Lee County VCB offers customized marketing tools for agents booking The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel

Contacts:
Jackie MacKay (407) 814-0014 or (407) 496-1770
Lee Rose (239) 338-3500

LEE COUNTY, FL – In what may be the first approach of its kind in the travel industry, the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau (VCB) is offering a new Travel Planning Signature Series program that customizes marketing tools for travel agents to assist their clients at different stages of their vacation planning, including a new Web site and vacation guide.

To create the program, the VCB, which promotes travel to The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel along the Gulf of Mexico in southwest Florida, conducted an extensive vacation planning tools study. It was designed to gain a better understanding of what consumers seek from information sources at various points in their decision-making process. This enabled the VCB to optimize its vacation planning materials by linking content to changing consumer expectations during the decision-making cycle.

Results of the study showed that consumers use and want numerous different sources of information for travel planning and that they employ a convergence of on-line and off-line communication vehicles when making travel decisions. Delivering what consumers need at each stage of planning is the key to successful destination marketing.

"One size doesn't fit all, especially when it comes to travel planning" said D.T. Minich, CDME, VCB executive director. "Our research clearly shows that vacationers go through predictable planning stages, so we've designed a program to help travel agents assist their clients at different points in their decision-making process."

In response to its research findings, the VCB created a robust mix of marketing materials that travel agents can use to meet their own needs and those of their clients. The cornerstones of the program are a just-unveiled Web site and a vacation guide that mirrors traditional travel guidebooks found at bookstores, complete with insider tips; best bets; an illustrated timeline of the area's history; a glossary of key terms related to the destination; a subject index; suggestions for one-day mix-and-match vacation days; and even day trips to the nearby destinations of Sarasota, Naples, the Everglades and Key West.

The unique new vacation guide is the 14th guidebook written by Juliette Reynolds, a 15-year veteran of travel writing who researched the The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel book for 3½ years. At 5¼ by 8¼ inches, her 154-page digest-size guide is easily transportable as a vacation resource.

Critical to travel agents is a version of the new vacation guide that eliminates accommodations information and advertising so that agents can control the accommodations portion of the trip. The VCB can provide agents with a supply of printed vacation guides at no charge. In addition, an electronic version of the same vacation guide is available to agents who request it from the destination's online Travel Agent Help Desk at www.FortMyersSanibel.com.

"We've received repeated requests from the travel trade industry for planning tools that do not include accommodations information or advertising," said Minich. "So we're one of the first destinations to produce a version of our vacation guide to meet that demand. We've been sensitive to the needs of agents who want to maintain existing relationships or recommendations with regard to accommodations."

Including the Web site and vacation guide, the Travel Planning Signature Series features eight marketing tools that the VCB is offering agents, each one including more specific details about the destination as travelers select The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel and begin planning their trip. A rack brochure; destination overview brochure; and Tradewinds, the VCB's official newspaper distributed via direct mail and newspaper insertions, are more general in nature and sell the destination to those who haven't heard of the area or who haven't yet decided where to vacation.

Additionally, there are four versions of the new travel guide to assist those who have selected The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel as their vacation spot and are in a planning mode. Besides the two printed pieces -- one with and one without advertisements and accommodations listings – there are two online versions of the same vacation guide – again, one with and one without advertisements and accommodations listings.

The new Web site, which features consumer, travel trade and international versions, is designed to assist travelers in not only selecting the destination but also in planning their trip.

One final element of the destination's customized program is a Paradise.calm e-newsletter, with regular and value editions for travel agents and past guests who opt into receiving regular communication from the VCB. The e-newsletter helps the destination maintain a relationship with both travel agents and past guests in order to entice repeat bookings and visitation.

Travel agents who need a supply of Travel Planning Signature Series marketing materials, including printed and online versions of the new vacation guide, can call (800) 237-6444 or they can visit www.FortMyersSanibel.com and click on the "Tour and Travel" section of the site to access the Travel Agent Help Desk.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel include: Sanibel & Captiva islands, Fort Myers Beach, Fort Myers, Bonita Springs & Estero, Cape Coral, Pine Island, Boca Grande & Outer islands, North Fort Myers, Lehigh Acres. Images available upon request.