Collier asks state for $750K in BP money to advertise its oil-free beaches

NAPLES — Citing “mounting losses,” Collier County’s tourism director has asked for $750,000 from BP for marketing to offset damages caused by the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Jack Wert, the executive director of the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau, sent two letters to Gov. Charlie Crist requesting money from BP.

The state received $25 million from BP for tourism marketing in Florida, but Wert learned that it had all been spent after sending his first letter requesting a share of that money.

After the money ran out, Crist asked for another $50 million for tourism marketing to overcome damage caused by the oil spill, but BP rejected that request. The governor has asked for reconsideration and if BP does agree to give the state more money Collier will be “in the queue” for a piece of it, Wert said.

“We think we are in good shape to get those dollars if those dollars are allocated to Florida,” he said during a Collier County Tourist Development Council meeting on Monday.

Several tourism bureaus in other counties – including Lee and Miami-Dade – received grants from the first $25 million. A large share of the money went to the Panhandle, which has seen oil on its beaches, Wert said.

Collier County’s first request for money came at the end of June – 10 or more days after many others got in line for it, putting it at a disadvantage, Wert said.

It wasn’t clear right off the bat that Collier was seeing a big impact from the spill. There hasn’t been massive cancellations. But over the past few months, a few major meetings have been cancelled for summer and fall and there has been a noticeable drop off in advanced reservations.

The bureau is still battling misconceptions that oil has or could reach Southwest Florida’s shoreline. The outlook for visitation in August, September and October looks bleak in Collier.

“People are literally coming without reservations, or are calling mid-week to come that weekend,” Wert said in a phone interview Monday.

In his most recent letter to Crist, Wert wrote, “Although the leaking oil well is temporarily capped, our visitors continue to shy away from traveling to Southwest Florida. The need to increase our marketing outreach is mounting daily.”

Members of the Tourist Development Council, a county advisory board on tourism matters, agreed the money is urgently needed. Some questioned why the request for the money wasn’t made sooner.

TDC member John Sorey, a Naples councilman, asked how Lee County was able to get $500,000, while Collier got nothing.

“They applied earlier than we did,” Wert said. “They had a plan ready to go.”

In Collier, there will be significant losses for hoteliers going forward, said TDC member Rick Medwedeff, general manager of the Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort. He said “the phones have just stopped ringing from the leisure side,” referring to calls from vacation travelers.

In his letter to the governor, Wert provided quotes from customers who had changed their minds about visiting Southwest Florida. One of them said, “We had a trip planned to the Gulf Coast and decided to cancel to see what would develop. We are now going to the Caribbean.” Another said, “We are cancelling because I think that not only the oil you can see makes a disaster. I think the Gulf Coast will be destroyed for many years. So I prefer the east coast to make holidays.” Yet another said, “Because it is going to be gross down there and I don’t want to chance my family’s vacation for that we are planning a Georgia trip.”

The county has spent $478,700 of its own money trying to battle the oil spill crisis.

The bureau also participated in co-op TV and radio ads offered by Visit Florida, the state’s tourism marketing arm, which was granted the $25 million from BP. The value of those ads for Collier is estimated at more than $1.3 million, reaching new markets that it doesn’t usually advertise in over the summer because of a limited budget.

“We cannot continue to go it alone,” Wert wrote in his last letter to Crist. “We need the assistance of funding from BP to continue the misinformation fight.”

If the bureau receives the $750,000 it has requested it will:

n Advertising more heavily online and on television to reach key markets, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

n Implement a new consumer online promotion, encouraging consumers to upload beach shots and connect with the area.

n Reinforce its messaging with tour operators in the United Kingdom and Germany in September.

n Intensify its public relations efforts in Florida and in its northern feeder markets.

If the oil reaches Southwest Florida — which is not expected to happen — Wert estimates he would need another $1 million to $2 million for more advertising and public relations, depending on how bad the beaches get.

The oil spill threatens to derail all the efforts the bureau has made to recover from the devastating economic recession of 2009, Wert said.

In other business Monday, the TDC voted to recommend taking $1 million from a fund for beach park improvements to beef up marketing next year as the industry continues to face uncertainty in the wake of the massive oil spill.

The money for marketing and beach park improvements come the same source — a 4 percent charge on hotels and other short-term rentals.

Without any extra money, Wert expects to have a $2 million budget for advertising next fiscal year — less than half of what he had this year after tapping reserves for beach projects and other emergency money.

The proposal to take the $1 million from the beach park improvement fund next year for marketing needs approval from county commissioners. They are expected to vote on it in September.

For a year-round marketing campaign, which Collier needs to compete with other destinations in Florida and beyond, the bureau needs more than $4 million a year, Wert said.

The TDC also voted Monday to take another look at how the money from the tourist tax is distributed in hopes of making changes that would generate more money for advertising. Such a change would also require approval from county commissioners.

“It certainly is getting to be very critical,” Wert said. “It sure is.”

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