR!
Source: Smith Travel Research
ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 12! ! !
Florida’s Historic Coast (FHC) lodging providers finished ahead of most of its in-state competitors and the state as a whole on all financial growth measures. Specific growth results for Florida and in-state competitors are provided in the following chart. For proper context, Nassau County data is skewed upward by the opening of the expanded and upgraded Omni Amelia Island Plantation as well as the completion of Ritz Amelia Island renovations in 2013. FHC results demonstrate confidence by its hoteliers in the growing demand for visitor stays.
Florida!Comp!Set!%!Change!! Hillsborough!County,!FL! 30.0! Nassau!County,!FL! 25.0! Pinellas!County,!FL! 20.0! St!Johns!County,!FL! 15.0! Jacksonville,!FL! 10.0! Fort!Walton!Beach,!FL!
5.0! SarasotaEBradenton,!FL! Daytona!Beach,!FL! 0.0! Orlando,!FL! E5.0! Occ! ADR! RevPAR! Room!Rev! Florida!
Source: Smith Travel Research
Destinations in the FHC competitive set outside of Florida enjoyed a year of growth as well, but FHC outgrew most in financial measures and all in ADR. (Only Charleston slightly outgrew FHC in Room Revenue and only Savannah outgrew FHC in RevPAR. Both outgrew FHC in Occupancy on the strength of their business travel segment which is significantly more developed than that for Florida’s Historic Coast.)
Out!of!State!Comp!Set!%!Change!
10.0! 8.6! 8.0! 7.6! 7.5! 8.0! 6.5! 5.8! 5.9! 6.0! 4.4! 4.4! 3.7! 3.9! 3.1! 4.0! 2.8! 2.9! 1.4! 1.6! 2.0!
0.0! Occ! ADR! RevPAR! Room!Rev!
Charleston,!SC! Myrtle!Beach,!SC! Savannah,!GA! St!Johns!County,!FL!
Source: Smith Travel Research ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 13! ! !
St. Johns County Bed Tax Collections FY2013
Local Option Tourism Development Tax (bed tax) collections were up 5.5% over FY2012. March and July were the highest grossing months again this fiscal year. Impressively, March was up 6.6%, July was up 3.5%. But, the greatest percent growth occurred in August, September and December, which were up 15.6%, 14.7% and 10.2%, respectively. Only January and May showed small declines, compared to large double-digit growth in 2012.
Overall, spring and summer performance continues to be strong with both seasons enjoying the highest grossing months.
Fiscal!Year!2013! !! ! !! !! MONTH!OF! COMPARED! OCCUPANCY! GROSS! TO!FY2012! TC&!CC! NET! October! !$480,097!! 1.0%! !$9,601.9!! !$470,495!! November! !$412,768!! 5.2%! !$8,255!! !$404,512!! December! !$468,849!! 11.4%! !$9,377!! !$459,472!! January! !$458,197!! E2.9%! !$9,164!! !$449,033!! February! !$626,186!! 6.5%! !$12,524!! !$613,662!! March! !$894,381!! 7.1%! !$17,888!! !$876,494!! April! !$685,612!! 7.0%! !$13,712!! !$671,900!! May! !$706,066!! E4.7%! !$14,121!! !$691,945!! June! !$801,861!! 7.0%! !$16,037!! !$785,824!! July! !$903,297!! 3.5%! !$18,066!! !$885,231!! August! !$602,283!! 15.6%! !$11,506!! !$590,778!! September! !$487,067!! 14.7%! !$9,741!! !$477,325!! TOTAL! !$7,526,664!! 5.5%! !$149,993!! !$7,376,671!!
ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 14! ! !
Golf Tourism ROI FY2013
FY2013 investment in golf-oriented marketing programs included $172,000 for support of Florida’s First Coast of Golf programs. Aggregate direct spending by golfers on rooms, rounds and related F&B/retail resulting from the fiscal year generated an ROI of $81.90 to $1.00. See below for how ROI was calculated.
Investment $172,000
Returns Hotel $2,606,703 23,620 Nts @ $110.36 ADR Golf $4,089,282 55,576 Rounds @ $73.58 Spending $6,751,998 18,524 Golfers @ $121.50 DAY x 3 Days Sales Tax $806,879 Total @ 6% Total Return $14,254,862 ROI $81.90 | $1.00
Media Value of the FFCG advertising, PR and promotions in which SJC or its properties had a significant presence was $3,043,189, a 17.7x leveraging of the $172,000 investment.
ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 15! ! 2013 VISITORS AND CONVENTION BUREAU OPERATING BUDGET
November September Total BUDLINES 2013 October Actual Actual December Actual January Actual February Actual March Actual April Actual May Actual June Actual July Actual August Actual Actual TOTAL Actual Budgeted Remaining
53100-Research $ 1,668 $ - $ - $ - $ - $''''''''''''''''''1,425 $'''''''''''''''''4,995 $ - $ - $ - $ 4,995 $ - $ 13,083 $ 10,000 $ (3,083) 53401-Indirect Fees $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ 8,421 $ 8,421 53120- Contractual Services -746 $ 57,168 $ 82,949 $ 50,277 $ 97,863 $ 55,420 $ 62,822 $ 68,910 $ 96,340 $ 47,154 $ 60,950 $ 93,280 $ 54,472 $ 827,605 $ 860,000 $ 32,395 53702-VIC Airport $ - $ - $ - $ - $ 7,260 $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ 7,260 $ 7,900 $ 640 54000-Travel & Per Diem $ 1,757 $ 2,696 $ 702 $ 5,569 $ 5,482 $ 992 $ 5,037 $ 1,561 $ 5,073 $ 4,526 $ 4,777 $ 3,204 $ 41,376 $ 41,477 $ 101 54010-Tradeshows $ 16,775 $ 5,375 $ 1,250 $ 10,860 $ 1,675 $ 3,760 $ 5,945 $ 3,620 $ 720 $ 3,011 $ 5,849 $ (2,498) $ 56,342 $ 47,403 $ (8,939) 54100-Communications $ - $ 1,841 $ 1,867 $ 3,431 $ 883 $ 3,808 $ 2,092 $ 442 1937 1952 $ 1,940 $ 2,842 $ 23,035 $ 29,260 $ 6,225 54102-Inquiry Services $ - $ 4,725 $ 5,679 $ 2,988 $ 5,366 $ - $ 12,683 $ - $ 11,496 $ 4,773 $ 3,274 $ 7,263 $ 58,247 $ 91,809 $ 33,562 54110-Postage $ 1,089 $ 6,175 $ 3,032 $ 2,121 $ 4,857 $ 226 $ 13,824 $ 3,467 $ 4,520 $ 4,848 $ 3,073 $ 3,571 $ 50,803 $ 70,758 $ 19,956 54112-Brochure Distribution $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ 4,031 $ - $ - $ - $ 4,031 $ 5,079 $ 1,048 54300-Utilities $ 502 $ 602 $ 227 $ 39 $ 108 $ 595 $ 318 $ 243 $ 108 $ 108 $ 1,217 $ 540 $ 4,607 $ 11,004 $ 6,397 54400-Rental Equip $ - $ - $ 421 $ - $ - $ 473 $ - $ - $ 447 $ - $ - $ 473 $ 1,814 $ 5,925 $ 4,111 54401-Rent of Build. $ 8,000 $ - $ 4,000 $ - $ 8,000 $ 4,000 $ 4,000 $ 4,000 $ 4,000 $ 4,000 $ 4,000 $ - $ 44,000 $ 49,000 $ 5,000 54500-Insurance $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ 1,200 $ 1,200 54601-Equip Maint $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ 2,539 $ 2,539 54804-P R Services $ 12,417 $ 3,617 $ 417 $ 417 $ 10,267 $ 417 $ 1,289 $ 7,917 $ 417 $ 1,657 $ 2,592 $ 150 $ 41,574 $ 41,477 $ (97) 54805-In house PR $ 720 $ 1,994 $ 210 $ 1,201 $ 5,104 $ - $ 5,084 $ 5,119 $ 8,320 $ 4,582 $ 767 $ 696 $ 33,797 $ 41,477 $ 7,680 54806-Sales Mission $ 400 $ 390 $ - $ 2,277 $ 1,770 $ - $ - $ - $ 1,645 $ - $ - $ 430 $ 6,912 $ 13,408 $ 6,496 54900-Advertising $ 127,368 $ 192,433 $ 126,824 $ 220,873 $ 79,546 $ 126,397 $ 178,916 $ 72,284 $ 208,088 $ 242,735 $ 38,744 $ 454,834 $ 2,069,042 $ 1,848,581 $ (220,461) 55100--Office Supplies $ 248 $ 250 $ - $ 442 $ 659 $ - $ 341 $ - $ 293 $ 612 $ 1,855 $ 1,222 $ 5,922 $ 4,000 $ (1,922) 55102-Software $ - $ 60 $ - $ - $ - $ - $ 34 $ - $ - 380 $ 79 $ - $ 553 $ 3,217 $ 2,664 55200-Operating Supplies $ - $ 331 $ 843 $ 303 $ - $ 1,170 $ 334 $ - $ 341 $ 250 $ 152 $ 1,033 $ 4,757 $ 6,349 $ 1,592 55401-Training $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ 2,995 0 $ - $ - $ 2,995 $ 1,693 $ (1,302) 55405-Dues/Membership $ 1,249 $ 1,160 $ 2,400 $ (1,371) $ 640 $ 1,125 $ 5,219 $ 30 266 0 $ 3,327 $ (1,771) $ 12,274 $ 20,315 $ 8,041 56403-Office Equipment $ 1,000 $ 1,000 $ - $ (1,000) $ - Total Before Reserves $ 229,361 $ 304,598 $ 198,149 $ 347,013 $ 187,037 $ 208,210 $ 309,021 $ 195,023 $ 301,851 $ 334,384 $ 169,921 $ 526,461 $ 3,311,028 $ 3,222,292 $ (88,736) $ - 59920- BR Reserve $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ 124,028 $ 124,028 59923-TPRD Reserve $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - 59932- Part 1 Reserve $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ - $ 229,361 $ 304,598 $ 198,149 $ 347,013 $ 187,037 $ 208,210 $ 309,021 $ 195,023 $ 301,851 $ 334,384 $ 169,921 $ 526,461 $ 3,311,028 $ 3,346,320 $ 35,292 !
VISITORS AND CONVENTION BUREAU OPERATING BUDGET
FY2013 Budget Summary Actual spending to entice visitors to Florida’s Historic Coast in FY2013 increased by a total of 6.0% over FY2012, with a 7.1% increase directed into the Advertising line and a 14.1% increase directed into Publicity.
• $215,886 of the $251,178 in reserves was spent in FY2013 to leverage the momentum created for the 500th anniversary of the naming of La Florida. Video assets and an enhanced Atlanta advertising initiative accounted for most of those reserves.
Key Performance Measures: • Total expenditures for FY2013 Destination Marketing were 6.0% more than FY2012. • Advertising, including web development and online advertising, increased 7.1% over FY2012. • Co-op spending exceeded goal (+10) with an increase of 9x over FY2012 to $189,380 • Sales Missions and Trade Shows were up 5.1% over last year’s increase of 21%, reflecting increased focus on International and Conference sales efforts. • Publicity spending increased 14.1% in FY2013 to help leverage the 500th to Florida’s Historic Coast’s benefit. • Fulfillment spending stabilized at 1.8%, up compared to the last two years of declines as prospective visitors migrate to online information requests and use of the website. • Contractual Services increased only proportionately to the overall budget, even with funding for a new strategic plan completed in 2013 as well as wages, benefits, professional fees, etc.
ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 17! ! !
Advertising and Marketing Report FY2013
Prepared by MMGY Global
CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW AND OBJECTIVES
Mission Statement Brand and market the destination globally as a premier leisure, convention and incentive destination; communicate the area’s assets and inherent benefits to consumers, meeting planners, the travel trade, media, local community and constituents; and facilitate the opportunity for partners to promote their individual businesses within that framework.
Florida’s Historic Coast Based on its success – both in-market and through the receipt of various industry awards – the branding of Florida’s Historic Coast continued in FY2013 via the “Red Couch Chronicles” campaign and a new “story” execution which all conveyed the over-arching brand message “Our History Is Not The Same Old Story.” • Differentiated destination from other Florida beach offerings by underscoring its unique historic charm and authenticity • Combined destination’s romantic Old World European allure with its distinctly Old Florida quirkiness • Leveraged the state’s Viva Florida! exposure with destination’s own messaging commemorating 500 years of Florida’s first tourist, Ponce de Leon
Primary FY2013 Objectives The VCB aimed for continued improvement in its efficiency, effectiveness and leadership toward driving visitation to St. Johns County. Objectives were as follows: • Increase website visitation, our most powerful travel influencing tool • Increase destination awareness (and its identity as Florida’s Historic Coast) • Increase midweek business • Focus on lead generation to grow leisure visitor database • Introduce enhanced website & mobile site content and landing pages to specific niche segments and special events • Increase co-op partner support and engagement with high-value media opportunities, including programs targeted to new audiences • Implement strong support for 500th/450th Anniversary marketing plans
Strategies • Continue strong focus on appropriate media selection o Maintain both online and offline programs with strong lead generation o More online advertising and e-communications
ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 18! ! !
o Media targeted toward growing midweek business o Aggressively negotiate the best possible pricing on media purchases • Develop enticing co-op opportunities to encourage more partner participation • Continue to optimize performance of paid media while maintaining flexibility within the fiscal plan to move resources to best performing programs
TARGET AUDIENCE AND MARKETS
Consumer Target Audience: During the fall/winter months, the core visitors tend to be couples aged 35+ while in the spring/summer months, visitation shifts more toward families with children.
Primary Markets: Drive markets within a 3–4 hour drive, expanding in summer to families within a 6–8 hour drive. They include: • Orlando, FL • Jacksonville, FL • The Villages, FL • Atlanta, GA
MEDIA & CREATIVE
Radio • Campaigns with :60 spots in the following markets: o Orlando, FL o Jacksonville, FL o The Villages, FL o Savannah, GA o Augusta, GA o Atlanta, GA
• Radio station mix included top stations in market targeted to adults aged 35–64 • Campaign included Hispanic station in Orlando to promote heritage messaging for 500th • Co-op radio program in The Villages with full partner participation • Radio promotions with key stations in each market with giveaway to the destination
ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 19! ! !
• Full radio campaign in Atlanta, including top commercial stations targeted to A35–64 demographic, to drive summer visitation with on-air and online giveaway • Underwriting campaign on NPR stations across state of Georgia to promote summer campaign • Endorsements by key radio personalities in Orlando and Jacksonville for summer campaign
Outdoor/Out-of-Home • The VCB continued its series of billboards in FY2013 from Central Florida to South Georgia, with the destination branding as Florida’s Historic Coast and leveraged the 500th anniversary of Ponce de Leon’s discovery of Florida. • Locations included: North Orlando/Daytona Beach, Jacksonville, Brunswick and Savannah. • Digital billboards were run in key upscale suburban areas surrounding Atlanta to drive summer visitation • In-stadium message board signage at Gator Bowl • :05 spots running on ABC Good Morning America screen in Times Square in July as part of Horizon Travel Magazine advertising package
Outdoor Billboards
Print Award-winning layout featured collage of destination photos amidst illustrated imagery, poetic/enticing copy and seasonal rates. Many executions included co-op partners. • Target to niche areas of focus: o Heritage, Fishing, Birding, Motorcoach • FL 500th Anniversary was primary creative • Newspaper and lifestyle magazine in Atlanta market to drive summer
Bridal Programs • VCB solo presence in Bridal Guide (national) driving strong lead generation • Visit Florida program in David’s Bridal goodie bags in 16 states • Co-op presence in Orlando Wedding & Jacksonville Bride (regional)
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Perfect Wedding Guide May 2013
Collinson in-state 4 page insert
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Collinson in-state 4 page insert – inside spread
Atlanta Journal Constitution September 2013
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MEETINGS / TRAVEL TRADE / GROUP SALES
Meetings Focus on Corporate Meeting & Event Planners, Association & SMERF Planners, and Executive influencers. • Target markets in Southeast region with focus on Florida and Georgia • Advertising includes: o Florida MPI Annual Directory o Florida Society of Association Executives publication o Tallahassee Society of Association Executives quarterly publication o National trade publications – Meetings & Conventions and Successful Meetings in issues with relevant editorial o Presence on Visit Florida Meetings site (www.meetings.visitflorida.com) and e-newsletter to VF database o Rejuvenate Marketplace Show Guide
Leisure Groups and Travel Trade Focus on Motorcoach Tour Operators, Domestic and International Travel Agents and Tour Operators, Reunion Planners, and Student Groups. • Employ annual trade guides/directories to reach key audience segments most cost- effectively and position destination within the competitive set • New this year was the addition of Home School Groups • Advertising includes: o Online and print presence with Florida Parent-Educators Association (FPEA), Florida’s largest home-schooling families group o VISIT FLORIDA Travel Industry Guide o VISIT FLORIDA Latin American Vacation Guide o Annual Guides for both ABA Motorcoach and International Motorcoach Group o Online advertorial on Reunion Travel and Student Travel sites o Florida editorial in Selling Long Haul, targeted to UK and Irish travel trade o Annual NTA Student Trip Planner
ABA Motorcoach Marketer January 2013
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Orange County Public Schools Parent Guide
Meetings & Conventions June 2013
Television In FY2013, the VCB utilized underwriting campaigns to promote key events to the affluent and educated PBS audience. • Market focus was Orlando, Jacksonville and Georgia stations • Timing and messaging was in early October for Flavors and in November and December for Nights of Lights • :30 TV spot on local Jacksonville station WJXT during Gator Bowl Parade • :30 National TV spot in Gator Bowl broadcast on ESPN2 on New Year’s Day • PGA TOUR – THE PLAYERS Regional TV (Jan.–March 2013)
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“Red Couch Chronicles” TV Spot
Online
Digital Media Buys & Effectiveness • In FY2013, the VCB continued to increase digital advertising exposure, including targeting display, mobile, rich media as well as high impact units, lead generation and dedicated emails. • The digital mix includes ad networks, travel and lifestyle sites, local newspaper and radio sites, emerging media as well as niche exposure with bridal pubs. • The most effective buys in FY2013 were Trip Advisor, Search Retargeting and Audience Networks. These three buys drove the most traffic. • More than 75MM impressions were served via digital media with 82,868 visits driven to FHC.com. • Continued to find ways to measure success, including tracking intent to travel or those who have expressed interest in accommodations via the accommodations link or clicking on the Visitors Guide. VCB captured 27,320 Intents to Travel in FY13 from paid media. • VCB partner profile page views on FHC.com increased 74% while guide orders increased 31%. • Great strides were made in capturing new leads for remarketing purposes with more than 22,000 leads acquired from our digital media efforts in FY13. • Rich media was again utilized for both brand and bridal in FY13. This ad unit continued its high engagement time and interaction by users with more than 79,201 rich media interactions. o Creative execution featured top things to do in the area.
Expandable Rich Media Unit
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Expandable Rich Media Unit (showing 1 of 10 things to do)
• Executed a new campaign on Spotify, utilizing audio spots, textlinks and display to reach new consumers in a new way. • Created mobile banners to increase mobile footprint. • Utilized high-impact pushdown units for the Activate Atlanta campaign to continue to increase our SOV in the Atlanta DMA.
CBSAtlanta.com Activate Atlanta campaign - Pushdown Unit
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• Continued the Trip Advisor Destination Sponsorship with highly visible ads sold to the co-op partners with a new record number of partners at 11. • New offerings for co-op included a bridal rich media unit as well as new dedicated emails and a Shermans Travel e-newsletter. • National Geographic named St. Augustine one of the Top Ten Places in the World to view Holiday Lights.
Search Engine Marketing/Google Campaign • For 2013, the paid search campaign has been expanded to target 2,300+ keyphrases vs. the 500 from 2012. • Paid search is now delivering 35% of site traffic. • Support was provided for specific events and campaigns including the Midweek Offer and Flavors of Florida’s Historic Coast. • The Adwords account was transitioned to Google's "Enhanced" campaign, allowing VCB to utilize new features such as ad group level site links and tiered geo-targeting. 550 dedicated ads were also created to target the fast-growing mobile segment. • Particular focus has been placed on "incremental" keyphrases – early stage research travel terms where the traveler has not determined a travel destination, such as "Florida vacation spots."
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Website Analytics Report FY2013 Prepared by Miles
FloridasHistoricCoast.com
In FY2013, our focus on the website was on building traffic to the site through marketing campaigns, paid search and search engine optimization (SEO) efforts while increasing the total number of conversions by better serving the needs of the site visitor, the industry members and the VCB. Increases in traffic from all sources – campaign, organic and referral – are up significantly. And while such measures as bounce rate and time on site slipped slightly as a result of a much larger percentage of traffic coming from marketing campaigns, the end result is a meaningful increase in engaged visitors from last year, with total visits up 63% from 2012.
FY2013 Objectives • Using leading SEO tools to analyze site performance against relevant keywords and creating new content for the site, we were able to grow organic traffic significantly in the past year despite changing search algorithms at Google. • The high-visibility booking widget on the site proved effective in driving site visitors to investigate hotel rates and availability on partner sites, generating more than 63,000 referrals to partner booking pages. • Acknowledging that mobile (tablet and smartphone) traffic is growing rapidly and becoming an increasingly important part of vacation planning and booking, we have taken the next step in website development and will be moving the site to a responsive design, ensuring that the entire site is available to desktop, laptop and mobile traffic rather than presenting a pared-down, stand-alone mobile version. • With marketing efforts driving more and better traffic, we were able to grow traffic significantly in FY2013, driving total traffic up 63% and tracking almost 300,000 visitors from campaigns while minimizing the effect of campaign traffic on bounce rate and time on site. • This past summer we improved on the email sign-up process, moving the process directly into the site from the email service provider and streamlining the form to create less friction for those interested in receiving the email newsletter. • Engagement with partners has grown dramatically as well, with a 73.7% increase in the number of partner profile views in 2013.
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Key Performance Measures • Achieving an increase in site visitors by 63%, largely through online campaigns and paid search, time on site was sacrificed: overall dropping by 12% to 3:30, which is also the average of campaign traffic and much higher than expected. (Engagement from organic search traffic is consistently higher at around 3:45–4:00 minutes.) • Bounce rate, also sacrificed for higher traffic, was 41.2% overall (2.2 points over the goal of 39%) and 35.8% for the homepage (5.8 points over the goal of 30%). • Better integration with social media has grown total social traffic to the site by 122% over FY2012 (goal was +30%) with the biggest gains seen on Facebook and TripAdvisor. • VCB partner updates to the listings data doubled in the past year, with 267 profile updates provided by members (not including updates made by VCB staff assisting partners). • Email database grew 485% from all sources on goal of 200%. • For 2013, conversions were strong with 34.5% of visitors to the site visiting partner profile pages.
Performance In looking at domestic ranking this past year, FloridasHistoricCoast.com ranks 20,693 among all U.S. websites, compared with 32,854 in FY2012. FY2012 FY2013 % Change Total Visits 477,961 780,437 +63.3% Page Views 2,520,780 3,630,776 +44.0% Pages Per Visit 5.27 4.65 -11.8% Average Time On Site 3:56 3:28 -12.2% Overall Bounce Rate 36.9% 41.2% -11.6% Property Profile Views 306,592 532,503 +73.7%
International Traffic FY2012 FY2013 % Change International Visits 15,441 21,923 +42.0% Visits – Canada 3,864 4,867 +26.0% Visits – UK 2,262 2,910 +28.6% Visits – Germany 1,134 1,789 +57.8%
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Traffic Sources All traffic sources grew in 2013 over the previous year. With the increase in campaign efforts, the traffic from campaigns grew from 7.3% in FY2012 to more than 38% in FY2013, the biggest increase of all traffic sources.
14%! 13%! Referrals! Campaigns! Direct!!
21%! Organic! Other!
38%!
14%!
Website User Demographics – 2013
Gender Education Income Male 38% No college 40% Up to $50k 48% Female 62% College 44% $50K – 100K 32% Grad school 16% $100K – 150K 12% $150K+ 9% Age Race < 18 17% Caucasian 81% 18-24 10% African American 8% 25-34 17% Hispanic 7% 35-44 19% Asian 2% 45-54 19% Other 1% 55-64 11% 65+ 6%
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Mobile Website Analytics – m.FloridasHistoricCoast.com Predictably, traffic to the mobile site is less engaged than in the past as a result of changing consumer expectations for mobile-friendly sites. Part of the effort underway to move to a responsive site will be to remove the barriers to information that hampers the current mobile solution. Users expect a seamless transition when their search and planning efforts move to mobile platforms.
FY2012 FY2013 % Change Total Visits 95,944 153,534 60.0% Pages Per Visit 5.1 3.9 -23.5% Avg. Time on Site 2:35 1:45 -32.3% Overall Bounce Rate 34.0% 47.4% -39.4%
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VCB Partner Co-operative Opportunities Report FY2013
CO-OP ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES
In FY2013 the VCB offered 41 co-operative advertising opportunities to partners. Of the 41 opportunities, 26 were taken advantage of by 35 different partners. • 14 Print opportunities were offered • 5 On-line opportunities were offered • 5 Radio opportunities were offered • 5 Bridal opportunities were offered • 3 Travel/Tour Operator opportunities were offered • 9 Meeting opportunities were offered
Key findings FY2013 • Co-op participation increased by 63% to 26 programs. • Co-op value increased by 30% from $176,000 in FY2012 to $230,000 in FY2013. • Tour Operator/Travel Trade opportunities were the most popular with all 3 of the opportunities utilized. This resulted in a savings of $6,744 for partners or an average of $850 per partner opportunity. • Online, Print and Bridal were also very popular with most opportunities selling out. This resulted in a savings of $144,436 for partners or an average of $1,183.90 per partner opportunity. • Radio and Meetings proved not to be as popular. Radio only had 1 of 5 opportunities utilized and Meetings had no participation in any of the 9 programs offered. The one radio co-op resulted in a savings of $2,760 for partners or an average of $690 per partner opportunity. • In-kind contributions from partners for promotional use reached $115,794 including attraction tickets; discounts on lodging, food & beverage, meeting space, tours, transportation, entertainment and merchandise; and, signage and printing.
ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 32! ! !
Partnerships and Industry Programs Report FY2013
LOCAL INDUSTRY PROGRAMS
The VCB develops business sessions to empower and educate the St. Johns County tourism industry about opportunities in the marketplace.
Key Membership Programs: • February–August – Conducted email and phone blitz of lodging establishments for Mumford & Sons weekend guest preparations • May 14 – State of the Industry Report with guest speaker Peter Yesawich of MMGY Global • September 11 – Co-op workshop outlining upcoming advertising opportunities • September 26 – VCB Annual Meeting • Weekly PartnerCom emails average open rate for 2013 was 35.3%, an increase of 4.8 percentage points over 2012.
VCB Partnerships: Year-end partnerships were up 6% over 2012 (285 vs. 265).
Additionally in 2013: • The VCB conducted 39 partnership orientations, during which partners were given user names and passwords and shown how to update their profiles on the VCB’s industry partner site, www.sapvb.org. • 37 new partners were approved.
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Communications Department Report FY2013 Prepared by Kathy Catron, Director of Communications
COMMUNICATIONS
The goal of the Communications Department of the St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau (VCB) is to engage in a comprehensive communication program that builds mutually beneficial relationships with media, engages consumers through social media and online communications and generates positive awareness of the destination, which results in greater travel to our area.
Key Performance Measures Communications with the media (print, broadcast and online) all increased with the successful positioning of Florida’s Historic Coast as a necessary part of any story on the 500th anniversary of Florida.
The key metrics are media impressions (the circulation or viewers) and the monetary value of the impression in comparison to what it would cost to purchase advertising to reach the same circulation or viewers.
FY2013 Media Impressions Reported In FY2013, Florida’s Historic Coast enjoyed a significant increase in media coverage over FY2012. Reported media impressions in FY2013 exceeded 9.2 billion, 37% over the goal of 6.7 billion impressions and 70% over 5.4 billion actual impressions FY2012.
FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST MEDIA IMPRESSIONS
9.2 Billion FY2013 6.7 Billion
5.4 Billion FY2012 2.4 Billion
FY11 4.5 Billion 2.2 Billion
FY10 2 Billion 305 Million
Actual FY09 475 Million 148 Million Goal
ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 34! ! !
There were several factors that contributed to the increase in the media coverage reported in FY2013. These factors included: • Coverage of the Ponce de Leon 500th Anniversary commemorative events and related storylines. • Increased awareness, nationally and internationally, of the destination which resulted from Florida’s Historic Coast’s inclusion in leading travel publications such as National Geographic Traveler’s “Top Ten Places in the World to View Holiday Lights” and “20 Must See Places in the World” to visit in 2013. • A change in media monitoring services from Cision to Meltwater, which provided the VCB with the ability to better track international news coverage. • The addition of a new service to monitor broadcast media (TV Eyes), which for the first time allowed the VCB to access impressions and value for on-air broadcasts. • The hosting of three Satellite Media Tours.
FY2013 Actual Media Value of Impressions The actual value of 9.2 billion media impressions in FY2013 was $207 million. This media value exceeded the previous year’s coverage exponentially, while overall media impressions increased by 70%. This perceived imbalance is the result of the VCB being able to capture impressions and value for broadcast media coverage in a way that it had not previously.
VALUE OF MEDIA IMPRESSIONS
FY13 $5.4 Million ! $207 Million
FY12 $5.35 Million$6 Million
$5.1 Million FY11 Actual $7.55 Million Goal Fiscal Year Year Fiscal $3.67 Million FY10 $4.6 Million
FY09 $3.5 Million $3.5 Million
In January 2013, the VCB began utilizing TVEyes Broadcast Monitoring service. Prior to January 2012, the reporting of broadcast coverage included only impressions and value of online postings of broadcast segments. On-air views, while being less in audience number, are significantly higher in value than online views, much like the cost of television advertising is significantly higher than online advertising.
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News reporting that resulted in record-breaking media values can be attributed to the extensive broadcast coverage of the 2013 commemorative events, The PGA TOUR and Gentlemen of the Road concert. Some examples include: • January: Ponce 500 questions on a nationally broadcast children’s program • March: VCB sponosored Satellite Media Tour • April: VCB/VisitFlorida sponsored Satellite Media Tour; National coverage of Ponce commemorative events; Jeaopardy Category dedicated to Ponce 500 • September: Coverage of the Web.com Tournament and Gentlemen of the Road concert
News coverage of the Ponce 500th Anniversary resulted in a 36% increase in media impressions.
!10,000,000,000!!
!8,000,000,000!!
!6,000,000,000!! with!Ponce!stories! !4,000,000,000!! without!Ponce!stories! !2,000,000,000!!
!E!!
Ponce 500 stories began appearing in national publications in November 2012. As you can see from the chart above, the highest impression months for Ponce 500 stories were in November of 2012 and in March, April, May and June of 2013.
The impressions in April were coverage leading up to and including the April 2–3 anniversary date. June impressions were affected by the visit of El Galeon which generated much interest and media coverage.
News stories about the Ponce 500th Anniversary increased media values by 108%.
!$250,000,000!! !$200,000,000!! !$150,000,000!! with!Ponce!stories! !$100,000,000!! without!Ponce!stories! !$50,000,000!! !$E!!
ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 36! ! !
Like impressions,the value of Ponce 500 coverage peaked in March, April, May and June 2013. The exceptionaly high value of the peaked coverage is a result of national broadcast segements, which have a higher media value.
VIVA FLORIDA 500TH AND 450th ANNIVERSARIES The objective of the 2013 marketing plan in relation to the anniversary events was to effectively communicate the vital role of Florida’s Historic Coast in Florida’s 500th. On April 2 and 3 – the anniversary of Florida – Governor Rick Scott, members of the Florida Cabinet, Visit Florida, the Florida Department of State and the US Postal Service all converged on Florida’s Historic Coast solidifying the area’s significant role in history to a national audience.
Public relations support of the city’s 450th commemoration activities included publicity for the Picasso exhibit, Gentlemen of the Road tour, and exhibits at the Visitors Information Center. The VCB issued 450th-related press releases and supported related activities through social media.
Key Performance Measures • A media breakfast hosted by the VCB for Florida Huddle with 50 media attendees • Issued 63 press releases supporting 450th and 500th activities and initiatives while including facts on the 450th and 500th in the VCB press kit • YouTube videos of the April 2-3 Anniversary activities, El Galeon and Founder’s Day received a combined 2,316 views
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media has become the fastest growing form of organic two-way communication between the VCB and travelers. Followers of the Facebook page regularly communicate with the VCB and with each other – the ultimate form of engagement. Performance measures of the number of people following, viewing and interacting with all of the VCB’s social media channels increased significantly this year. In addition, two new social media channels were created to serve the Hispanic community.
Key Performance Measures • Exceeded Facebook goal for 2013 (84,000 followers) by 43%. Actual performance was 194,492 followers. • Exceeded You Tube channel views goal (44,000 lifetime views) by 77%. Actual views in 2013 were 57,084. • Exceeded Twitter goal (2,000) by 78%. Actual total of followers was 2,559.
The objective guiding the VCB Social Media strategies was to expand communications with prospective travelers, promote the brand and increase engagement. The VCB met this objective in several ways: • Share Your Sunshine Sundays encouraged Facebook followers to post their own photos from a trip to Florida’s Historic Coast.
ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 37! ! !
• The VCB ran several contests and prize giveaways that resulted in over 40,000 new followers and the collection of nearly 600 opt-in email addresses. • Hispanic Twitter channel hosted a Twitter party using the original hashtag #StAugLatina, engaging 91 people and reaching 151,162 Twitter users.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
As in previous years, the VCB worked to increase awareness of the destination to an International audience.
Key Performance Measures • Press kits were translated into German, Spanish and Portuguese and posted in an online press room along with photos of the destination. • International media coverage increased by 277% over the previous year. • VCB hosted 24 writers from outside the U.S., including Canada, Asia, Spain, Germany and France.
HISPANIC MEDIA INITIATIVE
In 2013, the VCB worked with Bauza & Associates, a public relations firm that specializes in the Hispanic audience. The public relations plan included a branded campaign “Vuelve a Donde Nacio Nuestro Espiritu,” which translates to “Return to Where Our Spirit Was Born.” The campaign aimed to increase awareness of St. Augustine as the birthplace of Hispanic culture in Florida and, as such, to drive visitation among Hispanic travelers.
Key Performance Measures • 955,625 Spanish language media impressions over 7 months • Press coverage included a half-hour segment on Univision in Tampa and Orlando with a reach of 430,000 viewers in the combined markets • 123 views of the Mi Latino Spirit YouTube video • 13 press releases issued • Twitter party which reached 151,162 users • 684 new Facebook followers
The VCB sponsored Hispanicize and participated as panelist in media roundtable, conducted a promotion with the Hispanic Chamber with 12,000 attendees, and participated in several promotions with Univision Orlando. The VCB secured print coverage in Orlando, Tampa and South Florida.
ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 38! ! !
AFRICAN AMERICAN INITIATIVE
In preparation for the 2014 anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act, the VCB prepared media and marketing materials to increase awareness of the destination’s role as the place where African American heritage began in the U.S.
Key Performance Measures • Created a press kit for African American Heritage and Civil Rights • Included African American heritage content in current press kit and story lines pitched to media • Added photo and video content to the VCB’s image library
PROMOTING POSITIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH PARTNERS
Focusing on “internal” audiences, the VCB increased engagement with Partners in order to demonstrate the value of the VCB partnership program and to improve understanding of the VCB’s role in promoting the destination.
Key Performance Measures The VCB enhanced communications both with and about its partners in several ways: • Enhanced the PartnerCom newsletter to include a sample of the week’s news coverage with click-thru links to the entire article or video coverage • Shared Partners’ posts on the VCB Facebook page (200,000+ followers) and held Facebook promotions with Partners such as a ticket giveaway contest with the Amphitheatre • Changed “What’s Happening this Weekend” to “This Week” to promote more events in our area – many of them at our Partners’ business locations • Publicized the new Colonial Quarter, including a tour of the Quarter in all our media itineraries and brought Hispanic media to the Quarter’s media launch event • Worked with the PGA Tour to conduct a PLAYERS Media tour • Promoted local area restaurants through FLAVORS of Florida’s Historic Coast • Coordinated the Employee of the Year program
ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 39! ! !
Promotion & Strategic Alliances Report FY2013 Prepared by Rick Hensler, Director
OVERVIEW In FY2013, Promotions and Strategic Alliances focused on three key priorities: 1. Leveraged Media Promotions 2. Integrated Marketing Initiatives 3. Database Marketing
Leveraged media promotions refers to the aggressive negotiation of paid advertising buys in a manner that yields significant levels of incrementally dedicated, complementary and verifiably measurable promotional exposure from the media partner, typically in the form of contests and sweepstakes that spotlight the core vacation product.
Integrated Marketing Initiatives are those products, events or programs that have been selected for an integrated planning approach, a consolidation of all marketing disciplines – advertising, publicity, internet marketing, social media, promotions, group, meetings and travel industry sales – into a coordinated effort with the whole greater than the sum of the parts.
Database Marketing Initiatives, aka e-mail marketing, refers to the VCB’s growing base of e- newsletter subscribers. The VCB mission is to grow and activate this group of committed fans or interested parties, as all have given their “opt-in” for an ongoing dialog via our twice-monthly blasts to 25,000+ subscribers.
2013 Performance Highlights • Media Promotions: Delivered 24 broadcast promotions vs. 11 in 2012 • Integrated Marketing: Achieved worldwide recognition as Ponce de Leon landing site • Database Marketing: Increased opt-in newsletter subscriber base by 485%
2013 KEY PERFORMANCE MEASURES
1. MEDIA PROMOTIONS
Goal: Deliver gross impressions valued at 5x leveraged media costs or 10x prize value. Performance: Achieved more than five million impressions with a media value of $162,611 against a total prize value of approximately $5,200.
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Goal: Deliver at least one dedicated promotion with recipient of broadcast ad dollars in each market. Performance: Achieved through spring media promotions in Orlando and Jacksonville; summer media promotions in Orlando, Savannah, Atlanta and Jacksonville; and late summer media promotions in Orlando and Jacksonville.
Goal: Deliver minimum one promo/month with VISIT FLORIDA. Performance: Achieved by partnering in VF’s 52-week “Viva Florida 500 Trip-a-Week Giveaway” promotion, earning ongoing exposure within VF’s $1million online and offline media support program.
Goal: Deliver minimum 5 million gross impressions from media promotion partners. Performance: Achieved by securing 5,022,580 promotional impressions in FY2013.
FY2013 MEDIA PROMOTIONS Promo Media/Partner/Market Timing VCB Lodging Partner Impressions Value WSRV-FM (Classic Hits) 9/30–10/11 Marriott Courtyard 598,000 $28,000 Atlanta Radio WYKZ-FM (AC) 10/15–22 Comfort Suites at WGV 81,900 $1,940 Savannah Radio WBBQ-FM (AC) 10/15–28 Days in Historic 115,596 $1,918 Augusta Radio WOMX-FM (Hot AC) 10/22–29 St. Francis Inn B&B 180,295 $2,450 Orlando Radio WJGL-FM (Classic Hits) 10/8–28 St. George Inn 469,560 $9,510 Jacksonville Radio Atlanta Magazine 2/1–28 St. George Inn 83,481 $7,500
Orlando Sentinel 3/24–4/14 Beacher's Lodge 1,277,790 $38,528 WSRV-FM (Classic Hits) 5/20–27 Beacher's Lodge 526,536 $12,750 Atlanta Radio WYKZ-FM (AC) 6/3–10 Beacher's Lodge 81,900 $1,940 Savannah Radio WHKQ-FM (Spanish 6/3–23 Casa Monica 191,581 $6,211 Contemporary) Orlando Radio WOMX-FM (Hot AC) 6/17–24 Hilton Historic Bayfront 72,000 $6,475 Orlando Radio WTKS-FM (Talk Radio) 6/12–14 Bayfront Westcott House 34,110 $1,800 Orlando Radio Hispanicize Miami 4/19–21 Fairfield Inn 80,000 $2,548 Consumer Event
ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 41! ! !
Central Florida 4/23–5/7 Courtyard Marriott 66,000 $2,102 "Fantastica" 1440 AM Latin Jazz Fest
Tampa Bay ESPN 4/23–5/7 Courtyard Marriott 170,000 $5,440 "Deportes Radio" 1550 AM Latin Jazz Fest Orlando "Ellas y su punto 4/23–5/7 Courtyard Marriott 72,000 $2,304 de Vista Latin Jazz Fest Jacksonville: Latina 92.9 4/23–5/7 Courtyard Marriott 110,000 $3,520 FM and 970 AM Latin Jazz Fest WHKQ-FM (Spanish 6/10–14 Bayfront Marin B&B 41,200 $3,625 Contemporary) Orlando Radio WJGL-FM (Classic Hits) 6/3–23 Holiday Isle Oceanfront 122,500 $5,700 Jacksonville Radio Resort WEJZ-FM (AC) 7/15–22 City of St. Augustine 200,000 $3,150 Jacksonville Radio WJGL-FM (Classic Hits) 7/15–22 City of St. Augustine 135,000 $2,700 Jacksonville Radio WJCT-FM (NPR) 7/29 City of St. Augustine 3,000 $5,000 Jacksonville Radio 1x e-blast Atlanta Journal 8/26–9/6 Beacher’s Lodge 310,131 $7,500 Constitution (ajc.com) Totals: 5,022,580 $162,611
2. INTEGRATED MARKETING PROGRAMS
Objective: Increase collective impact of marketing disciplines on select initiatives. Performance: Per plan, achieved success through multi-discipline support for 2013’s two primary initiatives: the launch of the Colonial Quarter and La Florida 500. (A third planned initiative, a privately-produced School of the 16th Century, was cancelled by the producers, a local attraction.) Colonial Quarter: • Publicity delivered worldwide exposure (see Publicity section) • Sales delivered Florida Huddle trade show • Promotions delivered KEF Satellite Media Tour to 32 markets (see summary at end of section) • Database Marketing delivered 30,000 email blasts to FHC avids
ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 42! ! !
La Florida 500: • 12-month 30°8' campaign leading to recognition as “where it all began” • April 2 media event and commemorative unveiling at 30°8' • April 3 Ponce de Leon landing re-enactment exploitation
Goal: Deliver minimum $150K collective OPM promo value for key initiatives. Performance: Year-long Visit Florida promotion with $1 million media value; FHC destination brand included throughout, featured for one week (April 1–7).
Goal: Deliver minimum 6 million total impressions through integrated communications. Performance: Six pre-summer Viva La Florida programs with KEF Media alone reached 51.6 million consumers • Facebook promos (2): 25M impressions; 40K FB “likes”; 10,000 db opt-ins • March 14 Co-op Colonial Quarter Satellite Media Tour: 6.8 million impressions • June 7 El Galeón Internet Media Tour (IMT): 8.6 million impressions • June 7 Audio News Release (ANR): 3.9 million impressions • June 18 Co-op SMT* delivered 6.9 million impressions (see following snapshot)
Spring!and!Summer! Facebook!Promo!Snapshot! Facebook!Promos!(2):! • Facebook!Likes!Increase:! 23,965!+!16,232!=!40,197! • Ad!Impressions:!8,336,413!+! 7,109,849!=!15,446,262! • Social!Impressions:!4,909,544!+! 5,113,099!=!10,022,643! • Total!Clicks!On!Ads:!22,927!+! 15,027!=!37,954! • Total!Social!Clicks:!4,922!+! 6,324!=!11,246! • Total!Newsletter!OptEIn! Subscriptions!=!10,000!
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*PROMO SNAPSHOT: June 18 Co-op Travel SMT Audio News Release Impressions: 3,953,052 National/Regional Radio Impressions: 675,000 Local Television Airings Impressions: 2,224,488 TOTAL IMPRESSIONS 6,852,540 MEDIA VALUE $116,800
3. DATABASE MARKETING
Goal: Increase opt-in email databases by 200%. Performance: Through combination of acquisition promos and lead gen ads, achieved increase of 485% (10/1/12 = 4,718; 9/30/13 = 22,879).
Goal: Continue to deploy an average of two emails per month to targeted databases. Performance: Consistent 2x per month distribution, alternating events with deals/incentives.
Goal: Develop reasonable target for maximum tolerable e-mail marketing opt-out (unsubscribe) rate on VCB email marketing blasts and consistently come in under this ceiling. (Target: Stay below industry average). Performance: Achieved 0.89% average opt-out rate on VCB email marketing, against industry average of 1.64% as determined by 2012 Silverpop Research E-mail Metrics Survey of the travel and leisure sector.
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Special Events Report FY2013 Prepared by Erin Masters, Special Events/Database Manager
FLORIDA’S BIRDING AND PHOTO FEST: APRIL 18–21, 2013
Florida's Birding & Photo Fest is a birding and photography-focused event featuring more than 100 seminars and field trips throughout FHC. This festival is unique in that it combines birding enthusiasts and photographers, specifically nature and bird photographers, by providing a range of events for both groups.
Since its inception in 2003, attendance has grown steadily, reaching 584 in 2012, resulting in direct tourism spending of $453,292. In 2013, however, the number of participants fell to 352 with direct spending declining to $248,652. Causes have been identified and a full recovery is expected in 2014.
Key Performance Measures • Attendance was 45% short of goal (352 vs. 643) • Direct Visitor Spending, per survey results, was similarly (-50%) short of goal with $248,652 vs. $498,621.
Key Findings for 2013 • 78% of attendees said that Photo Fest was their primary reason for visiting FHC • 82% said they will likely return next year • 52% were from out of the region/out of state • 79% of attendees participated two or more days • 52% stayed in hotels/motels, campgrounds, condos, or B&Bs in FHC
Non-Festival Activities included: • 91% dined out • 57% visited historic district • 43% visited beaches • 36% visited state parks • 32% visited Ponte Vedra Beach (2013 event moves to Guana facility in PVB) • 25% visited outlet malls • 17% visited museums/paid attractions
Source: Post-event random sample survey of 256 attendees (29% response rate)
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Non-Festival Activities of Attendees
Visited Museums/Paid Attractions Visited Outlet Malls 6% 8% Dined Out 30% Visited Ponte Vedra Beach 11%
Visited State Parks 12%
Visited Historic Visited the Beaches District 14% 19%
FLAVORS OF FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST
In order to capture more of the growing culinary travel business, Flavors of Florida’s Historic Coast was created as a month-long program designed to raise awareness of the area’s local cuisine while enticing visitors to experience the exceptional flavors offered by local dining establishments. Throughout the month of October, participating restaurants provide prix fixe menus that feature their signature dishes while introducing diners to unique, regional flavors. The event continues to grow, as evidenced by increases in media coverage, number of meals served and restaurant revenue.
FY2013 Key Performance Measures for Flavors (October 2012) • Increase media coverage of the dining opportunities on FHC by 20%, Exceeded: +122% • Increase advertising equivalent value of media coverage by 15%, Exceeded: +143% • Increase restaurant revenue by 20%, Exceeded: +37% • Increase Flavors meals served by 20%, Achieved: +20%
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FY2013 Flavors of Florida’s Historic Coast Media Impressions 20000000!
15000000!
10000000! Goal! Actual! 5000000!
0! FY!2011! FY!2012! Fy!2013!!
In FY2013, there were more than 16.87 million media impressions featuring Flavors of Florida’s Historic Coast, a 122% increase over FY2012. This earned media was the result of VCB communications news releases, hosted media, blog postings and broadcast coverage. This coverage does not include paid advertising.
FY2013 Value of Earned Media Coverage about Flavors of Florida’s Historic Coast 70000! 60000! 50000! 40000! Goal! 30000! Actual! 20000! 10000! 0! FY!2011! FY!2012! FY!2013!
In FY2013, the value of the earned media about Flavors of Florida’s Historic Coast was $58,598, a 143% increase over FY2012.
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Revenue Generated in Restaurants as a Result of Flavors of Florida’s Historic Coast 90000! 80000! 70000! 60000! 50000! Goal! 40000! Actual! 30000! 20000! 10000! 0! FY!2011! FY!2012! FY!2013!
Of 23 restaurants that participated in the Flavors of Florida’s Historic Coast in October 2012, 30% tracked and reported sales that resulted from the Flavors promotion. Using the average number of meals served and the average price of Flavors meals, it is estimated that restaurant sales as a result of the Flavors promotion reached $79,750, a 37% increase over FY2012 and 9% over goal.
Number of Meals Served at Flavors Participating Restaurants 3500! 3000! 2500!
2000! Goal! 1500! Actual! 1000! 500! 0! FY!2011! FY!2012! FY!2013!
The goal of 2,946 meals sold as a result of Flavors of Florida’s Historic Coast promotion was just met. Restaurants exceeded previous years’ sales by 20% or 491 meals.
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Sales Department Report FY2013 Prepared by Evelyn Vazquez, Director of Leisure Sales / Glenn Graham, Director of Conference Sales / Jaya Larkin, Sales & Services Manager
FY2013 KEY PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Combined Sales Leads and Room Nights
• FY13 Objective: o Send out 264 leads representing 60,000 Room Nights • FY13 Accomplishment: o Sent 312 leads or 16% greater than goal, representing 66,188 Room Nights or 10.3% above goal
Room Nights Leads Sent
70,000 66,188 350 63,989 61,187 312 60,000 300 251 50,000 250 232 222 36,983 40,000 200
30,000 150 136 23,064 20,000 100
10,000 50
0 0 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Combined Sales Calls/Emails Because of new procedures for recording these calls, there were major improvements in the accuracy and success of documenting these communications.
• FY2013 Objective: o Make 1,200 prospecting calls/emails • FY2013 Accomplishment: o 1,619 prospecting calls/emails recorded or 26% above goal o Combined Site Visits – 38 for the year
During FY2013, the Sales Department hosted 105 meeting planners, tour operators, travel agents, group leaders and brides.
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SALES DEPARMENT INITIATIVES
Internet Destination Sales System (iDSS) During FY13, the new approach the VCB sales team initiated resulted in more accurate reports to obtain all leads, events, etc. entered into iDSS. Ongoing training for staff and partners continues on a quarterly basis so staff and stakeholders use iDSS to its maximum capacity.
In all there were eight partners who had one-on-one training, six partners who were helped over the phone, nine who attended the quarterly orientation sessions, and there were four administrative training sessions where VCB staff received additional training. In addition, a total of 188 partner account changes were updated throughout the year.
Databases In FY2013, the department managed several email Constant Contact databases – including one of 1,171 travel agents and a 200+ residents list of The Villages. iDSS is the source used for meeting and leisure group planners from all market segments. These databases make it possible to send out special offers, events and e-newsletters to these groups on a timely basis.
Combined Sales Initiatives – 35 for the year Of the 37 Sales initiatives originally planned, eight (8) were added to replace ten (10) cancellations that resulted from unforeseen conflicts with other initiatives, partner participation and unanticipated budget or staff coverage challenges.
FY2013 Sales Initiatives
Conference or Event Dates Meetings & Incentive IMEX America Oct. 8–12, 2012 Financial & Insurance Conf.-Travel only Nov. 11–14, 2012 Meeting Masters Nov. 14–18, 2012 Collinson Regional Leadership Conf Dec. 9–12, 2012 Assn Execs of North Carolina Tradeshow Dec. 12–14, 2012 Smart Mart Feb. 2013 Helmsbriscoe Partner Conf. & FAM April 14–17, 2013 Destination Showcase DC March 5–7, 2013 ConferenceDirect Partner Conf. March 18–21, 2013 TPC Meeting Planner FAM May 9–11, 2013 Florida Encounter & FAM - Visit Florida CXL"D until Dec 2013 Dec. 4–6, 2013 Collaborate 2012 June 13–16, 2013 MPI SE Regional Conference Aug. 21–24, 2013 Connect Marketplace Aug. 21–24, 2013 Pop up Site Inspections Year-round TSAE monthly meetings/Sales calls 4x TBD NFMPI monthly meetings 4x TBD FSAE Xsite Tradeshow Feb. 18–19, 2013 VisitFL VIP Event Chicago March 5–6, 2013 ST. AUGUSTINE PONTE VEDRA & THE BEACHES – FLORIDA’S HISTORIC COAST 50! ! !
Meeting Focus South Tradeshow May 5–7, 2013 FSAE Annual Convention July 9–12, 2013 Successful Meetings University Aug. 11–14, 2014
Wedding/Military/ExecGrp/SpecEvents Wedding & Event Planner FAM Tour Not enough Partner Participation Nov. 2012 Reunion Friendly Network Nov. 11–13, 2012 Your Military Reunion Connection Jan. 8–11, 2013 VF I-95 Welcome Center Festival Jan. 25, 2013 TRI-Base Military Travel Show Mar. 14–16, 2013 Apr. 29–May 2, iDSS Annual Conference 2013 Tampa Bay Bridal Show June 9, 2013 Teacher's FAM Tour July 25–26, 2013 JAX Bridal Connection Replaced with Jekyll Island Bridal Expo Aug. 11, 213 Quarterly Visit FL Welcome Center Expo Not enough Partner Participation 4x TBD Student & Youth Travel Assn Conf. Canceled due to budget Aug. 2013 Pop-Up Site Visits Year-round
Leisure Sales - Domestic & International Miss Florida Quince Pageant Canceled by organizer Miss Florida Quince Pageant-calls to special event planners Canceled by organizer Rejuvenate Marketplace Oct. 22–24, 2012 South Florida Sales Mission & Expo was replaced by NY Sales Mission Nov. 8, 2012 17th Annual Ed HMP Conf/Tradeshow Dec. 2–5, 2012 ABA Marketplace Jan. 5–9, 2013 Florida Huddle Jan. 24–26, 2013 Jan. 22–24/ Florida Huddle Pre & Post Fam Tours Jan. 26–28, 2013 Receptive Services of America Assn Summit Feb. 20–23, 2013 Central Florida Concierge's Fam April 17–18, 2013 Player's Championship Tournament Fam May 10–12, 2013 The Villages Travel Expo replaced the St. Augustine Expo May 30–31, 2013 International Pow Wow June 8–12, 2013 Florida Motorcoach Assn June 19–22, 2013 Travel Agent Fam Tour June 24–28, 2013 Tour Op & Travel Agent Training in San Juan Sept. 2–5, 2013 Sept. 30–Oct. 2, La Cumbre- Canceled by organizer; replaced by La Cita 2013 Governor's Conference Did not attend TBD Pop-Up Site Visits Year-round
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Brand Research FY2013
In FY2010, important qualitative and quantitative research was conducted to determine the most effective branding moniker for St. Johns County tourism. Details of this work – and the selection of Florida’s Historic CoastTM (FHC) as the brand moniker – were referenced in the FY2011 Marketing Plan, “St. Johns County Brand” section. The continued building of the FHC brand was woven into every aspect of consumer contact in 2013.
VISITOR PROFILE RESEARCH
In the spring of 2009, it was decided to place a hold on visitor profile research; thus, the most direct data on visitors and their origination was nearly three years old at the beginning of FY2012. In October 2012, the TDC, in collaboration with the VCB, began fielding a new and ongoing visitor profile survey to capture actionable data on St. Johns County visitors. The data are in through summer 2013 and collection will continue to capture a longitudinal picture of visitors, their experiences, spending and destination consideration behavior. This data was used to better target marketing efforts and to develop tourism services and facilities that are relevant to enhancing visitors’ experiences.
LODGING & SECONDARY RESEARCH RESOURCES
Smith Travel Research continued to be used to monitor lodging performance for FHC and secondary travel industry resources such as Profile of the American Traveler® and travelhorizons™ kept us informed of changes affecting the tourism business and our customer behaviors.
Key Performance Measures: GOAL: Results of visitor profile made available quarterly. Achieved and made available on time and on budget (latest report: Summer 2013).
GOAL: Deliver monthly reports on lodging industry performance to VCB partners and TDC. Achieved and on schedule, Smith Travel Research reports are presented to TDC and VCB Board, and made available to VCB Partners every month.
GOAL: As available, report on relevant secondary research findings to the VCB partner base. Achieved through inclusion in PartnerCom, VCB weekly partner info e-mail and delivered at annual State of the Industry meeting May 14, 2013.
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Touristic Development Report FY2013 Prepared by Richard Goldman, Executive Director
TOURISM DEVELOPMENT
This section reports on efforts to encourage, initiate and/or facilitate the development of touristic infrastructure and services for the fiscal year. The reader will find that there are frequently few if any details when proprietary business activities are involved. Such is the nature of business and economic development work.
Also, there will be no key performance measures tied back to the marketing plan as this VCB function, while mentioned in the contract with the county, is not a graded marketing performance metric.
Actions in FY2013 • Compiled, consulted with and distributed tourism-related information to nine hotel development groups and two attraction developers for use with development and/or hotel purchases in St. Johns County. More than double again the number in FY2012.
• Compiled tourism-related information and consulted with three air carriers for the purpose of adding or starting service to Northeast Florida Regional Airport (NFRA) and JIA. All work was done in conjunction with NFRA and JAA senior staff.
• Continued to assist St. Augustine Distillery, LLC with touristic information in development and financing efforts.
• Actively participated in the Horizon Group, a team of business and government leaders who work on economic development opportunities for SJC.
• Participated in and supported with tourism data two St. Augustine Multi-Modal Center Transportation study reports.
• Continued to work closely with St. Johns County Chamber, St. Johns County Cultural Council and JaxUSA on tourism-related economic development opportunities.
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To view marketing, VCB/TDC reports and research/statistics, please visit www.sapvb.org or contact the appropriate VCB staff member; see pages 5-6 for contact information.
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