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Council members, residents urge Visit Jacksonville to better include Northside sites and Black-owned businesses in printed tourism materials
Summary
Council members and community advocates pressed Visit Jacksonville to add Durkeeville, Edward Waters University, JP Small Park and Northside businesses to next year’s brochure and printed materials, arguing app-first promotion and an annual magazine miss neighborhood audiences and visitors who rely on paper guides.
Councilmember Rockland Johnson (District 14) and Councilmember Jimmy Paluso (District 7), together with Visit Jacksonville staff and community speakers, discussed ways to expand the city’s tourism materials to better highlight Northside historic sites, Black-owned businesses and neighborhood attractions during a meeting with Visit Jacksonville representatives.
The discussion focused on Visit Jacksonville’s yearly printed magazine and companion digital app. “One of the things I’m really big on is the fact that Black history is Jacksonville history,” Councilmember Rockland Johnson said, urging that cultural narratives be integrated across the city’s visitor guide rather than confined to a single listing.
Why it matters: Speakers said printed materials and on-the-ground outreach reach residents and visitors who do not use apps, and they urged Visit Jacksonville to use the current budget- and plan-making window to add Northside assets to the brochure and seasonal materials.
Visit Jacksonville’s Michael Corrigan said the main visitor publication is produced once a year and that the agency is now building next year’s plan and budget with the Tourist Development Council. “That particular publication comes out once a year,” Corrigan said, adding that the timing of the council members’ request coincides with the organization’s planning cycle.
Community speakers described neighborhood assets they said are currently underpromoted. Dana Mall, representing Northside Pride, said the existing Black Heritage Trail content “comes across as a history lesson” and asked that the trail and other Northside offerings be framed as experiences that include businesses and entertainment, not only historical interpretation.
Tamisha Hill of Unified Community Investors urged more tangible, printed outreach aimed at business owners: “So some tangible magazines would be beneficial at this point in the game,” she said, arguing that seeing a business in a printed guide builds pride and helps owners recognize the benefit of participation.
Participants named specific sites and events they want added or better integrated into Visit Jacksonville materials: Edward Waters University (described in the meeting as the city’s long-standing private institution of higher learning), the Clara White Mission, the Ritz Theater Museum, JP Small Park and Stadium, Holly’s Barbecue, the Melanin Market, Riverside Arts Market and Riverside Night Market, Moncrief Springs and Durkeeville neighborhood landmarks.
Speakers also asked Visit Jacksonville to promote experiences on waterways and trails. A public commenter noted St. John’s Riverkeeper boat tours and local outfitters and urged promoting kayak and boat experiences on the Northside in the same way they are promoted elsewhere.
Corrigan said Visit Jacksonville is increasing digital marketing and is planning a second mobile visitor center to reach neighborhoods directly. He also said the Tourist Development Council recently laid out a budget framework and that the next TDC meeting will present a more detailed budget that could support changes raised during the session. “We literally are planning now,” Corrigan said.
The meeting included discussion of timing and formats: multiple speakers noted that the printed publication is updated annually (August–September) while the app and website can be updated more frequently. Councilmembers and commenters asked for a short, actionable path: a draft letter and a short report on additions to be shared with Visit Jacksonville, so staff can fold suggested changes into the current planning process.
The session closed with agreement to share the draft letter and report with Visit Jacksonville staff and to continue coordination during the TDC budget cycle. “To sit down with three council members that care enough about tourism to talk about it before we do a plan, that means a lot to us and we really appreciate it,” Corrigan said as the meeting concluded.
No formal vote or ordinance was taken at the meeting; the discussion was informational and advisory.
