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A Farewell from Laura Lee
Dear Tourism Partners,
I have thoroughly enjoyed working with all of you over the past four years. As my husband and I move this week to North Alabama, we will carry the Pensacola Bay Area with us. I feel so lucky to have served as your director of communications -- what a dream job! I know the best is yet to come for the tourism industry here. I will remain involved on a part-time basis until my position is filled, so feel free to contact me in the interim.
All the best,
Laura
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Save the Date
The next Hospitality Round Table will be at Gulf Power on Tuesday, Dec. 13. If you would like to attend, please send an rsvp to Barbara.
What's New for Snowbirds Winter 2011-2012
As the winter months begin, snowbirds can enjoy Pensacola’s vibrant holiday spirit, cooler temperatures, amazing festivals and activities and our version of a winter wonderland: the snow-white beach.
Interactive Marketing Update
We've created a Visit Pensacola Google + business page. It’s free and available to Google + users. We all know what happened to Facebook when it started, and now look at the power of its social reach. If you want to leverage your listing on Google search, make sure to create a free Google + profile. If you're not signed up for Google +, click here. When you sign up for the first time, you'll be creating a profile. Once you’ve created your name profile, you can create your business page. Do not create your business as a profile. Google has just rolled out this update for businesses on their + platform. To read more about Google + for business, click here or e-mail Mike for assistance.
County Commission Approves Tourism Study
On Nov. 10, the Escambia County Commission approved a request from area hoteliers to have the Florida Association of CVBs conduct a study on the various ways CVBs are organized in the state of Florida. For more on the study, click here.
Visit Pensacola Receives $250,000 from Bed Tax Surplus
On Nov. 8, the TDC granted Visit Pensacola's request for $252,154 to run 110 "Lots to Love" commercials nationwide on the Weather Channel. In addition, Visit Pensacola will manage $36,606 for marketing events in the area. The Pensacola Sports Association also received $39,240 for marketing. These dollars are in addition to the original allocation for the 2011-2012 year and come from the surplus in bed tax revenue. The tourism industry is coming off its best year on record, with lodging revenues up around 20 percent over 2009. Click below to view the commercial.
2010-11 Visitor Traffic
| 69,760 Pensacola Area VIC Walk-ins | (-9.7% from 77,195) | |
| 433,701 I-10 Welcome Center Walk-ins | (-5.5% from 459,287) | |
| 4,185,586 Toll Bridge Drive-ins | (+.08% from 4,182,042) | |
| 25,504 Pensacola Beach VIC Walk-ins | (+27.6% from 19,974) | |
| 451,716 Fort Pickens Drive-ins | (+15% from 392,934) | |
| 16,389 Perdido Key VIC Walk-ins | (-6.4% from 16,389) | |
| 117,202 Big Lagoon Drive-ins | (-13.9% from 136,130) | |
| 265,369 Johnson Beach Drive-ins | (+195% from 89,990) | |
| 799,305 NNAM Walk-ins | (+17.1% from 682,273) | |
| 1,561,540 airport passengers | (+8.5% from 1,439,746) |
For more reports, click here.