The Official Pensacola Bay Area Tourism Partner E-Newsletter

Last Call for Participation in the 2009-2010 Visitor Guide
We are currently selling ads for next year’s Visitor Guide, but time is running out. Next year, 150,000 guides will be distributed to visitors by request, at consumer and trade shows, welcome centers, military bases, the Pensacola Regional Airport and travel agencies around the country. If you’re interested in targeting customers who are in the process of planning their visit to Pensacola, the Visitor Guide is the place to advertise. Rates are as low as $400. Please contact Leslie Smith at leslie@ewbullock.com.

Tourism Partner Changes
Please remember to notify the CVB when you have changes at your company. We can update your information online for visitors and in our internal database to ensure the right people are contacted for sales leads, PR opportunities, and other tourism news.

FACVB Issues Position Statement On Offshore Drilling
After carefully considering all factors, the Florida Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus (FACVB) endorses state and federal energy policies allowing the production of oil from existing leases within the Gulf of Mexico out of sight of Florida’s coast (at least 30 miles offshore), with the following conditions imposed by state and federal lawmakers:

1. Any Florida offshore drilling must be a component of a comprehensive energy policy dedicated to reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil.
2. Production facilities must incorporate the most advanced zero discharge natural gas and oil production systems.
3. The federal revenue sharing plan affecting Gulf of Mexico resources, which currently does not include revenue sharing to Florida, must be changed by the U.S. Congress to include significant revenue dedicated to the state for 1) beach renourishment projects; 2) alternative energy investments for the state of Florida; 3) tourism promotion to attract more visitors to Florida to bolster the state’s economy and tax collections; and 4) a catastrophe fund to reimburse Florida for expenses related to any oil release into the environment as a result of these oil production activities;
4. A five-year moratorium on new leases in the eastern Gulf of Mexico must be established so state officials can evaluate oil production safety and evaluate any impact on Florida’s natural resources.  This moratorium should permit exploration by seismic and geophysical scientific testing to identify potential future reserves.
5. The military mission of the U.S. Department of Defense shall have the first priority in the offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.

2008 Research Results
This year, the CVB hired a research firm to analyze our magazine advertising inquiries at the Visitor Information Center and characterize the types of people who are interested in our area. For questions, contact Ed Schroeder at 434-1234 or eschroeder@VisitPensacola.com. Here are some of the highlights:

Tourism Partner Updates
Global Grill has joined at the basic level. Chef Frank Taylor is one of the new Pensacola Celebrity Chefs who is busy promoting Pensacola as a culinary tourism destination.

Escambia County Area Transit and Sole Inn and Suites have joined at the enhanced level. Sole Inn and Suites will be opening its boutique hotel soon on Palafox Street.

We also want to welcome property management company Southern Resorts, which has joined on the premier level.

Holiday Hours Needed
Is your restaurant or attraction open for business on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day? If so, we’d love to help promote you. Send your hours and any special offerings to Larry Orvis at lorvis@VisitPensacola.com

Florida Green Lodging Program
Governor Crist recently mandated that state agencies and departments must hold meetings and conferences only at hotels with the Florida Green Lodging Program designation. The CVB encourages area hotels to submit an application for this designation. You can visit www.dep.state.fl.us/greenlodging for more information. Congratulations to the Hilton Pensacola Beach Gulf Front, the Hampton Inn Pensacola Beach and the Crowne Plaza for submitting their applications.

Back to the top

Convention and Corporate Sales
(contact Patti Mohan)

Don’t forget to pick up your Meetings Quest Tradeshow cd. The cd includes the profiles of numerous meeting planners in the Atlanta area.

Group Sales
(contact Lori Coppels)

Lori recently attended the Ontario Motor Coach Association (OMCA) Tradeshow in Toronto and the S.I.T.V. International Tourism Show and VISIT FLORIDA Tour Operator Luncheon in Montreal. She met with various tour operators, distributed more than 700 Pensacola brochures in French and discussed trip itineraries. She’s already assisting one tour operator on a 10-night stay in February 2010. When she returns to the show next year, she hopes to take a 2010 and 2011 rate sheet. Lori found that many Canadians were genuinely interested in the Pensacola area as a destination for two or three weeks or combining Pensacola with a trip to New Orleans or other Florida cities. They were also interested in weekly and monthly specials during the winter months. If you have these rates, please send them to Lori Coppels at lcoppels@VisitPensacola.com. She’ll be working closely with Visit Florida’s Canadian representatives to take advantage of future marketing opportunities in Canada.

Back to the top

Hot off the Press
(contact Laura Lee)

The CVB and the Community Redevelopment Agency within the City of Pensacola have joined forces to promote New Year’s Eve travel packages in Pensacola as part of the CRA Downtown Countdown 2008. Thanks to the tourism partners who sent in your packages to be included on our Web site and in our news release. Please help the city promote this first ever event downtown, where families can enjoy a street-party atmosphere with live music, a children’s area and fireworks, along with a 10-foot, half-ton illuminated pelican that will be dropped 100 feet at midnight.

Several times each year, the CVB issues a news release to travel writers about “What’s New in the Pensacola Bay Area.” If your company has recent changes or big news to share, please send it to Laura Lee at llee@VisitPensacola.com to be included in the November release.

The CVB was selected by Visit Florida to attend the media mission in Atlanta and Birmingham in March next year. Laura will be meeting with travel writers face-to-face to discuss the 450th anniversary and Pensacola’s many amenities. Let us know if you have additional story ideas and news to share.

Back to the top

HRT Notice
(contact Barbara Williams)

The next Hospitality Roundtable Luncheon will be held Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 11:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn on 7813 N.  Davis Hwy. Ray Palmer with the Pensacola Sports Association will discuss the economic impact of sporting events in Pensacola. The cost of the luncheon is $12 for HRT members, $20 for non-members. Payment should be made at the door with checks made payable to Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce. No invoicing will be permitted. Since we must guarantee reservations, if you RSVP and do not attend, you will be billed for the cost of your lunch. Please RSVP by e-mailing Barbara Williams at bwilliams@VisitPensacola.com or by calling 434-1234 by 3 p.m. on Nov. 14.

Back to the top