Letter from the Executive Director

A LETTER FROM

THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Wow – in 30 years of business I don’t think the world has ever seen a situation like this. We went through 9/11, the Great Recession, the end of the Shuttle Program, many hurricanes – but nothing has been as devastating to the tourism industry as this pandemic. But, our industry is resilient and we will come back from this. It just may take some time. Here is where we are at the time of this printing – summer was down approximately 30%, however we led into the shutdown after a strong fall in 2019. The Tourist Development Tax revenue numbers for fiscal year 2019-2020 are $13,065,671, which is a decrease of 18% from fiscal year 2018-2019, the highest ever yearly total of just over $16 million. We are relieved as to where we landed, but obviously it never feels good to have a down year and we have much work to do as recovery allows.

While our budget has been greatly reduced, that won’t stop us from doing the marketing needed to help bring the destination back to its prior levels of business. We believe the best opportunity will be in the Spring and Summer seasons in 2021. While we are saving most of our budget for pushing those seasons, we are running

PETER CRANIS

SPACE COAST OFFICE OF TOURISM

a fall campaign and have been conducting brand and ROI research to prepare us. We have also hired a new ad agency and will be working on new creative as we go into the new year.

In this issue, you will find some interesting research that we have previously done including a visitation analysis from 2017-2019 which caps a 3-year effort to understand visitation patterns and spending. We also had done a consumer sentiment study which helped us determine the right timing, markets and messaging for the summer recovery campaign. Also included is an analysis of the Falcon Heavy launch so we could understand the economic impact launches have on our area. And, a beautiful and insightful article showcasing Brevard beaches. We know that 86% of visitors to the Space Coast engage in beach activities while they are here. Our beaches are important to us as a tourist destination, a major wildlife refuge, and a large part of many residents’ daily lives. Enjoy and learn about all the great qualities of our 72 miles of beaches. Come join us!

Here’s to a better, healthier and happier 2021! n