Grants totaling more than $320,000 for golf and collegiate track and field were approved Thursday by the Duval County Tourist Development Council.
Florida’s First Coast of Golf markets golf tourism in Northeast Florida, including Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau and St. Johns counties.
The council approved a $148,838 grant for the nonprofit’s year-round marketing campaign focused on attracting visiting golfers to the region’s 68 golf courses.
Golf tourism is projected to yield nearly 28,000 room nights in Jacksonville hotels. Annual revenue from golf tourism for Jacksonville hoteliers is at least $1.9 million, said David Reese, president of the organization.
“We’re not in the golf business,” he said. “We’re in the hotel business.”
Based on surveys, he said, 52 percent of visiting golfers fly to the area instead of drive.
They also tend to book accommodations at top-tier hotels and spend more per day than other tourists on food and beverages.
“It’s a good, affluent market to go after,” said Reese.
Also approved was a $175,000 grant for the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field East Preliminary meet, scheduled May 26-28, 2016, at the University of North Florida.
The grant will be used to offset the university’s costs to host the event.
Lee Moon, director of athletics at UNF, said at least 8,000 room nights — and as many as 11,000 — are expected to be booked for the event.
He estimated a $7.5 million economic impact from the meet, with much of the accommodation expenditure going to limited-service suburban hotels and motels.
The university invested more than $250,000 to improve its track and field facility before the school hosted the regional meet for the first time in 2011.
The work and the exposure have led to Jacksonville becoming known as “the mecca for track and field east of the Mississippi (River),” he said.
Paul Astleford, president of Visit Jacksonville, the convention and visitors bureau for Jacksonville and the Beaches, reported the local hospitality industry continues to grow as the national economy improves and the organization’s marketing efforts are paying off.
First quarter 2015 statistics show a 6.2 percent increase in occupancy compared to the same period in 2014.
The average daily rate charged by hotel operators is up 8.8 percent and overall room revenue increased by 15.2 percent compared to 2014, he said.
@DRMaxDowntown
(904) 356-2466