Get AI Briefings, Transcripts & Alerts on Local & National Government Meetings — Forever.
Tourism office rolls out new marketing assets, photo shoots and small-business workshops; two events canceled
Loading...
Summary
Flagler County tourism staff presented new family and wedding videos, expanded editorial coverage, restaurant photo shoots, and a Google verification initiative for local businesses. Staff also announced cancellation of two previously approved events after reviewing historical performance.
Amy Lukasick, interim tourism director, updated the Tourist Development Council on marketing and business-support work on April 17, including new video assets, expanded media coverage, restaurant photo shoots, a wedding video, and a free workshop series to help local businesses optimize online listings.
Lukasick said the office created three versions of a family-focused video (3-minute, 30-second and 15-second cuts) to live on the tourism website and YouTube channel and to use in advertising. She said the office produced a destination-wedding video staged at Hammock Beach Resort to promote wedding and honeymoon business.
The tourism office expanded editorial coverage with Edible Magazine, arranging double-page spreads and a group photo shoot for Flagler Beach restaurants; staff provided the resulting photography to the restaurants for their own promotion. Lukasick said the vendor for the shoots was based in St. Augustine and that the office maintains a vendor library from competitive procurement, but she and board members discussed that many local photographers and videographers do not bid on larger projects because of equipment and cost constraints.
Lukasick said staff held a free one-hour tourism workshop for Flagler Beach businesses and that 22 business representatives attended; workshop topics included website listings and content, social-media promotion, paid advertising, and how Visit Florida can assist non-members. She said the office worked with a Google travel-and-tourism partner to audit local business listings and that staff can use a Google Pixel phone to verify business listings in the field and capture 360-degree photos and other assets for business profiles.
Lukasick announced staff canceled two previously approved events — the Coquina Cup and the EVP volleyball tournament — after reviewing historical performance, ROI and staff capacity. She said low registration and staff limitations motivated the cancellations; the council discussed the Coquina Cup’s low registration as a reason for the decision.
On destination metrics, Lukasick said the county had two down months earlier in the year but that preliminary March figures showed an expected increase of about 1.75% for March; overall staff anticipates the year might be “flat or down a little” but will continue marketing efforts.
The office also described local business support offers: assistance updating VisitPalmCoast website listings, social-media and newsletter promotion, and free tools such as a selfie light to improve photos. Lukasick encouraged board members to spread the word and said staff will continue workshop outreach.
Why this matters: richer marketing assets and direct business support can improve destination competitiveness, distribution of visitor spending, and business owners’ online visibility; canceling low-performing events reallocates limited staff resources.
Sources: Council meeting transcript (April 17, 2019); remarks by Amy Lukasick.
