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Home My WebLink AboutTDC Agenda 122017Please note – Meetings are recorded. Anyone with a disability requiring accommodation to attend this meeting should contact the St. Lucie Tourism Office at (772) 462-1472 or TDD (772) 462-1428 at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the meeting. ST. LUCIE COUNTY TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL Wednesday, December 13, 2017 County Administration Building, 3rd Floor Conference Room 2300 Virginia Avenue Fort Pierce, FL 34982 12:30pm 1. Call to Order ......................................................................................................................Chris Dzadovsky 2. Roll Call .............................................................................................................................. Tayler Hardison 3. Self-Introductions ..............................................................................................................Chris Dzadovsky 4. Approval of Minutes from November 8, 2017 ..................................................................Chris Dzadovsky 5. Public Comment… ............................................................................................. ……… Chris Dzadovsky 6. Financial & Web Report ...................................................................... Charlotte Bireley / Tayler Hardison a. October 2017 Revenue and P & L Report b. October Monthly Expenses vs. Revenue Comp Report c. November Website Activity Report d. November Social Media Activity Report 7. Canada Media Takeover Recap .........................................................................................Charlotte Bireley 8. Tourism Legislative Update ................................................................................................. Nicole Fogarty 9. Visitor Study – Final Results ............................................................. Joseph St. Germain / Rachael Anglin 10. Tourism Activity Update .............................................................................................................................. a. Treasure Coast Sports Commission – Rick Hatcher b. Eco-Tourism – Wren Underwood 11. Other Business ...................................................................................................................Chris Dzadovsky 12. Adjournment ......................................................................................................................Chris Dzadovsky ST. LUCIE COUNTY TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL MEETING Wednesday, November 8, 2017 ◊ 12:30 P.M. MINUTES Members present: Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky, St. Lucie County Commissioner Rufus Alexander, City of Fort Pierce Michelle MacNichol, Perfect Drive Vacation Rentals Buzz Smith, The Beachfront Inn Terissa Aronson, St. Lucie County Chamber of Commerce Karen Marrone, Hutchinson Island Plaza Hotel & Suites Councilwoman Morgan, City of Port St. Lucie Paul Taglieri, St. Lucie Mets Members absent: Mayor Oravec, City of Port St. Lucie (Alternate Provided) John Wilkes, The Sunrise Theater Staff present: Katherine Barbieri, St. Lucie County Attorney Charlotte Bireley, St. Lucie County Tourism Tayler Hardison, St. Lucie County Tourism Wren Underwood, St. Lucie County ERD Amanda Thompson, SLC ERD/Lands Mark Saterlee, St. Lucie County Administration Stan Payne, St. Lucie County Also present: Ryan Strickland, Treasure Coast Sports Commission Noreen Kruse, Hutchinson Island Plaza Hotel & Suites 1. CALL TO ORDER: Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky called the meeting to order at 12:31 PM. 2. ROLL CALL: Tayler Hardison called roll. Councilwoman Morgan announced that she is sitting in for Mayor Oravec. 3. GUESTS INTRODUCED THEMSELVES: Guests introduced themselves. Tourist Development Council Meeting ◊ November 8, 2017 Page 2 of 3 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes from October 11, 2017 were approved. 5. PUBLIC COMMENT: No public comments. 6. Financial & Web Report: Charlotte Bireley began the financial update by reporting that for the month September 2017 Tourism saw a 33% increase compared to September 2016-bringing in a total of $278,758 in bed tax revenue for the month. Year over year Charlotte stated that Tourism revenues have increased by 6.3%. Commissioner Alexander asked how often we partner with the Cities for advertising. Charlotte explained that we co-op with the City of Fort Pierce a couple times a year on specific targeted ads and we also work with our hotels and tour operators in many different types of promotions throughout the year. Tayler Hardison went over the web report for the month of October. She highlighted that the bounce rate has gone down from 70% to 64%, which indicates a lower number of users leaving the site after the first hit. Tayler also showed that mobile usage was at 55% for the month meaning that 55% of Tourism website users are accessing it via their mobile devices. She stated that 8% of all users on the website are social referrals, which means that they accessed the site from a link on a social media platform. Tayler then went over the social media update for October. She highlighted that the number of total people reached on Facebook for October was at 259,649. She explained that this was due to three paid Facebook campaigns; Golf in St. Lucie, New Webcams & a Delta/Visit FL promotion. 7. Port of Fort Pierce / TC International Airport Update Stan Payne and Mark Satterlee presented information on the new changes to the Port of Fort Pierce. They explained that this endeavor will increase jobs and economic impact to the area. They also mentioned the new charter service called Fly The Whale setting up operations at the Treasure Coast International Airport. These planes will charter visitors and residents to the Bahamas, Tallahassee, and back. They explained that the goal is to mainstream MRO and maintenance to increase visibility to the airport and destination itself. 8. Treasure Coast Tourism Legislative Summit Charlotte Bireley remarked that this item is being rescheduled to another meeting. Tourist Development Council Meeting ◊ November 8, 2017 Page 3 of 3 9. Propose FAM Tour / Event Sponsorship Policy Procedures Charlotte Bireley explained that the Tourism Office is looking to come up with standard procedures for vetting travel writers and bloggers who are interested in coming to St. Lucie on a FAM tour. She also explained that the Tourism office is in need of a similar set of standards for event sponsorship in St. Lucie in relation to Tourism. She explained that this will better assist the office in confirming that they are getting a return on investment. Charlotte suggested that since the TDC members did not have a chance to see the proposed qualifications ahead of time that they would regroup over them at a future meeting. 10. Tourism Activity Update a. Treasure Coast Sports Commission Ryan Strickland gave a recap of the 2017 events put on by the Treasure Coast Sports Commission; 23 events hosted in St. Lucie County, with approximately 19,800 rooms nights and an estimated 14 million dollar impact. In the coming year of 2018, they are expecting to bring 25 events with an estimated number of 21,500 room nights and an estimated 15.5 million dollar impact to the area. He mentioned two new events they are bringing to the county-the Eco-Pro surf competition (Which already took place) and the National Junior Swimming and Diving Competition. Commissioner Alexander asked about the potential volleyball event on the beach. Ryan explains that discussions were still being had, but that they had concerns of beach nourishment due to the hurricane damage. b. Ecotourism Update Wren Underwood gave a summary of how the Procession of the Species event went following the Indian River Lagoon Science Festival that took place in October. She said the event attracted 200 people (kids & adults) to participate, coming from families, schools, non-profit organizations and artists. She showed photos of the event to the group. Wren then explained her goals and ideas for next year and in the future. 11. Other Business Commissioner Dzadovsky announced that reorganization of the board is coming up and for the members to consider who they will be voting for to serve as the TDC Chairman. 12. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 1:48 PM. TDC October 2017 Variance P & L Report Actual Budget Budget Bed Tax Revenue $56,433 $45,150 25% Carry Forward 37,486$ $37,486 0% Interest 42$ 42.00$ 0% Total Revenue 93,961$ 82,678$ 14% Direct Expenses Salaries/Benefits 18,757$ 17,395$ 8% Other Contract Services 17,128$ 5,000$ 243% Software Support -$ 2,500$ -100% Travel -$ 708$ -100% Communications -$ 150$ -100% Postage -$ 750$ -100% Printing -$ 1,458$ -100% Promotional Items -$ 333$ -100% Promotional Entertainment -$ 1,417$ -100% Office Supplies -$ 125$ -100% Dues 3,125$ 333$ 838% Aid 49,500$ 49,500$ 0% Training & Seminars 245$ 167$ G & A 5,155$ 5,155$ 0% Materials Center -$ 83$ -100% Promotional Advertising 2,814$ 18,750$ -85% Equipment -$ -$ 0% Tax Collector 1,218$ 1,218$ 0% Total Direct Expenses 97,941$ 105,042$ -7% Net Income (3,980)$ -4% TDC Year to Date 17/18 YTD as of 10/2017 Annual Variance P & L Report Actuals Budget Budget Bed Tax Revenue $56,433 $645,000 -91% Carry Forward 37,486$ $449,830 -92% Interest 42$ $500 -92% Total Revenue $93,961 $1,095,330 -91% Direct Expenses Personnel 18,757$ $208,742 -91% Contract Services 17,128$ $60,000 -71% Software Support -$ $30,000 -100% Travel -$ $8,500 -100% Communications -$ $1,800 -100% Postage -$ $9,000 -100% Printing -$ $17,500 -100% Materials Center -$ $1,000 -100% Promo Items -$ $4,000 -100% Promo Activites/Entertainment -$ $17,000 -100% Promo Advertising 2,814$ $225,000 -99% Office Supplies $1,500 -100% Dues & Memberships 3,125$ $4,000 -22% Aid (TCSC)49,500$ $215,000 -77% Training & Seminars 245$ $2,000 -88% Equipment -$ $0 0% G & A 5,155$ $61,868 -92% Tax Collector 1,218$ $14,616 -92% Total Direct Expenses 97,941$ $881,526 -89% Net income (3,980)$ -4% REVENUE VS. EXPENSE COMPARISON REPORT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 A B C D E F G H I J K L FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017 FY 2018 Revenue/Expenses Revenue/Expenses Revenue/Expenses Revenue/Expenses Oct 36,505/26,241 Oct 38,190/68,910 Oct $49,813/$89,284 Oct $56,433/$97,941 Nov 40,217/69,602 Nov 45,677/35,981 Nov $48,793/$34,578 Nov Dec 50,417/38,845 Dec 60,421/37,675 Dec $53,209/$63,456 Dec Jan 74,046/104,150 Jan 84,832/66,124 Jan $79,044/$87,085 Jan Feb 97,234/43,806 Feb 96,839/91,967 Feb $96,610/$78,371 Feb Mar 109,221/51,665 Mar 115,858/58,382 Mar $115,320/$65,749 Mar Apr 59,760/47,839 Apr 57,049/56,421 Apr $75,166/$94,748 Apr May 45,070/44,247 May 48,445/39,469 May $56,693/ $67,053 May Jun 42,301/45,680 Jun 49,530/52,614 Jun $50,181/$75,735 Jun Jul 46,827/40,112 Jul 53,175/73,314 Jul $55,335/$56,966 Jul Aug 44,255/25,105 Aug 46,295/35,178 Aug $48,667/$50,119 Aug Sep 34,153/46,309 Sep 41,906.41/78,244 Sep $55,749/$70,288 Sep TOTAL 680,005/583,614 TOTAL 738,211/706,209 TOTAL $734,536/$833,563 TOTAL $56,433/$97,941 Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Total Visits 10,457 11,012 13,532 12,169 12,262 9,722 10,803 9,011 13,935 11,949 29,025 10,765 9,538 164,180 Bounce Rate 57%57%57%57%51%51%55%57%70%73%70%64%47%59% Average Time 1:43 1:41 1:45 1:43 1:45 1:28 1:37 1:36 1:10 1:07 1:12 1:45 3:25 1:20 New Visits 56%57%61%62%66%72%70%69%73%73%62%72%63%68% Social Sessions 199 172 292 267 264 879 492 302 659 2,740 4,263 2,450 1,500 14479 Mobile Usage 30%33%32%34%32.90%41%40%39%32%47%51%55%48%40% Acquisition-November 2017 Top 5 States 1. Florida 67% 2. New Jersey 3% 3. New York 3% 4. Georgia 2% 5. Michigan 2% Organic Search: Users who searched for something that led them to the site Direct: Users who typed in the URL or had a bookedmarked page Referral: Users who clicked on a link to the site via source site Social: A user who visited our website via a social platform Other: Paid marketing that directed users to the website (i.e. SEM) 2016 2017 November 2017 Web Report Social Media Activity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Totals Facebook New Likes 1,570 82 34 126 97 118 72 163 138 131 70 16,609 Total Reach 39,270 28,702 88,395 44,061 66,312 18,867 22,708 33,218 122,154 27,027 259649 99837 490,714 Post Engagement 6,828 4,607 8,358 9,500 11,042 4,549 6,512 4,063 11,562 3,697 7,542 3,772 82,032 Video Views 8,383 7,625 911 1,814 747 5,032 16,734 35,269 11,105 33,278 22,387 143,285 Instagram Engagement 1,400 1,970 2,100 2,589 3,411 1,940 2,723 1,952 1,970 3,039 1,250 1,310 25654 New Followers 67 55 328 200 207 166 179 55 205 95 111 56 1724 Twitter Mentions 85 54 54 101 97 72 112 152 136 122 110 104 1199 New Followers 30 64 41 53 47 36 42 75 38 66 25 55 1,520 Impressions 33,000 39,000 40,400 60,400 58,900 47,600 55,600 47,800 121,000 44,800 58,800 39,000 646,300 Profile Visits 1,739 1,703 1,828 2,539 2,459 600 1,497 1,163 1,744 1,161 1,109 1,219 18,761 Reach/Impressions Number of how many people viewed our posts Enagagement Likes/favorites, comments and/or shares New Follower A new user that can see all Visit St. Lucie posts on their feed Tweet A status posted on Twitter via text, photo or video in 140 characters Mention Someone tagged @VisitStLucie in their own post Page Likes Someone on Facebook has liked the Visit St. Lucie page