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TDC Subcommittee Agenda 02/17/2012TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE AGENDA FEBRUARY 17, 2012 COLLIER COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA February 17, 2012 1:00 PM — 3:00 PM 1. CALL TO ORDER — CHAIRMAN HILLER 2. CHANGES /APPROVAL OF AGENDA 3. APPROVAL OF TDC SUBCOMMITTEE MINUTES a. *Regular Meeting January 12, 2012 4. NEW BUSINESS a. Replace Revised and New Pages in Members Notebooks b. *Review Tab # 10 - Summary of Subcommittee Outcomes, Findings, Conclusions and Future Opportunities c. Schedule Presentation to Full TDC 5. QUESTION & ANSWER PERIOD 6. SUBCOMMITTEE DISCUSSION 7. NEXT MEETING DATE/LOCATION (If Needed) 8. ADJOURNMENT A • Board of Collier County Commissioners Donna Fiala Georgia A. Hiller, Esq. Tom Henning Fred W. Coyle Jim Colette District 1 District 2 District 3 District 4 District 5 February 17, 2012 Board of County Commissioners Tourist Development Council Members Leo Ochs, County Manager Jeff Klatzkow, Esq., County Attorney Ian Mitchell, Executive Manager to the Board of County Commissioners Members of the Board, Council and Staff: I have reviewed the circumstances under which I became the chair of the Tourist Development Council for this next year. I believe for me to remain in this position is inappropriate, and as such, I am resigning my position as chair of the Tourist Development Council effective immediately. It has been an honor and a pleasure to have served with you. Georgia A. Hiller,Esq. Commissioner, District 2 3299 Tamiami Trail East,Suite 303•Naples,Florida 34112-5746.239-252-8097•FAX 239-252-3602 Floc dd's last Paradise' szo EEcrglAtt o 9 ) SUMMARY OF SUBCOMMITTEE OUTCOMES,FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES Over the course of the TDC Subcommittee meetings, the members have identified several important outcomes, findings, conclusions and opportunities for the future: 1. In order to remain competitive, our Naples Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) must find new sources of revenue to support a more robust, year- round destination advertising and promotion effort, resulting in more year-round visitation, spending and job opportunities in Collier County. 2. Our destination recorded an average annual occupancy of 63% in 2010. In 2011, that average occupancy was 66.7%. That equates to an average of 37% unsold accommodations inventory for 2010 and 33.3% in 2011. In our high season of mid January through March, occupancies are near capacity. But in the summer and fall, those occupancies temporarily drop to 50% or less. a. The opportunity to fill a larger percentage of rooms each night, especially during the slower months, would drive more revenue to businesses in our community and sustain year-round employment opportunities. b. Adequate funding for year-round destination marketing would help to drive that occupancy growth. c. An increase of 2% per year in occupancy over the next 5 years (10% overall increase) would result in an increase in visitation, spending, TDT and jobs. 3. Analysis of our competing Florida tourism destinations reveals a number of troubling comparisons: a. Collier County's Tourist Development Tax (TDT) revenue is based on 4% ranking us among the lowest in the state b. Our county spends more TDT on non-marketing uses such as beach renourishment, inlet management, beach park facilities and County owned museum operations than other competing destinations c. Our State and Federal cost share percentages are less than other Florida destinations and we are the only destination in our competitive set that exclusively uses TDT for beach and inlet management. 4. A major drawback to future growth in visitation is our lack of nighttime entertainment options. More group meetings, international visitors and domestic travelers will be attracted to our community if we could encourage the development of more nighttime entertainment opportunities. i t 1±1.1pki,Maw Cskrn4C \ W a Florida's last Paradise° ft`erg►a+ , ir SUMMARY OF SUBCOMMITTEE OUTCOMES,FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES - CONT. 5. There is a misconception that the tourism industry only supports low paying jobs. A special study could document the true level of wages paid in the hospitality and tourism industry, our largest private sector employer. That same study could document the significant total tax contribution provided by the hospitality and tourism industry to Collier County. 6. Our area is lacking in direct air service into Ft. Myers International Airport and, at present, we have no commercial service at the Naples Municipal Airport. Attracting more direct service and new air carriers to these facilities will bring many more year-round group and leisure visitors to our area. 7. Local media coverage and support of the hospitality and tourism industry in Collier County is lacking. As the area's largest private sector employer, more coverage and support is warranted. The CVB's Community Relations program should be enhanced to continually update our local and regional media and the Collier tourism industry with positive news stories and feature story ideas. 8. The subcommittee has concluded that the timing is not right for an increase in the TDT from 4%to 5%, so this will not be recommended at this time. 9. A proposal from Subcommittee member Rick Medwedeff has analyzed some of the challenges our destination has in identifying additional funding sources for a more robust year-round destination marketing effort. This "Business Case for Economic Impact, Jobs and Quality of Life" identifies several areas where a reallocation of the TDT could free up the necessary dollars to help our destination be more competitive. The suggestions include: a. Beach Park Facilities funding allocation reduction from 16.67%to 6% b. County Museum operations allocation reduction over 5 years from 11%to 0% i. Revenue could be replaced by charging admission to out of county visitors, applying for state, regional and national museum grants and increased visitation from additional marketing efforts c. Beach renourishment allocation from 33.33%to 34% d. Non-County owned museum grants allocation unchanged at 2.4% e. Tourism administrative and overhead allocation fiom 11.60%to 12.60% f. Marketing and Promotions allocation increase fiom 25%to 45% fa Wei Mao Wand `' Florid 's Last Patadls ` F c l�lr. '• 'o� 1 NEXT STEPS The initial outcomes, findings, conclusions and opportunities identified by the TDC Subcommittee were presented to a group of tourism industry leaders and interested citizens at a TDC Subcommittee meeting in June, 2011. The attendees were later provided copies of the FY 11 CVB Strategic Marketing Plan, and the proposed budget for FY 12 for all tourist tax functions, and asked to prepare and present their comments and suggestions to the Sub Committee in July. Those participant comments were recorded and included with the subcommittee findings into an initial draft of the FY 12 Strategic Plan for Naples, Marco Island and the Everglades. The draft FY 12 Strategic Marketing Plan for marketing the destination was then presented to the Collier County Lodging&Tourism Alliance on August 31 for review and comment. The suggested changes from the Alliance were incorporated into the FY 12 Strategic Plan and presented to the TDC on September 6. The TDC suggested minor enhancements, and unanimously recommended approval of the plan to the BCC. The BCC reviewed and unanimously approved the plan on October 11, with the aforementioned destination weaknesses and opportunities incorporated into suggested objectives and strategies for FY 12 and beyond. The subsequent Subcommittee meetings have identified some additional outcomes, findings, conclusions and opportunities which have been incorporated into this final report. The full TDC will review this final report and if they recommend adoption, it will go to the County Commission in March 2012 for approval and implementation. The BCC approved findings and opportunities will become part of the development process for the 2013 Strategic Marketing Plan for our destination. That plan will be vetted through the various tourism industry groups in the County including the Lodging and Tourism Alliance, Coastal Advisory Committee, Parks &Recreation Advisory Board, Tourism Advisory Roundtable and various industry"Friends"groups. Funding for new initiatives identified by the Subcommittee and approved by the BCC will be included as part of the Tourism Department proposed budget for FY 13 and in subsequent years as part of the Convention&Visitor Bureau's Long Range Strategic Plan.