Brevard County plans to spend record $9.78 million next year to market its tourism
The Space Coast Office of Tourism plans to spend a record $9.78 million for a wide range of tactics to market the area to tourists during its next budget year.
The money to pay for it all will come from the county's 5% tourist development tax levied on people who stay at local hotels, vacation rentals and other short-term rental venues.
Members of the Brevard County Tourist Development Council's Marketing Committee unanimously approved the marketing plan at their meeting on Thursday. The plan now goes to Tourist Development Council and the Brevard County Commission for final approval.
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The Marketing Committee vote came just hours before a community town hall event was held in Cape Canaveral on a controversial proposal to the County Commission. That proposal — from hotel developer Driftwood Capital — would designate up to $30 million of tourist tax money over the next 30 years to market Driftwood's proposed Westin Cocoa Beach Resort & Spa off State Road A1A.
Attendees at the town hall event from the tourism industry expressed opposition to that plan, which they say amounts to corporate welfare for Driftwood.
Tourism marketing plan
Office of Tourism Executive Director Peter Cranis said he was able to propose boosting the tourism marketing budget to $9.78 million for the 2022-23 budget year that begins Oct. 1 because of a "staggering" increase in tourist tax collections over the past year. That will top the marketing spending for the current 2021-22 budget year of $9.05 million.
Tourist tax collections have set monthly records for each of the last 14 months. Total tax revenue for the 2021-22 budget year that ends Sept. 30 is expected to come in at more than $20 million, shattering the previous record of $16.94 million set in the 2020-21 budget year.
Office of Tourism Marketing Director Charity Stewart said the 2022-23 marketing campaign will focus on five "visitation drivers" — beaches; space and rocket launches; pre-cruise and post-cruise stays; nature and outdoors; and leisure, including arts, culture, attractions, dining, shopping and downtowns.
Stewart said the "core demographics" the campaign will target includes active adults ages 35 and up, with household incomes of more than $100,000. Target markets also will include families with children in the household, as well as households without children, such as "early-career adults" ages 25 to 34 and "active retirees."
The campaign will run in these Florida markets: Miami/Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa/St. Petersburg and West Palm Beach.
It also will run in these out-of-state markets: Atlanta; Boston; Charlotte, North Carolina; Chicago; New York; Philadelphia; and Washington D.C.
Among the major components of the marketing plan:
About $4.41 million of the $9.78 million would be spent on fall, spring and summer seasonal campaigns. That will include a new component — a special campaign geared to attracting Port Canaveral cruise customers to spend one or more days on the Space Coast, either before or after their cruises.
$1.71 million will go toward a separate year-round annual campaign that includes brand awareness placements on billboards and airport signs and in various paid social media.
$1 million for strategic co-ops and partnerships, including with Melbourne Orlando International Airport in a effort to get increased air service from there and with Port Canaveral to support increased cruise demand.
$1 million to expand marketing internationally, including in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and elsewhere in Europe, as well as to work with TUI Airways to increase the awareness of the Space Coast for U.K. visitors flying into the Melbourne airport.
$920,000 for content and website expenses.
$320,000 for grants to support major sports events and to promote such events.
$250,000 for public relations, as well as to assist the film industry in securing locations for filming feature films, television shows and commercials.
Westin grant controversy
There typically isn't too much controversy over how the Office of Tourism allocates its marketing money. But that's not the case with the proposed $30 million grant to Driftwood to market its planned Westin hotel and conference facilities. Driftwood sought up to $1 million a year over the next 30 years, with the money coming out of half of what the Westin generates in tourist tax revenue.
The Tourist Development Council — an advisory board to the County Commission — did not support Westin's request. Instead, the panel voted 7-1 to support a marketing grant to Westin of up to $500,000 a year for seven years — a total of up to $3.5 million — with the Office of Tourism staff and not Driftwood responsible for coordinating the marketing effort. That proposal was introduced by Tourist Development Council member Giles Malone, who is a partner in the Space Coast Daily media company, as well as a partner in an event and sports management business.
During Thursday's community town hall discussion on Driftwood at the Radisson Resort at the Port, hotel owners and managers in attendance lashed out at Driftwood's $30 million request.
"We don't give free money out to the biggest developer that comes into town," said former Tourist Development Council member Bob Baugher, a hotel owner in the Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral tourism market and the former president of Ron Jon Surf Shop. "They don't need the money. The county has better uses for the money. We all need to play by the same rules."
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Malone said he is concerned that the more tourist tax money that goes to Driftwood to market the Westin project, the less would be available for other uses. This would include overall marketing of the Space Coast to tourists, tourism-related capital projects, the Brevard Zoo, cultural and sports grants, beach renourishment, and grants to tourism-related projects designed to improve the condition of the Indian River Lagoon.
"We need to draw a line in the sand on this," Malone said at the town hall, which he helped organize, along with officials of Baugher's company. About 30 people attended the forum.
"The county commissioners don't need to give (Driftwood) a penny," Malone said. "It's absurd, absolutely absurd. Thirty years is absolutely ludicrous. The public is outraged by this proposal. This is setting an incredibly dangerous precedent. The free market should rule with this. To me, this is a crossroads for Brevard County."
Driftwood has maintained that it should get the $30 million grant because its project is "transformational" for the Space Coast tourism industry, and will benefit other hotels in the area. Driftwood also said it would have trouble lining up investors for what it says is a $388 million project without the $30 million commitment from the county for the marketing program.
The proposed 502-room Westin resort hotel and conference center would replace Driftwood's existing 502-room International Palms Resort at the State Road A1A site. The Westin would feature 11 food and beverage venues, a spa, three swimming pools, a fitness center, multiple retail locations, and a multistory parking garage to accommodate about 800 vehicles. The complex also would include about 50,000 square feet of indoor conference space and about 70,000 square feet of outdoor conference space.
The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association has come out against Driftwood's proposal for use of the tourist development tax.
"This proposal incorrectly grants an excessive amount of TDT revenues to benefit a single private project and makes that grant for an unprecedented length of time," the association said in a statement. "This is contrary to the stated intent of the law, and it is to the detriment of other important and productive businesses in Brevard. We certainly see value in the project being proposed, but we do not believe that value should come at the expense of every other tourism-based business or endeavor in Brevard County. An establishment does not own the TDT revenues it collects.”
The association also said the proposal "sets a bad precedent, not only in Brevard County, but potentially in other counties as well. If this project is granted the ability to retain 50% of the TDT revenues it collects, it is foreseeable that other developments and establishments will want to seek the same privilege."
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Baugher Hotel Group Chief Operating Officer Eric Garvey, a former executive directive director of the Office of Tourism, said that, based on past comments during County Commission meetings, he believes County Commission Chair Kristine Zonka, Vice Chair Curt Smith and Commissioner Rita Pritchett are leaning to supporting the Driftwood grant proposal. Garvey said Smith is the most likely "swing vote" who potentially could vote against the proposal.
The three commissioners have said they have not made their minds up on how they will vote.
The fourth sitting commissioner, John Tobia, is expect to vote against Driftwood's proposal.
There has been disagreement over whether the Driftwood proposal would need the approval of a "supermajority" vote of all four commissioners because, some claim, the proposal would change the overall structure of the tourist development tax, thus requiring more than a simple majority vote.
But Tobia said the county attorney's office has told him that only three yes votes would be needed for the Driftwood plan to be approved. Tobia expects a formal written opinion from the county attorney's office on this before Tuesday's meeting.
If you go
The County Commission will discuss Driftwood's proposal during their meeting that begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the County Commission meeting room at the Brevard County Government Center, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Building C, Viera.
Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @bydaveberman.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Space Coast Office of Tourism plans record spending to market area
