Letter from the Executive Director

A LETTER FROM

THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

I don’t think anyone can deny that 2020 and the beginning of 2021 were unprecedented times for the tourism industry. Looking back, we have calculated visitor spending losses of $265 million (from March, 2020 to February, 2021). And while we are now seeing business return, the scars of the “COVID Year” will remain for a long time to come. That being said, it is important to reflect on what happened and how we survived and eventually, thrived. In March, 2020 the State of Florida declared an emergency and the first cases of COVID-19 appeared within the state. Local officials closed beach parking and shut hotels down to all but essential workers. Then in May 2020, we began to open up again, slowly. Government offices opened and we launched a $1 million Summer Campaign, touting the fact that “There’s Space For You Here” – playing off of the beaches, wide open spaces, and of course – the space program. The summer kicked off with a return to human space flight for the first time in 10 years and then Memorial Day weekend. While the summer of 2020 was lackluster, it was at least the beginning of a return to some normalcy. One of the highlights for the Space Coast was the AAU Junior Olympics which relocated here and brought thousands of athletes (and room nights) to the destination in July during a much-needed time. Read about the impact of this event on page 42.

The Fall of 2020 was a time to regroup and reevaluate the positioning of the Space Coast. Primary brand research was conducted and a new advertising agency was selected (&Barr

from Orlando). Development of a Spring Campaign was undertaken and a new brand emerged – “On The Space Coast”. This was paired with municipality names (i.e. Cocoa Beach On The Space Coast) and juxtaposed all the great things you can do in the various areas on the Space Coast with the Space program and all the launches that occur here now. The result was a Spring season (March/April) that rivaled the Spring of 2019 which was the previous historical high for Tourist Development Tax Collection – and that was without cruising resuming yet. When March 2021 arrived, it was as if it marked the official end of the stranglehold that COVID held over us. Between the rapid rollout of vaccinations and the pent-up demand of people being ready to travel after a year of lock down, the Space Coast was back in a big way. Now we have completed a $2 million Summer Campaign which was the single biggest campaign our office has ever done. As a result, we have had the best June, July, and August in TDO history and will finish the year 3-4% ahead of 2019!

Some of the big takeaways from COVID are that we are all stronger together and that through adversity we can achieve greatness. While COVID will be remembered as a sad time when many families lost loved ones, it should also be remembered as a time that brought us together, made us stronger, and ultimately pushed us to excellence. n

PETER CRANIS

SPACE COAST OFFICE OF TOURISM