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Home My WebLink AboutTDC 012018 Backup2 FAM TOUR QUALIFICATION PROCEDURES Few promotional tools are as successful, or as cost effective, as a well-executed familiarization (FAM) tour. These tours allow travel writers, bloggers and other travel media as well as tour operators and travel agents to experience firsthand the sights, activities, culture and tastes of a destination. St. Lucie County tourism stakeholders and partners that host accommodations, meals, tours, etc. typically benefit greatly from positive stories/publicity received, group tours booked or individual travel. In order to qualify guests of a FAM tour and ensure a successful event, the St. Lucie County tourism office has established a FAM tour qualification process to ensure tourist tax funds and staff efforts are being used responsibly, effectively and in a transparent manner. Section 125.0104 (9) Fla. Stat. provides: “In addition to any other powers and duties provided for agencies created for the purpose of tourism promotion by a county levying the tourist development tax, such agencies are authorized and empowered to: (a) Provide, arrange, and make expenditures for transportation, lodging, meals, and other reasonable and necessary items and services for such person, as determined by the head of the agency, in connection with the performance of promotional and other duties of the agency. However, entertainment expenses shall be authorized only when meeting with travel writers, tour brokers, or other persons connected with the tourist industry. All travel and entertainment-related expenditures in excess of $10 made pursuant to this subsection shall be shown on the travel expense voucher or attached thereto. Transportation and other incidental expenses, other than those provided... The St. Lucie County tourism office has identified the criteria below to be utilized as part of qualifying potential FAM tour guests, it is broken down into three categories- travel writer, blogger and group tour operator: Any Travel Writers are requested to provide the following information, if applicable:  Name(s) of journalist and/or photographer  Mailing address  Telephone number, fax number, e-mail, etc.  Brief biographical sketch  Tear sheets not more than 2 years old  Two editorial references (name, publications, phone numbers)  Article-specific information needed or requested by tourism office  Name of targeted publication(s)  Letter of assignment (if working for a specific publication)  Arrival date, length of visit, departure date  Types of activities or special interest/focus of story/special requests  *Exceptions may be made if pre-qualified by VISIT FLORIDA  Summary of followers/reach for other influential/social media including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Any Travel Bloggers are requested to provide the following information, if applicable:  Name/URL of your blog website, length of time your website has been active  Name of social media pages and number of followers on each (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc.)  Number of blog followers (StatShow.com)  Example of engagement with your audience  Description of your audience demographics  Klout / Kred Score  Google Analytics Data  Blogger Conferences attended in the past year  List of Travel/ Blog Membership(s)  Examples of past FAM trip coverage  Any other relevant analytic data (i.e. Compete.com, Quantcast and Alexa, etc.) Any Group Tour Operators / Travel Agents are requested to provide the following information, if applicable:  Brief Description of the Company  Number of Years in Business  Type of Company: Wholesale Operator, Receptive Operator, Travel Agency, Tour Operator, Incentive, Other (please list)  Type of groups offered: FIT (free independent travelers), Group Tours, Fly Drive, Incentive, Meetings/Conventions  Examples of prior itineraries  Membership(s)/ Professional Organization(s)  Number of annual trips booked  Number of hotel nights booked annually  Number of estimated hotel to be booked in St. Lucie County  Requested FAM/Site Inspection Dates  Tentative list of all FAM participants. Please include participant name, title and company.  Intent of FAM/Site Inspection  Profile of Attendees  Written verification of airline sponsorship, including departure city, flight numbers, dates and times if applicable. All participants should also provide a brief description of what their trip will cover. The St. Lucie County Tourism office reserves the right to refuse requests if they do not match or meet the branding, marketing strategy and/or target audience of the destination. Diamond Level Blogger Blogger must have 20,000+ followers combined on social media and/or 20,000 visitors a month on their webpage. Blogger can receive up to three (3) complimentary nights at a local hotel, as well as tickets and/or free admission into three local attractions and/or activities. Blogger may be assigned to attractions based on the need of those attractions to be covered. In exchange, the blogger must complete the following within 30 days of the trip:  Write and publish one to two blogs about their trip/experience in St. Lucie for their blog o Blog must mention overnight accommodations they stayed at o Blog must mention attractions and/or activities that were experienced o Blog must encourage followers to visit and/or follow Visit St. Lucie and its partners  Blog may be repurposed and used on the Visit St. Lucie website with permission and approval from the bloggers  Submit blogs to tourism@stlucieco.org  Two to three social posts with photo and/or video accompanying each day in the destination, highlighting attractions, hotel, meals and/or activities experienced o Tag partners (when applicable) o Facebook: Tag Visit St. Lucie and use #VisitStLucie o Instagram: Tag @VisitStLucie and use #VisitStLucie o Twitter: Tag @VisitStLucie and use #VisitStLucie Gold Level Blogger Blogger must have 12,000+ followers combined on social media and/or 12,000 visitors a month on their webpage. Blogger can receive up to two (2) complimentary nights at a local hotel, as well as tickets and/or free admission into two (2) local attractions and/or activities. Blogger may be assigned to attractions based on the need of those attractions to be covered. In exchange, the blogger must complete the following within 30 days of the trip:  Write and publish one blog about their trip/experience in St. Lucie for their blog o Blog must mention overnight accommodations they stayed at o Blog must mention attractions and/or activities that were experienced o Blog must encourage followers to visit and/or follow Visit St. Lucie and its partners  Blog may be repurposed and used on the Visit St. Lucie website with permission and approval from the bloggers  Submit blogs to tourism@stlucieco.org  Two social posts with photo and/or video accompanying each day in the destination, highlighting attractions, hotel, meals and/or activities experienced o Tag partners (when applicable) o Facebook: Tag Visit St. Lucie and use #VisitStLucie o Instagram: Tag @VisitStLucie and use #VisitStLucie o Twitter: Tag @VisitStLucie and use #VisitStLucie Silver Level Blogger Blogger must have 5,000+ followers combined on social media and/or 5,000 visitors a month on their webpage. Blogger can receive one (1) complimentary night at a local hotel, as well as tickets and/or free admission into two (2) local attractions and/or activities. Blogger may be assigned to attractions based on the need of those attractions to be covered. In exchange, the blogger must complete the following within 30 days of the trip:  Write and publish one blog about their trip/experience in St. Lucie for their blog o Blog must mention overnight accommodations they stayed at o Blog must mention attractions and/or activities that were experienced o Blog must encourage followers to visit and/or follow Visit St. Lucie and its partners  Blog may be repurposed and used on the Visit St. Lucie website with permission and approval from the bloggers  Submit blogs to tourism@stlucieco.org  One social post with photo and/or video accompanying each day in the destination, highlighting attractions, hotel, meals and/or activities experienced o Tag partners (when applicable) o Facebook: Tag Visit St. Lucie and use #VisitStLucie o Instagram: Tag @VisitStLucie and use #VisitStLucie o Twitter: Tag @VisitStLucie and use #VisitStLucie