Meeting News - July 7, 2008 - (Page 21)

Destination Insider: Florida Gulf Coast Edited by Rayna Katz rayna.katz@nielsen.com Region Fighting Fuel Costs with Fire Area destinations promote groups’ limited need for ground transportation Like most every major destination in North America today, all destinations along Florida’s gulf coast have rolled out marketing plans aimed at customers weary of high fuel prices. The phrase “one tank trips” has become the mantra along the Gulf Coast, most of which happens to be within the one-tank range of the state’s biggest population and business corridors. “We are all focusing on those markets that are one-tank trips from our destinations, and we are in that range both from Miami/Fort Lauderdale and Tampa-St. Petersburg (the state’s first and second largest metropolitan areas, respectively),” said Jack Wert, executive director of the Naples, Marco Island Convention & Visitors Bureau. Added Norwood Smith, vice president and director of sales of Tampa Bay & Company (formerly the Tampa CVB), “Once you get here, we are a very fuel-efficient destination. In the downtown area there are lots of off-site venues to which a visitor can walk—no transportation required.” The city’s primary convention hotel, is across the street from the Tampa Convention Center, and one can easily walk from either building to the big Channelside dining and entertainment complex, with half a dozen restaurants and bars; or the Florida Aquarium, one of the largest marine exhibits in the state. Offering venues and attractions “within walking distance,” from convention hotels has become a huge factor in a destination’s appeal. “Transportation costs to get people from their headquarters hotel to offsite events is probably what I get asked about most now,” said Roberta Blum, president of Tarpon Springs, FL-based HB Associates, a Tampa Bay area destination management company. “In our area, there is plenty to walk to from hotels, both in St. Petersburg and Tampa.” Other gulf coast cities in Florida have good options “within walking distance” for groups, especially the well-developed beach areas in St. Pete Beach, Sarasota, Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel Island, Marco Island, and Naples. All these destinations feature big meeting hotels from which one can walk out the back door onto the beach, or hop a shuttle to nearby dining and entertainment venues. “With no end in sight for this fuel crisis, destinations like ours are going to become more sought after,” said Blum. Florida Aquarium is an easy venue to use. MeetingNews Q&A: On the Tampa Waterfront Existing hotels and other venues for groups are renovating while new ones are cropping up along the river in downtown Tampa. MeetingNews found out what it all means for the destination and its customers from Norwood Smith, vice president and director of sales of Tampa Bay & Company, the city’s convention and visitors bureau. three new museums [the Tampa Museum of Art, the Glazer Children’s Museum and the Tampa History Center] all of which are opening near the Riverwalk over the next year or so. Q A What’s the most important thing groups considering Tampa should know right now? That we are undergoing what can genuinely be described as a rebirth downtown, especially with regard to convention center hotels. The Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina, our headquarters hotel, is undergoing a $12 million upgrade of 618 guest rooms and 36 suites that will be completed in December; the Hyatt Regency Tampa, within three blocks of the center, just completed an $11 million renovation of all 521 guest rooms; the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel, also in the convention center district, www.meetingnews.com just did a $4 million upgrade, and a great new facility that will support conventions, a 5,000-sf multifunction space overlooking the river is being added to the Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk Hotel in August. Absolutely. We emphasize the riverside ambience of the convention center area. We just completed another section of the Riverwalk that connects the convention center with hotels and restaurants and museums downtown. And we have Q A Are you presenting this to meeting planners as a self-contained convention district now? We are doing particularly well now with national associations and corporate groups, especially from the midwest, having opened a new sales office in Chicago, covering 11 states, in the past year. We are being perceived as a value destination within Florida, especially in the off-season. Q A Q A With these new facilities, what is your target audience now for conventions? Any other events coming soon of which you are particularly proud? Yeah; the Super Bowl in 2009. You can’t beat that for validation of your destination’s appeal. —Section written by Rowland Stiteler July 7, 2008 MeetingNews 21 http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - July 7, 2008

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