by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
Visit Jacksonville to help people ‘Let the Sunshine In’
Despite a rash of stumbling blocks that developed in the tourism industry during 2009, proposed state and local budget cuts, reduction in corporate travel and H1N1 virus, one of the chief drivers of tourism in Jacksonville was able to meet or exceed its goals for this year.
Accomplishing those goals prompted Visit Jacksonville to adopt the theme of “Let the Sunshine In” for its 2010 campaign, which it launched Wednesday at “Destination Outlook 2009” at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA).
“One of my all-time favorite songs is ‘Here comes the sun’ by The Beatles. George Harrison wrote this song following a disappointing year with the hope for a better future,” said John Reyes, president and CEO of Visit Jacksonville. “And, after the past year, I felt this song was also a poignant one for our industry.”
Visit Jacksonville hosted about 200 business leaders involved in the tourism industry to discuss the accomplishments of the organization, the current state of the tourism industry and plans for the future of attracting visitors to Jacksonville.
A tough economy has caused most businesses to examine how they operate, and Visit Jacksonville is no different. For the first time it invested in market research to find out where Jacksonville’s visitors were coming from and who they were. Destination research experts Research Data Services produced information that revealed Duval County welcomed 2.8 million overnight visitors in 2008 and they contributed $988 million in direct spending to the local economy. This market generated 42,900 jobs in the hospitality industry for local workers, which accounted for more than 10 percent of the County’s workforce. Visitors also contributed $74 million in total local taxes last year.
Research also produced vital statistics that defined the tourist traveling to Jacksonville. Average age was 48 years old and median annual household income was nearly $107,800. Families accounted for 34 percent of visitors and were the largest group of travelers to Duval County. Leisure travelers accounted for 79 percent of the market and business travelers reached 26.5 percent.
Mayor John Peyton was a guest speaker at the event and related how these numbers contributed to the quality of life in Jacksonville and, also, commended leaders in the tourism industry for being vigilant during both the state and local budget processes to ensure dollars for the promotion of tourism in Jacksonville.
“When dealing with the budget, after public safety, there are plenty of pieces to the pie that affect quality of life in Jacksonville,” said Peyton. “Tourism is an important piece of that pie for business development and job creation, and I commend you for being vocal about your needs and communicating those needs to City Council members during a tough budget process.”
The tough talk of the budget and state of the industry gave way to plans for the future and Reyes picked up the presentation by donning an astronaut suit to promote the space tourism industry, which Jacksonville is planning to become a part of.
“How many of you would like to take a trip to outer space?” asked Michael Stewart, director of external communication for Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA). “A lot of people have answered yes to this question and some of those people are willing to pay $200,000 for that trip. We want to attract those tourists.”
The JAA is currently in the licensing process to make Cecil Field a spaceport and the license would allow horizontal launches of spacecraft from the facility. Once the airport is licensed, the next step is to find an operator for the spaceport. The JAA is hopeful that Cecil Field will be licensed within the next year.
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