9/24/1991 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Dr. William Strong, president of Regional Research Associates, came before the Board specifically to address what value there is to getting started as soon as possible. He advised that they typically divide the year into 3 parts - summer, winter, and shoulder seasons in between. Other counties focus on these "shoulder seasons" as the main thrust of their marketing efforts; they don't really want to attract more tourists in the peak seasons. The summer tourist season is a family based Florida resident type, and it is usually measured by when school gets out and restarts. The next shoulder season begins after school starts. The thrust of marketing is to expand the winte.r season rather than get more to come during the height of that season. You can't really extend the summer season. Dr. Strong noted that the people who want to get the study started as soon as possible were anxious to study the kinds of people who come prior to Thanksgiving, and he would not recommend using data from the following shoulder season as much. Dr. Strong continued to discuss the differences in the seasons and the factors that change. Chairman Bird asked if Dr. Strong felt the items covered in the proposed scope of services would be broad based enough in nature to address all the concerns and questions of the arts, the beach, sports, merchants, etc., as Commissioner Eggert brought up earlier. He noted that to get down to brass tacks, the problem is that Save Our Shores gives the impression to -some that they are only interested in saving the beach, and since they are the ones hiring Regional Research Associates, this is how the study would be slanted. Chairman Bird just wanted to*be sure that the study is as broad based as we want it to be. _ Dr. Strong stated that the intent is to cover comprehen- sively everything about the tourist industry. 'That scope of service is drawn up in looking at what other counties do in doing their tourism research. Whoever does this work will need to - interface with the Chamber of Commerce, the Arts Council, and all the varous organizations who request these funds. Commissioner Eggert expressed concern about the validity of the study in a time of depressed economy. Dr. Strong believed the numbers will ad.just for that, and he felt what you are after are the -characteristics of people who come in certain seasons. Commissioner Eggert felt that by getting only those who can afford to come, possibly we are missing a certain strata. She noted that in looking through all this, she still feels some lack of addressing the cultural aspect. She believed, in talking to 99 r%r y% UJB• fir. uC SEP. ?4 19