Longboat Key in Top 10 Conde Nast Traveler’s Islands

October 28, 2015 by

longboat keyIt’s time to invest in a larger trophy case. This time, Longboat Key has garnered national glory.

Longboat Key was the No. 9 best island in the U.S. in Conde Nast Traveler’s 2015 Readers’ Choice Awards. Hawaii’s Maui, Kauai, Oahu and Big Island nabbed the top four slots. Amelia Island, which ranked No. 10, was the only other Florida location to make the list.

The 12-mile island with land in both Sarasota and Manatee counties is known for its elegant and refined personality, said Virginia Haley, president of Visit Sarasota County. Conde Nast described Longboat Key as a more private option among the Sarasota-Bradenton area’s barrier islands and praised it for the sand dollars and seashells that can be found there.

Longboat Key typically spends less time in the spotlight than Siesta Key and Anna Maria Island.

“For us, what’s so important is for people to understand the different personalities of our islands,” Haley said. “It’s just thrilling to see Longboat getting recognized in this way.”

The beach accesses on Longboat Key are less pronounced than at some of the other barrier islands in the region. It also offers a number of hidden gems, such as Quick Point Nature Preserve, at its southeast corner.

“You feel like you’re almost on a deserted island, but you’re looking over all of Sarasota bay,” Haley said.

More than 128,000 travelers took part in Conde Nast Traveler’s 28th annual Readers’ Choice Awards survey. The readers submitted millions of ratings and tens of thousands of comments to determine the best cities, resorts, airlines, among other categories for travelers.

This latest honor has joined a long list of recent accolades for the Sarasota-Bradenton area.

This year, Siesta Key was ranked the No. 1 beach in the nation on TripAdvisor.com’s 2015 Travelers’ Choice Awards and was named the third best Florida beach in a poll by USA Today. Siesta Key and Lido both make regular appearances on TripAdvisor.com’s best of lists.

Stephen “Dr. Beach” Leatherman also touted Siesta Key in May 2011 as the nation’s top beach in his annual ranking.

Anna Maria Island, too, received recognition from Conde Nast earlier this year when its Coquina Beach was named one of the world’s “top island beaches for perfect sand.” The island this year was also named as one of the fastest-growing vacation destinations by TripAdvisor.com.

Herald Tribune 10/22/2015

Filed Under: Sarasota Best of, Sarasota Lifestyle, Sarasota Tourism Tagged With: , , ,

FLORIDA TOURISM HITS RECORD HIGH FOR 2015

August 27, 2015 by

greetings-from-floridaFlorida tourism is on pace to pass the highly anticipated 100-million visitor mark for 2015, with more than 54.1 million visitors coming to the Sunshine State in the first half of 2015.

New quarterly numbers released Wednesday from Visit Florida, the state’s tourism arm, show a 5.8 increase from last year and the highest amount of visitors of any six months in the state’s history.

In just the second quarter of 2015 ending June 30, 25.8 million visitors came to Florida, an increase of 5.5 percent from the same point in 2014.

With the fifth record-breaking year, the higher about of tourism is also bringing a record average number of direct travel-related jobs.

In a prepared statement from Gov. Rick Scott, Florida’s tourism industry now employs 1,213,500 people – a number up 4.9 percent from the previous year.

Encouraging tourism helps Florida become the “best place in the world for jobs,” Scott said. “We look forward to exceeding our goal of 100 million visitors to Florida this year.”

Visit Florida also estimates more than 2.7 million overseas visitors, 1.2 million Canadians, and 21.9 million domestic visitors traveled to Florida in the second quarter of 2015, a 6.8 percent increase.

Totals for the first half of 2015 show 45.7 million domestic visitors, 5.5 million overseas visitors and 2.9 million Canadians have come to the Sunshine State, an increase of 6.7 percent, 1.7 percent and 1.1 percent respectively. Top U.S. states for Florida tourism are New York (10 percent), Georgia (8 percent), Texas (6 percent) and Illinois (5 percent).

Most international visitors in 2014 came from Canada (4.2 million), followed by the United Kingdom (1.6 million) and Brazil (1.6 million).

Continued growth of tourism, as well as tourism-related jobs, is putting Florida on track for a fifth consecutive record-breaking year, said Visit Florida Board of Directors Chairman John Tomlin. He emphasized the power of tourism as an economic job creator, crediting the vision of Scott, the Legislature and his staff for “world-class strategies and execution.”

As the number of people visiting Florida increases, so does the amount collected in taxes on sales from recreation and related activities. From January through May 2015, the state enjoyed a 9.0 percent increase in tax revenue.

Visit Florida also estimates the average daily room rate (ADR) for the second quarter of 2015 rose 4.7 percent, with occupancy rates for Florida hotels increasing 2.9 percent and the demand for rooms sold grew 4.4 percent compared to the same period last year.

“This continued growth does not happen by accident,” said Visit Florida CEO Will Seccombe, who thanked Scott and the Legislature for their “unparalleled support.”

Tampa Tribune August 19, 2015

Filed Under: Florida Economic News, Sarasota Lifestyle, Sarasota Tourism Tagged With: , , ,

Van Wezel Beats St. Armands as Tourism Destination

May 25, 2015 by

VanWezel-1

SARASOTA – Move over, St. Armands Circle. The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall ranked as the No. 1 attraction in Sarasota County from January through March — the so-called “high season” — for the first time, the county’s tourism agency says.

St. Armands Circle — Lido Key’s premier destination for shopping and dining, just steps away from Sarasota’s sugary white sand beach and emerald Gulf waters — was beat out by the Van Wezel as the most visited attraction.

Virginia Haley, president of Visit Sarasota, the county’s tourism agency, credits the change to the Van Wezel’s impressive programming this year.

“Every show at the Van Wezel this year was awesome,” Haley said. “It’s very exciting, as we’ve really pushed the cultural amenities of Sarasota in our marketing plans.”
Visit Sarasota regularly conducts visitor-intercept studies in which it asks tourists to list which attractions they visited during their stay.

It was a close competition.
Van Wezel was at the top, with 36 percent of visitors in the three-month period, while St. Armands Circle was around 35 percent. The new Mall at University Town Center was 30 percent. “I think the key is that the Van Wezel offers diversity,” said Mary Bensel, executive director of the Van Wezel. “We’re showing something different here every night that is of interest to all sorts of people, from concerts that appeal to younger people, to music and dance and our educational programs.”

The hall held performances of the musical “Jersey Boys” and more recently comedian Kathy Griffin.
The Van Wezel also offers performances by the Sarasota Orchestra and Sarasota Ballet and is home to the Ringling College of Art & Design’s Town Hall series.

Other statistics

Tourists from the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., region came to Sarasota County in record numbers this year, overtaking New York as the No. 1 source of visitors to Sarasota, the tourism agency reported.
Nearly 26,000 visitors from the Mid-Atlantic region came to Sarasota County from January through March, thanks in part to the Baltimore Orioles, which plays the spring training season at Ed Smith Stadium.

The number of visitors this year increased 128 percent from the 11,000 people who came from Baltimore and Washington in the same period last year.

“The sustained investment from our partnership with the Baltimore Orioles has really paid off,” Haley said. “This performance in the Mid-Atlantic region shows the benefits of the Orioles providing more than a million dollars of advertising and promotion annually in the D.C. and Baltimore area each of the last six years. It is great to see it be this successful.”

The 110,000 fans who attended the 2015 spring training season was a record for the franchise.

“The breadth and economic impact of the marketing partnership between VSC and the Orioles continues to be unprecedented in Major League Baseball,” Orioles spokesman Greg Bader said. “Our goal has always been to bring visitors from the Mid-Atlantic region to the greater Sarasota area, but we never imagined they would so quickly constitute the largest number of visitors to the region during the winter months.”

The Orioles’ overall economic impact on the region is more than $59 million, an analysis by Sarasota County government concluded.

 

Sarasota Herald Tribune May 8, 2015

Filed Under: Downtown Sarasota Condos, Downtown Sarasota Real Estate, Sarasota Lifestyle, Sarasota Tourism Tagged With: , , , ,
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