The Board of County Commissioners (BCC) authorized the request of $82,000 worth of expenditures to Visit Florida for an annual membership fee of $18,500 and expenses for destination marketing programs to promote Collier County tourism between October 2024 and September 2025. This decision was made with four Commissioners in favor and one opposed.
Visit Florida is a not-for-profit public-private partnership created by the Florida Legislature in 1996, which serves as the State’s official source for travel planning. They provide marketing programs, grants, co-op advertising, and domestic and international trade show registrations at a reduced cost to their partners. With the increasing costs of tourism, it is crucial to continue to examine the cost and benefits and identify whether other partnerships provide similar or even better opportunities.
This agreement appears to include duplicative markets of the annual contract renewal for the Germany and UK/Ireland, which the Board approved on March 26, 2024. These contracts include a flat annual fee of $120,000 and reimbursable expenses for travel, registrations and miscellaneous for up to $60,000. As shown, these contracts were renewed because of the evidence showing their significant impact on Collier County tourism revenue in the past year.
Since the proposed budget and partnership have been approved, continued assessment of the value of this investment should be made. Other opportunities may allow us to maximize our investments and expand markets while saving taxpayer dollars.