Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tampa Tribune article on tourism:
Tampa area aims for top tier in tourism revenue
By Yvette C. Hammett | Tribune Staff
Published: December 1, 2014 |
TAMPA — Santiago Corrada is zeroing in on foreigners eager for some beach time, Midwest families hoping to hustle from Busch Gardens to The Mouse in Orlando, and conventioneers hungry for Tampa cuisine or Ybor City’s growing craft beer scene.
Even as county leaders push to diversify the area’s economy with more high-tech business and biomedical research companies, tourism remains an important focus.
With new hotels on the horizon, growing convention business and major sporting events in Hillsborough County’s future, Corrada, president and CEO of the tourism agency Visit Tampa Bay, aims to thrust the county into the elite high-rollers club — those collecting more than $30 million annually in bed taxes.
And he wants to do it in three years or less.
His plan is based on financial metrics, not dreams, he said.
Membership in that exclusive club would allow the county to consider adding a sixth cent to its bed tax, an additional $6 million annually. Corrada says it is too soon to speculate on how that money could be used — it’s up to the county commission — but it could be designated for anything from pure promotion to paying for new arenas.
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The tourist development tax, or bed tax, is a surcharge levied on any short-term rental, including hotel rooms.
Hillsborough County Commission Chairwoman Sandra Murman said she applauds Corrada’s efforts as a way to help visitors pay their way by supporting improvements to venues such as Raymond James Stadium and Amalie Arena.
“Our big goal is to land a major Fortune 500 company here,” Murman said. “That will put us on the map.”
In the long run, that would attract more tourists who will spend more money to grow the local economy, she said.
“As more people work and live here, more interest grows in the arts and culture,” which means more attractions for tourists.
So far there are only a handful of members in this high-rollers club, and almost all are beachfront counties, including Pinellas. But Corrada thinks Hillsborough County has amassed enough treasure to draw tourists interested in everything between those beaches and Disney World.
“30 in 3 is not far-fetched; it’s not a whim. We may be able to do it even sooner. We’ve looked at past growth, what is on the books and production we expect from the team.”
This year, the county collected $24 million in tourist development taxes, he said.
“We’ve had some great fortune, being able to lock in marquee sexy events like Bollywood, the women’s Final Four in 2015, the men’s Frozen Four in 2016, the college national championship game in 2017. … We’ve got some pretty strong years coming up,” Corrada said.
Then there is the growing number of foreign tourists, a collaborative effort between Tampa International Airport, Visit Tampa Bay, Visit St. Pete-Clearwater and the business community.
“Frankfurt will be in place,” with Lufthansa German Airlines announcing nonstop flights to and from Tampa, Copa Airlines flying daily to Panama City and Edelweiss Airlines flying to and from Zurich. There are also regular nonstop flights from Britain.
“There are a lot of leisure travel opportunities,” Corrada said.
Visit Tampa Bay is taking a multipronged approach to growing tourism, providing information on how easy it is to get to the beach from here, the nightlife in Ybor City, the upscale and culturally rich cuisine throughout the county, Busch Gardens, the Straz Center, The Florida Aquarium and more.
Hotels will play a big role in future tourism growth for Hillsborough County as well, and so far, Corrada said, the stars appear to be aligned.
Aloft, Epicurean and La Meridien all opened here during the past year. Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik is working on a 400-room downtown hotel, and plans were announced recently for an upscale hotel in Ybor City designed to embrace the area’s history.
“There’s been a lot of investment by hotel owners groups, so they can ask higher rates,” Corrada said. “Hotels need to keep the rates moving in the right direction” to help the bed tax grow, he said. Higher rates mean more tax money to promote the county.
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Right now, Hillsborough County allocates the first 3 cents, or 72 percent, of its bed tax to Visit Tampa Bay. Seven percent goes to the convention center. The Tampa Bay Sports Commission gets 5 percent, and the Straz Center gets 3.9 percent. The remainder goes to the Plant City, Ruskin and Ybor City chambers of commerce.
Only eight counties belong to the high-rollers club: Duval, Volusia, Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Orange, Osceola and Pinellas.
Pinellas County joined the high rollers last year but has yet to institute the sixth cent on its bed tax. The Tourist Development Council there recently voted to limit how much of its bed tax can be spent on capital projects to ensure that most of that money goes to promote tourism in the county.
It is holding on to its option to levy the sixth cent, in case the need for a new baseball stadium arises.
Hillsborough County’s promotional budget is $1.8 million a year. Pinellas County already devotes $12 million to promotion — not only as a beach destination, but also as a cultural one, said David Downing, interim director for Visit St. Pete-Clearwater.
He said Pinellas spends the bulk of its money targeting core markets such as New York, this year wrapping 577 subway cars with Visit St. Pete banners, wrapping four double-decker buses, installing 1,500 elevator screens and handing out 300,000 promotional coffee cup sleeves through street vendors.
Visit St. Pete-Clearwater is also spending thousands to promote new nonstop flights from outside the country, Downing said. It’s a constant promotional job.
Downing agrees with Corrada that new air service development “really moves the needle. We have to get people here on direct flights not just for leisure, but for business.”
