     |
Florida travel rebounds after storms"FLORIDA TRAVEL" Can't find what you need? Try a Google Web Search in the box below!
Oct. 4--What keeps Florida tourism honchos awake at night after four hurricanes in six weeks? Probably the lingering image of Jim Cantore. Some worry that prospective visitors who watched The Weather Channel's windblown storm tracker will think twice about coming here for Florida travel. "What concerns me is that people who have never been here before watch him and think, I'm not going there," said Charles Lehmann, director of the Palm Beach County Tourist Development Council. Florida took an unprecedented pounding in August and September, and nobody knows yet what effect the storms will have on state tourism of Florida travel for this season and beyond. For now, though, many local executives say they don't believe the hit will be too hard and that tourists will come back -- even if it costs millions more in advertising to get them here. Visit Florida, the state's source for travel planning, is conducting focus-group sessions to determine what tourists think of the state now and whether the recent storms will change their Florida travel plans. "The results will show us how much money we need to spend to change the perceptions," said Tom Flanigan, spokesman for Visit Florida. "It may be minimal, but it may require a massive marketing intervention." The Florida Commission on Tourism and Visit Florida's board of directors planned to meet with Gov. Jeb Bush today in Miami to discuss what "extraordinary marketing initiatives" might be necessary in the wake of an historic hurricane season. Local tourism groups say they plan to boost their advertising efforts to show visitors that the spate of storms shouldn't change their image of Florida travel. The Lake Worth Chamber of Commerce intends to spend about $5,000 -- and hopes to get matching money from the county or state -- for brochures and national newspaper advertisements. And the Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau might use money from its reserves to beef up advertising and marketing. "The American people's memory is very short, and I think we're going to recover quicker than we did after 9/11," said Tom Ramiccio, head of the Lake Worth chamber and a board member of the convention and visitors bureau. Tourism researcher Larry Yu agrees that the wide-ranging tragedy of Sept. 11 will prove to have been far worse for Florida travel tourism than any natural disasters. "Resorts and destinations need to do two things real quickly: Assess the damage and fix it, and communicate with their markets and let them know everything is back to normal," said Yu, chairman of the department of tourism and hospitality management at George Washington University. "I really don't think (hoteliers) will have to offer deep discounts, because Florida travel is known as a destination. People will come back as long as everything is back to normal." Can't find what you need? Try a Google Web Search in the box below!
And that's happening, albeit slowly. The majority of Palm Beach County's 225 hotels are open and have only limited availability, according to the convention and visitors bureau. The Four Seasons Resort in Palm Beach sustained little damage in both storms and reopened last week. The Breakers, which had more extensive damage, is scheduled to reopen Thursday. The Jupiter Beach Resort is expected to be closed until the first of the year. The Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach, in Manalapan, is not planning to accept guests again until Thanksgiving. While the Ritz is losing business in October and much of November -- a traditionally busy time for corporate meetings -- the hotel is seeing solid bookings for the holidays and beyond, spokeswoman Crissy Poorman said. The Palm Beach County Convention Center didn't lose any bookings and actually gained 50 to 60 when functions had to be moved from hotels and other sites because of damage from the storms. "The convention center came out ahead," said Mac McLaughlin, head of the convention and visitors bureau. "It's not the kind of business we wanted to get, but business is business." McLaughlin said he also isn't aware of major losses in bookings countywide. "The general opinion is that there has been no great loss in business without rebooking," he said. "In other words, nobody is saying, I'm not coming there, I'm going to Cleveland." The Breakers had reopened for one day following Hurricane Frances before discovering that Hurricane Jeanne was heading here as well. Jeanne's rain caused damage to about 200 of the 560 rooms, but otherwise officials were pleased with how the property weathered the second storm. "I don't think this is going to have any impact on the winter season," said David Burke, director of sales and marketing for the resort. "Our guests are relatively savvy and realize that in winter it's not hurricane season." Burke and other hoteliers did concede that marketing to tourists for Florida travel next September could be difficult, but they're confident they can find a way to fill the rooms. "People who book conferences for next September already are getting into that booking cycle," said Maria Hirt, director of marketing for the Four Seasons. "The last thing you want is for them to be hesitant. But you just have to talk them through it and let them know that even though it happened this year, (four hurricanes) is not an every-year thing." Even on the Treasure Coast, which took the worst of Frances and Jeanne, officials say they have reason for optimism. The eye of both storms passed over Pirates Cove Resort in Port Salerno, but it survived with relatively minimal damage, General Manager Gary Guertin said. Jeanne did batter at least five of the resort's 50 boat slips, and they likely won't be repaired in time for the start of the season. But the 50 rooms and restaurant are operational. "One interesting thing I heard from some of my contacts up north was that all the snowbirds would be coming down early this year to check on the damage to their houses," said Guertin, who also is chairman of the Martin County Tourist Development Council. "They might just stay and end up coming here a month earlier. So that might actually be a boost for our Florida travel. "Right now, it's a pretty fall day. It's nice and warm. I don't think people will not come here because we've had hurricanes." St. Lucie County tourism took a bigger hit, with 40 percent of its 2,700 hotel rooms unrentable for a month or more, said Erick Gill, spokesman for the county's tourism and economic development division. But Gill said the county still is getting calls from tourists who want to come to fish for snook and hunt for Spanish coins. The Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution north of Fort Pierce has suspended tours after sustaining $30 million in damage from both storms. "In a month, things will die down and we'll get the tourists back," Gill said."Florida travel with be back!" A full flight schedule at Palm Beach International Airport will help hoteliers across the region. PBIA previously announced that it expected to have 204 daily flights by December -- eclipsing for the first time the level of service before the Sept. 11 attacks. Can't find what you need? Try a Google Web Search in the box below!
Boaters traveling here will be disappointed because marinas were hit especially hard during the storms, leaving limited dock space for seasonal boaters. And Frances ruined the Lake Worth Pier, which won't be ready anytime soon. The cost to rebuild it: nearly $2 million. "Without this pier, it's going to hurt us," said Ramiccio of the Lake Worth chamber. "People know, when they see the pier, that they're in Lake Worth. It's a landmark, and it's an important part of our Florida travel tourism." But officials are comforted in knowing that the damage to the region, while severe in some areas, could have been much worse. Most area beaches appear to be fine. And after Jeanne, life seemed to return to normal more quickly than after Frances, said Lehmann of the tourist development council. "Within a short period of time, residents here will all be talking to their relatives, and the word will get out that we've returned to normal activities," Lehmann said. "Other than a few blue tarps on roofs, it doesn't look that bad." At the 279-room Palm Beach Gardens Marriott, General Manager Roger Amidon isn't concerned about whether tourists will come Florida travel here as usual. Amidon recently spoke to a longtime customer who made his regular winter reservations without even mentioning the two hurricanes. The hotel is almost full now, and Amidon doesn't think that'll change much. "I think we're all going to rebound very quickly," he said. "When the snows starts to fall up north like it did last year, people will be calling.".... Compare airline ticket prices for Florida travel here /cheap airfares home |