Tourism group honors its best

News

by Kent Jennings Brockwell

Staff Writer

Thanks to the Super Bowl, tourism in Jacksonville is alive, well and growing, says Jacksonville and the Beaches Convention and Visitors Bureau president John Reyes.

During a National Tourism Week luncheon and awards ceremony Tuesday, Reyes gave his State of the Industry address in front of more than 150 local hospitality leaders at the T-U Center.

Despite the “unwelcome visitors” last hurricane season, Reyes said local tourism is back to normal and expanding thanks to a successful Super Bowl.

Though local businesses should look forward to another Super Bowl in the future, he said they should spend capital made from the recent Super Bowl wisely.

As for the future of the CVB, Reyes said plans are underway to spread and expand the “Jacksonville, Where Florida Begins” advertising campaign. The CVB will also launch a new web site soon, he said.

Besides Reyes’ address, 14 local members of the hospitality industry were also awarded at the CVB luncheon for being “Hospitality Heroes.” The awards were given for going beyond the professional call of duty during the past year. There were also four individuals that were awarded for exemplary work during the Super Bowl.

Madeline Scales-Taylor, CVB board member and chair of the Hospitality Hero Award selection committee, said this year’s award recipients are part of the reason this year’s Super Bowl was so successful.

“Jacksonville is really in good hands,” she said. “These fourteen people really are hospitality heroes.”