Travel plans: County tourism development office unveils new marketing efforts

While tourism is about all play and no work, the business of tourism development requires a lot of effort.

And there is no off-season for tourism professionals, especially in a small county like Flagler surrounded by major tourist destinations to the north, south and west.

Flagler County’s Tourist Development Office is using technology and innovative marketing to try and level the playing field. Tourism staff unveiled part of that marketing strategy last week during a meeting of the Flagler County Tourist Development Council.

Tourism marketing director Amy Lukasik walked members of the advisory council through the upcoming campaign and began with a pair of new video promotions highlighting Flagler County as a tourist destination.

According to the new marketing plan, tourism accounts for 24 percent of total employment in Flagler County and generates $7.8 million in sales tax revenue. Bed tax collections — paid by visitors staying at local hotels, campgrounds and short-term rental properties — increased 25 percent in the last fiscal year to $2.8 million.

The report includes information about where visitors to Flagler County are coming from, with the highest number of domestic travelers coming from Florida, Georgia and New York. International visitors are also making Flagler County a tourist destination, with Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom topping the list.

Lukasik said that kind of information is important to fine-tuning marketing efforts.

“This fiscal year we’ve categorized the type of visitors we have and who we are going to target,” she said. “We have been seeing an uptick from Texas, so we are going to test that out and we are going to increase our social media exposure with more advertising.”

With new technologies emerging and changing tastes in travel, Lukasik said it is important to update the marketing plan.

"The way that consumers are finding information about where to go is changing faster than we can keep up with," she said. "It's very challenging just to keep up with social media channels."

One of the big things on the horizon for the tourism effort is the launching of a new Palm Coast and the Flagler Beaches website, set to go online Jan. 31.

Asked by TDC member Gary Inks, vice president and general manager at Marineland Dolphin Adventure, about the digital strategy, Lukasik said the new website will help tourism officials refine the focus of digital efforts.

“We go based on what performed well last year,” she said. “The new website is helping us with those search terms. It kind of pulls that all together, and that is what we use going forward.”

One of the issues raised by tourism council members is promotion of the county’s golf courses, a task that is handled by the county’s membership in an organization called Florida’s First Coast of Golf.

“We get way more exposure in the golf space partnering with them,” Lukasik said. “They have a much further reach then we could ever hit with the golf product.”

Matt Dunn, the Flagler County Tourist Development Office's executive director, said the county’s membership with Florida’s First Coast of Golf has proven to be very beneficial.

“We’re very, very active during their board meetings, making sure Flagler County is top of mind when decisions are made,” he said. “We continue to stay in the limelight, if you will.”

Flagler County Commissioner Greg Hansen, who also serves as TDC chairman, said it is always a good thing to take a look at marketing strategies to meet changing circumstances.

"I think it is important. It's the right thing to do every year," he said.  "We need to take a look every year."