BRADENTON – The local area has seen an increase in visitors, expenditures, economic impact and employment as a result of the area’s visitation, for the third year in a row, according to Dr. Walter Klages of Data Research Services, who collected and analyzed data for the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Before reporting the annual “Year in Review” at Wednesday’s 2014 National Tourism Week luncheon, BACVB Executive Director Elliott Falcione said, “As we continue to see success in the tourism industry, our community will continue to benefit from these results by higher real estate values, job sustainability and an increase in sales tax revenues that improve the quality of life for our residents.”
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Coquina Beach Photo courtesy of BACVB |
Statistics on tourism presented, included:
In addition:
The Bradenton Area also reportedly saw Total Domestic and International Visitation increase by 6 percent to more than 570,300 in 2013, which contributed to a 15.8 percent total growth in Total Domestic and International Visitation over the past three years.
BACVB Executive Manager Debbie Meihls attributed the area’s tourism growth to factors including: increased efforts toward international visitors; continued growth in the sports marketing segment; enhanced partner relationships; increased focus on arts, culture and film; and heightened concentration on unique area events. Meihls also indicated that continued emergence of the film and arts scenes as well as new and returning events will serve as avenues to continued growth in 2014.
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Bean Point on AMI photo courtesy of BACVB |
Upcoming events of mention include:
Meihls also provided an update on the community-wide Certified Destination Ambassador Program launched in 2013. The program, designed to empower the community to know and represent the destination brand and provide opportunity for professional development through certification, is moving ahead in partnership with the University of South Florida.
“We are thrilled to report that the travel and tourism industry continues to show growth and have an increasingly positive impact on the area,” said Meihls. “The numbers from 2013 are positive and we are already looking ahead to the future for the Bradenton Area in 2014 and beyond. We know it will include further showcasing of the area’s world-class arts, film and sports opportunities, and we look forward to attracting even more visitors to the area to enjoy them.”