Space Coast tourism on way to record year, despite pandemic

3 years ago 272

Associated Press subordinate speech from Florida Today.

MELBOURNE, Fla. – When the twelvemonth began, Brevard County’s tourism main was cautiously optimistic astir a comeback for his manufacture locally. But helium ne'er expected to spot however beardown the betterment has become.

Space Coast Office of Tourism Executive Director Peter Cranis present is projecting that — erstwhile the county’s fund twelvemonth ends connected Sept. 30 and each the numbers are compiled — the region volition person grounds gross from tourism. This comes contempt a continuing coronavirus pandemic and a 16½-month cruise manufacture shutdown astatine Port Canaveral that didn’t extremity until July 31.

The gains successful tourism person helped velocity up the wide betterment for the Space Coast economy, of which tourism is simply a large component. Before the pandemic, tourism was estimated to bring $1.8 cardinal a twelvemonth into Brevard’s economy.

“It looks similar we volition person our champion twelvemonth ever, successful spite of each that has been happening,” Cranis said. “In the past 5 oregon six months, we’ve turned things astir incredibly. I’m pleasantly surprised. It’s crazy.”

The Office of Tourism is trying to support that momentum going successful the coming year, starting with a autumn selling run that volition tally from mid-October to the extremity of December.

It is expanding its people geographic markets and is seeking retired higher-income families to lure to the Space Coast.

Cranis said the Office of Tourism successful caller years has targeted families with household incomes of $75,000 and up for its selling efforts. This fall, though, the bureau plans to besides people families with household incomes of $150,000 to $200,000 and up.

This acceptable of images from the Space Coast Office of Tourism selling run shows the juxtaposition of scenes from section communities with images tied to the abstraction program.

The strategy, Cranis said, is to thrust up the mean edifice country complaint successful the marketplace by attracting visitors the Space Coast who volition deliberation thing of spending $180 to $200 a nighttime connected a beachfront edifice room, for example.

In summation to a absorption connected markets successful Florida, the Office of Tourism volition beryllium putting much of an accent connected attracting visitors from different Southeast markets, including Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Nashville, Tennessee. It besides is looking to beforehand the Space Coast to imaginable visitors successful Northeast and Midwest markets similar Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.

A cardinal measurement of the spot of the section tourism manufacture is magnitude collected from Brevard County’s 5% tourer improvement taxation connected edifice rooms and different short-term rentals.

With record-setting outpouring and summertime months successful the books, Cranis predicts that gross from the taxation should travel successful astatine astir $16.5 cardinal for the fund twelvemonth ending Sept. 30. That volition transcend the erstwhile grounds of $16.02 million,set successful the 2018-19 fund twelvemonth that ended Sept. 30, 2019.

Before the existent fund twelvemonth began, Cranis was budgeting taxation collections of $11 cardinal for 2020-21. Actual collections done July are moving 50.7% implicit the budgeted amounts.

A taxation postulation of $16.5 cardinal for 2020-21 would mean that hotels, abrogation rental properties, campgrounds and different facilities that paid the taxation had gross of $330 cardinal successful the fund twelvemonth from their rentals. And that fig doesn’t see immoderate they made connected food, beverage and retail income astatine their constitution — income that are not assessed the tourer improvement tax.

What’s driving tourism? Zoo, sports and culture

Brevard Zoo Executive Director Keith Winsten said attendance astatine the Viera zoo has been up 20% to 30% from its mean visitant counts during May done August, and is connected gait for a grounds year.

Winsten said helium is “pleasantly surprised” by the numbers, attributing the gains successful portion to the zoo being an outdoor attraction that galore tourists are looking for arsenic the pandemic continues.

About 45% to 50% of the zoo’s visitors travel from extracurricular Brevard County.

“We’re truly strong,” Winsten said, adding that respective upcoming events astatine the zoo should support visitant counts strong.

These included the Halloween-themed “Boo astatine the Zoo” attraction during 3 weekends successful October; an “Art of Sand” grounds that opens successful November; and the debut successful November of an grounds featuring 3 antheral lions who volition beryllium moving present from the Naples Zoo.

Winsten — who is simply a subordinate of the Brevard County Tourist Development Council and chairs its Sports Committee — said the divers premix of amateur sports events successful the region is helping bring tourists to the Space Coast arsenic well.

Key among them is the shot and softball tournaments organized by the U.S. Specialty Sports Association astatine its Space Coast Complex successful Viera.

Also helping boost Space Coast tourism, Winsten said, is the county’s wide scope of arts and taste events and organizations.

Sports, arts and taste events, successful turn, each payment from gross generated by the tourer improvement tax, immoderate of which is utilized for grants to these events.

The largest stock of the tourer improvement taxation wealth — 47% — is targeted for promotion and advertizing of Space Coast tourism successful an effort to pull much tourists.

The remainder of the wealth is allocated this way:

25% for formation betterment (including formation renourishment, and assorted grants for projects to assistance the amended the information of the Indian River Lagoon).
14% for superior facilities that payment tourism.
4% for taste programs (including grants for taste organizations and events, and partial backing of the Brevard Cultural Alliance).
3% for USSSA Space Coast Complex.
2% for visitant accusation centers.

Brevard County Commissioner Bryan Lober — whose committee territory includes the Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral tourism corridor — said helium believes a fig of factors are contributing to the summation successful the tourer taxation revenue.

Lober — who is the County Commission’s typical connected the Tourist Development Council — said the Office of Tourism’s selling strategy played a role. But truthful did the improving economy, some locally and successful the markets wherever the tourists to the Space Coast are coming from.

Cranis said tourism connected the Space Coast is recovering faster than successful galore different tourism markets — including the Orlando country — due to the fact that of Brevard County’s beaches and wide scope of different outdoor activities. He said, with the pandemic continuing, galore tourists consciousness much comfy doing socially distanced outdoor activities, alternatively than being successful indoor venues oregon astatine crowded taxable parks.

Debra and Michael Millner were the archetypal passengers to committee MSC Divina erstwhile it began sailing from Port Canaveral connected Sept. 16, and were showered successful confetti, fixed the VIP attraction and had their accommodations upgraded. MSC Cruises became the 5th cruise enactment with year-round oregon seasonal cruises retired of Port Canaveral.

Port Canaveral cruise instrumentality brings boost to Brevard businesses

The instrumentality of cruising from Port Canaveral besides should assistance the Space Coast tourism industry.

Before the pandemic, the cruise assemblage generated astir 20% of the wide tourism manufacture gross successful Brevard County, arsenic galore passengers connected Port Canaveral-based ships stayed astatine section hotels earlier oregon aft their cruises, ate successful section restaurants, visited section attractions and shopped astatine section stores.

MSC Cruises this period began regular sailings from Port Canaveral, basing the MSC Divina there. With its archetypal sailing retired of Port Canaveral, MSC joining 4 different cruise lines with ships based determination year-round oregon seasonally — Carnival, Disney, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean.

Garry and Sharon Lukemire of Clermont were among the passengers connected the Divina’s archetypal sailing. They person taken astir 50 cruises altogether, astir of them retired of Port Canaveral, and similar to travel to Brevard County a time aboriginal to enactment astatine a section edifice and devour astatine section restaurants.

“We similar to get a jump-start connected the vacation,” Sharon Lukemire said.

Divina passengers James and Melody Beckner of Homosassa Springs person a akin approach.

They accidental they travel to Brevard County 1 oregon much days earlier their cruise, rent a country astatine a Titusville hotel, and person meal astatine Dixie Crossroad Seafood Restaurant successful Titusville, a fashionable halt for tourists.

“It’s bully conscionable to get away,” James Beckner said, conscionable aft the mates boarded the Divina.

Canaveral Port Authority Chairman Wayne Justice said it is “hugely exciting” to person a 5th cruise enactment astatine Port Canaveral.

Justice expects the cruise concern to beryllium strong, arsenic cruise lines are utilizing strict COVID-19 protocols to support their passengers and unit safe.

Justice noted that galore radical person wealth saved up from not taking vacations during the pandemic, and volition beryllium looking astatine cruises arsenic an enactment present that sailing has resumed.

Brevard County Tourist Development Council subordinate Bob Baugher — who owns oregon co-owns 4 hotels successful the Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral tourism corridor — said the summation successful cruise operations is boosting concern for his and different tourism businesses.

Spectators enactment the A. Max Brewer Bridge on the Indian River Lagoon successful Titusville connected Sept. 15, to presumption motorboat of Inspiration 4 connected a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

‘We’re the lone formation successful the satellite that doubles arsenic a motorboat pad’

So is the accrued abstraction motorboat cadence, including much crewed launches from the Space Coast.

“I person ne'er not sold retired (of edifice rooms) for a launch,” Baugher said.

The Office of Tourism’s autumn selling run volition proceed a absorption connected precocious palmy themes of “plus space” and “only here” — telling imaginable visitors astir each they tin bash connected the Space Coast, successful summation to seeing rocket launches.

In 1 30-second promotional tv ad, for example, images of launches are juxtaposed with images of surfing, boating, kayaking, diving into a edifice excavation and zip lining astatine the Brevard Zoo. While the images play, the narrator says: “On Florida’s Space Coast, you tin bash anything. … Just don’t hide to look up. We’re the lone formation successful the satellite that doubles arsenic a motorboat pad. Because this — you tin lone bash here.”

Office of Tourism Marketing Director Charity Stewart said the run volition purpose to boost visitant counts done “competitive conquesting,” telling radical wherefore the Space Coast is the spot they privation to come, arsenic opposed to different Florida formation tourism markets.

The Office of Tourism besides plans to usage $50,000 to $100,000 of its $980,000 autumn selling fund to beforehand the Space Coast successful the 3 markets that Allegiant Air plans to statesman flying to successful November retired of Melbourne Orlando International Airport — Charlotte, Nashville and Pittsburgh.

Cranis said Allegiant’s aboriginal successful flying retired of Melbourne volition beryllium mostly connected however it does with its archetypal flights. Strong bookings would mean much flights per week to these and perchance different markets, helium said.

This is among the Space Coast Office of Tourism’s promotional ads for the Cape Canaveral area.

In summation to spending wealth connected accepted media, the Office of Tourism plans to beforehand section tourism this autumn connected societal media, including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

It besides is continuing to sponsor a specially curated Pandora vigor presumption — called “Space Coast Grooves” — that debuted this summertime and includes regular promotional messages for the Space Coast.

Meagan Happel, the Office of Tourism’s nationalist relations manager, said “fans, manufacture partners and Space Coast Office of Tourism unit chose their favourite summertime songs and tunes that punctual them of the Space Coast. This postulation includes classics by the Beach Boys and Jimmy Buffett for beachy vibes, to tracks similar Frank Sinatra’s ‘Fly Me to the Moon,’ Elton John’s ‘Rocket Man’ and David Bowie’s ‘Starman’ to evoke the abstraction fractional of our name.”

Cranis said the Space Coast besides should payment from accrued selling spending being done extracurricular of Florida by Visit Florida to beforehand the state’s tourism destinations. Visit Florida is the state’s authoritative tourism selling corporation.

Hotels and different short-term rental venues person a period to taxable their tourer taxation gross aft a period ends. So the last taxation postulation numbers for the fund twelvemonth that ends Sept. 30 won’t beryllium disposable until aboriginal November.

But the latest monthly study — for July — demonstrates conscionable however beardown tourism has been.

The July fig was $2.12 cardinal — an 81% betterment implicit July 2020 and a 31% betterment implicit pre-pandemic July 2019 — making it the champion July successful history.

Cranis calls the July numbers “incredible.”

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