Visit Jacksonville Contract Extension
Visit Jacksonville's Contract ordinance was deferred at the Rules Committee and at the Community and Recreation Development today.  We still go before Finance Committee tomorrow at 10am. 

The ordinance will be back before the Rules and Recreation/Community Development Committees August 2.  Please take a moment to ensure your City Council representative hears your voice regarding this important issue.

The extension is for two years and would give Visit Jacksonville the opportunity to prove the return on investment for the $875,000 grant over a three-year period.  Visit Jacksonville received the grant funding in August 2009 meaning the terms of the investment run through August 2012. 

Visit Jacksonville and the tourism industry needs your support!  Please take a moment to reach out to your representative, speak at the committee and council meetings and show your support.  Council members have said they want to hear from industry representatives on this issue to ensure they are voting for an ordinance that is supported by the community.

For background information, talking points, committee and council meeting dates and a plan of action, visit http://www.jaxtourismmatters.org/.  On the site, you will also find the contact information for all city council representatives and committee members.

Lodging Snapshot"
The June Smith Travel Data just came in and Duval County was up 10.4% in occupancy to 61% for the month, the largest gain of our competitive set.  Average Daily Rate continues to decline and was down 5.6% in June.  Jacksonville average daily rate is still significantly lower than our competitors. Ours was $69 in June versus our competitors' average of $84 for the same month.

Sales Update
Marcia Noon and a Visit Jacksonville accommodation partner hosted a site for a corporate client last week.  The client was very pleased with all he experienced during his short time in the destination and confirmed his event prior to departing.   The group is a total of 180 room nights for October 2010.

Karen Townsend received the confirmation a client who attended THE PLAYERS Buyers Education Trip this past May confirmed his meeting representing a total of 720 room nights for January 2011.

Glenda Washing had a site with the National Council for History Education (K-12 history educators) who represent 759 Room nights and will be making a decision the end of this month.  The client experienced a detailed history tour of downtown and St. Augustine.

Statewide representatives and Senator Tony Hill met to discuss creating a pilot "Connecting the Dots Cultural Tour" sharing our rich African American, Hispanic and Black Seminole Heritage, blended cultural experience and its connections to the Bahamas and other Caribbean islands.   The Tour area will consist of parts of West, North and Central Florida.  Counties covered will consist of Duval, Leon, Nassau, St. Johns and Putnam counties.  Group members will develop the history, proposed routes and sites. The tour will be one of the most organized heritage tours covering Tallahassee, Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Amelia Island, Jacksonville Beach and potentially into the Bahamas.  The goal is to expand the tour throughout the state of Florida.

Marketing Update
The summer landing pages are generating a huge amount of traffic.  We had 73,417 unique visitors last month with 40% of them going into the booking engine.  Our top hotels for ARES production in June are Quality Suites Oceanfront, Wingate by Wyndham Southpoint, St. Johns Suites, Comfort Inn Oceanfront and Best Western Jacksonville Airport.  The top attractions in ARES production are Adventure Landing,

Partner Update
2010 Visit jacksonville Trade show
Date: Thursday, August 5, 2010
Hosted By: Prime F. Osborn III Covention Center
1000 Water Street

Attend Visit Jacksonville's first trade show with a sneak peek at the proposed FY2010-11 Marketing Plan.  A brief presentation on the marketing plan and the new Partner Scorecard will begin the event, followed by a trade show format to inform Partners of planned sales and marketing co-ops, targeted media markets and opportunities to become more active with Visit Jacksonville.

Each department at Visit Jacksonville will be represented during this "can't miss" event and will discuss what benefits your business receives as a part of your Partnership that you may not have been utilizing.

Schedule:
Session 1
8:30- 9:15am - registration and networking
9:15- 9:45 am - Presentation
9:45-11:00am - trade show with departments

Session 2
4:00- 4:45pm - registration and networking
4:45- 5:15 pm - Presentation
5:15-7:00 pm - trade show with departments
 Click here to Register

Special Events This Week

7/23 - Friday Night Live - Atlanta Rhythm Section - The Jacksonville Landing - http://www.jacksonvillelanding.com/events/friday-night-live-at-the-landing--1/  

7/25 - Summer Movie Classics - The Godfather II - Florida Theatre - http://www.floridatheatre.com/DesktopModules/EventsCalendar/Popup.aspx?ItemID=253&Mid=512&PortalID=0&TabID=62&selecteddate=20100718&culture=en-US

This does not include symphony concerts, Suns games, smaller events, etc - there are several of these going on this week!