CLEARWATER, Fla. – Tourism leaders need to market Pinellas County and its seashores to new audiences domestically and internationally in 2025, particularly as winter guests search out sunny locations.
Drawing locals to benefit from the coast doesn’t take a lot since residents are already accustomed to the advantages.
Sundown over Clearwater seashore.
“We don’t should introduce ourselves to somebody in Florida or somebody within the Larger Tampa Bay space. However we do need to capitalize on that enormous inhabitants development that we’ve seen in recent times, so we give attention to extra short-term occasions,” stated Brian Lowack, the President and CEO of Go to St. Pete-Clearwater.
READ: Treasure Island residents say some substantial injury assessments are “flawed”
Go to St. Pete-Clearwater stated it is going to begin 2025 with a brand new advertising and marketing and promoting marketing campaign to welcome individuals again to the seashores.
“Now we have finished various issues by means of our nonetheless shining marketing campaign highlighting how our native companies are nonetheless shining within the aftermath of the latest storms,” stated Lowack.
Their core viewers consists of individuals within the north and mid-west, the place it’s chilly.
Go to St. Pete stated it’s focusing on new locations they haven’t had a giant presence in, like Nashville, New York Metropolis, Philadelphia, and Chicago.
Tampa Bay locals and out-of-state guests aren’t the one individuals tourism leaders hope to convey to locations like Clearwater Seaside.
Go to St. Pete-Clearwater stated they’re interesting to Canada like by no means earlier than.
READ: Research exhibits releases from Lake Okeechobee might be impacting crimson tide domestically
“We’re advertising and marketing closely in Toronto to a better diploma than we ever have up to now this 12 months as a result of we need to get the Canadian customer again right here,” Lowack stated.
With every day flights from Tampa to Toronto and the Blue Jays stadium in Dunedin, Lowack stated specializing in Canada solely is sensible to spice up customer numbers.
“Popping out of the pandemic, it dropped considerably,” Lowack stated. “We’re nonetheless getting again to these 2019 ranges. However we’re virtually there.”
Tourism leaders additionally need to entice extra worldwide vacationers from Latin America, and so they plan to dip into Mexico Metropolis, Brazil, and extra.
Pinellas County commissioners accredited an additional $6 million for Go to St. Pete to market the realm as a part of the group’s $49 million price range, in line with Lowack.
“We got here off of one other banner 12 months for us in Pinellas County in 2024, and we’re assured that with our methods and our new initiatives, we’re going to be in markets that we haven’t been up to now,” Lowack stated.
Go to St. Pete stated Pinellas County introduced in 15.4 million guests in 2024 with 11.2 billion {dollars} in financial affect, and so they hope 2025 shall be even greater.
STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA:
