Broward targets tech in $5M bid to lure tourists
$1 million budgeted to calm Irma fears
FORT LAUDERDALE Broward County plans to shell out more money on marketing initiatives in 2018 to woo more domestic and international visitors — but with a stronger emphasis on digital and social media promotions, tourism officials said Thursday.
The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau will invest $5 million — 25 percent more than in 2017 — on mediarelated marketing and advertising, with 60 percent of that budget going to digital programs. Of that amount, $1 million is being used to combat negative marketplace perceptions in key U.S. source markets that may have arisen following Hurricane Irma. The goal: protect the forthcoming peak winter travel season.
That early promotional push via social media, radio, and television channels will target markets such as California, Texas and the Midwest and Northeastern U.S., bureau officials said.
In 2018, more attention will be given to harnessing technology to increase visitation and to produce better insights about the visitors who come to the county.
“We’ll use technology to take the guess work out of advertising, better target our customers and have real-time assessment of how our messaging influenced a decision to visit, length of stay and if, and when a visitor returns,” said Stacy Ritter, the tourism bureau’s president and CEO, told an annual luncheon crowd of 500 people Thursday. “This adds up to a more effective and efficient use of our marketing dollars.”
Growing millennial, LGBTQ and multicultural visitations remain key targets for 2018. The bureau also wants to increase Broward’s group visitor and meetings profile as the county moves to expand its convention center and build a hotel there.
“We’re putting a stronger focus on working with niche and general market storytellers to share the authentic experience of our destination, and we have the right strategy and assets for shareworthy content to inspire future visitors,” Ritter said.
In 2016, Broward welcomed 12.27 million domestic visitors, up 4 percent from 2015 and saw a 13 percent increase in international tourists to 1.01 million (excluding Canadians), new collection data shows.
This year, tourism has held relatively strong in spite of the tragic shooting incident at Fort Lau-