Lee VCB offers news
VCB and partners promote destination along Florida’s west coast
The VCB and seven tourism industry partners recently scoured Florida’s West Coast in sales calls with travel agents and AAA offices to encourage in-state trips during the summer months. Four teams, including two Beach buisnesses, shared the latest promotional materials including summer value packages and specials offered by partners during visits to more than 100 agencies from Punta Gorda north to Brooksville. Joining the VCB were representatives of SunStream Hotels & Resorts, Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre, McKibbon Hotels, Edison & Ford Winter Estates, Homewood Suites by Hilton Fort Myers, Miromar Outlets and Pink Shell Beach Resort & Marina. A highlight of the weeklong sales mission was attendance at the Suncoast Travel Industry Association trade show, which provided networking with more than 100 agents.
VCB accepting E Award nominations through Aug. 3
The VCB invites industry partners and visitors to Lee County to nominate customer service superstars for the annual E Awards, which recognize customer service professionals who have enhanced a visitor’s experience with outstanding assistance. The nomination form is quick, simple and available online at www.EAwards.org. Employees throughout Lee County are eligible to be recognized in six nomination categories: accommodations, attractions, Good Samaritan, restaurant, transportation and other services/businesses. In addition, the VCB is seeking nominations for the Best Tourism Boss award to recognize supervisors in the local tourism industry who go the extra mile to support their workers.
The deadline for E Awards and Best Tourism Boss nominations is Aug. 3, and the awards will be presented Sept. 12. Produced by the VCB and The News-Press Media Group, the E Awards are sponsored in collaboration with local businesses to encourage and support service excellence being provided by Lee County hospitality professionals. For more information, call 590-4855 or contact Simone Behr at sbehr@leegov.com.
RSW traffic decreases in April
During April, 790,322 passengers traveled through Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW), a decrease of 12.9 percent compared to April 2011. Year-to-date, passenger traffic is down 5.6 percent from the same period last year. The traffic leader in April was Delta with 177,708 passengers traveling to and from RSW. Rounding out the top five airlines were Southwest (103,472), JetBlue (102,021), AirTran (97,814) and US Airways (88,140).