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CVB outlines $15M marketing program, emphasizes bed-tax-funded outreach
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Summary
The Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau told the city commission it aims to drive visitation through a $15M marketing program funded primarily by bed taxes, experiential activations and targeted digital campaigns that reach Florida, the Southeast and key international markets.
Lori Campbell Baker, executive director of the Daytona Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, told the commission the bureau's mission is "economic impact, so economic and community vitality through destination promotion," and described the organization's structure, staffing and funding model.
Baker said the Halifax Area Advertising Authority oversees the bureau's work; the bureau operates two visitor centers, employs 19 staff and relies on two separate bed taxes. She explained one 3% county tourist development tax funds the Ocean Center and a separate 3% convention development tax is levied in subareas and used for marketing across three local bureaus.
Chief marketing officer Kaye Galloway outlined target audiences and tactics, saying leisure marketing focuses on adults 25 to 54 with a core household income around $100,000, while noting the bureau also pursues families, seniors and niche activity interests such as golf, pickleball, arts and outdoor adventure. Galloway described a roughly $8 million annual media spend across paid social, connected TV, online travel agencies, print, radio, billboards and experiential pieces such as a 20-foot inflatable used at festivals.
The CVB leaders emphasized digital reach: daytonabeach.com receives substantial monthly traffic (the presentation cited about 800,000 users per month), segmented e-newsletters (a database the bureau said totals about 250,000) and 18 social channels used to distribute content. Baker invited city staff and local event organizers to submit tourism-related events for free listing on the site and identified a staff liaison for business outreach.
Commissioners asked how the CVB would support the city's 150th-anniversary events and how the bureau coordinates with local cultural institutions; Baker said the centennial dates and events are already promoted on the site and in e-newsletters and that the CVB will amplify city postings when appropriate. The presentation closed with commissioners thanking the bureau for the report and describing it as an "excellent presentation."
