Discover The Palm Beaches (DTPB) officially presented their 2015 Marketing & Sales Plan to tourism representatives and industry stakeholders on Wednesday, November 5 at the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa.
DTPB recounted the destination’s accomplishments in 2014 in marketing, sales and partnerships, including a record six million visitors in 2013, 73% occupancy and 56 months of consecutive Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) growth. Discover The Palm Beaches also announced the winner of the prestigious 2014 Providencia Award – The Honda Classic.
“The Honda Classic truly represents a major piece of the tourism industry here in The Palm Beaches,” said Jorge Pesquera, President and CEO of Discover The Palm Beaches. “I could not think of a more deserving group than The Honda Classic, a tournament that has grown over the past eight years in PBC, surpassing more than 33,000 room nights during those eight years, and more than $43 million in economic impact in 2014 alone. Congratulations to the nominees and finalists, including Delray Beach Marketing Cooperative and South Florida Science Center, and a big congratulations to The Honda Classic.”
Vicki Chouris, Chair of the DTPB Board of Directors, highlighted aggressive goals for DTPB in the upcoming year in terms of visitors (6.6 million), economic impact ($7.5 billion), and job creation (66,000 new, full-time tourism jobs).
“Working in the tourism industry at the South Florida Fairgrounds I have witnessed first-hand the ups and downs this tourism community had to face during the economic recession,” said Vicki Chouris. “But now we have turned the corner, and see major growth for the first time in a generation. We will rely on the leadership of Discover The Palm Beaches, the TDC and its sister agencies to help guide and navigate us to greater heights. But most importantly, we rely on the greater hospitality community to deliver on our Brand Promise and partner with us for maximum marketing reach.”
In her message as the Tourist Development Council Board Chair, Palm Beach County Mayor Priscilla Taylor shared some key insights on the importance of tourism to The Palm Beaches.
“Last year, visitors to Palm Beach County generated $1 billion in total taxes. Imagine losing $1 billion in our budgets,” said Mayor Taylor. “The ability of this industry to generate taxes benefits our entire community and everyone’s pocketbook. We must make it a key goal to further market The Palm Beaches to our domestic and international audiences, and that’s where Discover The Palm Beaches plays an essential role for our community.”
During the highlight of the presentation, Jorge Pesquera was joined by Discover The Palm Beaches’ support agencies to review plans for the upcoming year. Malcolm Griffiths of DTPB’s newly appointed public relations agency, Development Counsellors International (DCI), discussed social media integration and highly targeted media relations including key message placement and an added focus on target niches such as culinary, eco-adventure, family, LGBT, luxury and meetings.
Robert Taglairino, President of DTPB’s media buying agency TAG Advertising, provided a detailed run-through of the year’s media buying strategies, digital advances in the advertising sphere, and the introduction of over $1 million in co-op advertising opportunities – the largest co-op program in DTPB history.
Levatas, DTPB’s creative agency, finished the show with Chris Nielsen and Ray Popp illustrating how to bring the new Discover The Palm Beaches brand to life and maintain a consistent brand architecture throughout the destination. The presentation was brought to a high note with the unveiling of DTPB’s newly created Unplug and Reconnect commercial, and future campaign elements on print, digital and out-of-home executions.
To view the full 60-second Unplug and Reconnect commercial, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=