Decreased Tourism is the Mother of Invention?

As the declining economy batters the travel industry, resort areas are responding with new and innovative ways to promote tourism.  Daytona Beach, Florida, is among the travel destinations hardest hit by the economy, with hotel occupancy rates at their lowest level in decades, and a 2009 travel outlook that suggests that things will only get worse.  Instead of accepting their fate, a group of merchants in Daytona Beach are fighting back by banding together and donating their products and services to create previously unheard of vacation bargains.  Our intent, explains Larry Cotelli, a local restaurant owner, is to give travelers a reason to come here by offering them free items that they won’t get at another resort area.           

This collaborative effort has resulted in a website called Daytona-Deals.com that offers discounted hotel accommodations and a collection of vacation packages that include free meals, entertainment and attraction tickets at prices that may leave you wondering if this is all too good to be true.  One package detailed on their website offers accommodations for four nights, in an oceanfront hotel, with free meals at area restaurants and a multitude of free tickets to area attractions such as water parks, ice skating, go-kart rides and miniature golf, all donated by area merchants.  The thing you may find most interesting here are the pricing options.  This entire vacation for a family of four can be purchased for $449.00 with the option of reducing the price to $199.00 if you’re willing to attend an open house during your visit.  With this open house pricing option, area merchants are willing to pick up a large portion of the cost of your vacation in exchange for a chance to sell you everything from franchise opportunities to vacation ownership.  You’re under no obligation to purchase anything to receive this marketing subsidy, and when combined with the free items donated by area merchants, the prices are hard to pass up.         

A close inspection of the fine print revealed a few important details but, for the most part, these offers appear to be the real deal.  During a call placed to the reservations number, we learned that hotel taxes costing between $7 and $10 per night are not included and respondents must qualify for the open house pricing option.  As is common with discounted vacation packages, travel is restricted during major events and holidays, so don’t buy if you’re planning to travel during the 4th of July weekend or a NASCAR event.

Steve Schlossberg, President of Accumen Marketing Group, the company spearheading the effort says, “Every aspect of this project, from licensing to call center staffing has been donated by the community.  Schlossberg estimates that 6,000 families will visit Daytona Beach in 2009 as a direct result of this campaign.  So far, the group has not received any government funding, but early results have been promising and plans are in the works to approach The Volusia County Tourism Development Board for additional funding that would be used to expand advertising and could increase these numbers exponentially.  “As tourism dollars continue to disappear and tourism dependant businesses struggle to survive, expect to see similar public/private tourism alliances being formed across the country in the coming months ,“ Schlossberg said.