More tourists are choosing the First Coast for their vacations.
In the first nine months of 2018 the First Coast had a 1.9% increase from 2017 tourist numbers in Duval, St. Johns and Nassau counties, according to Smith Travel, which looked at hotel occupancy rates.
Michael Corrigan, president of Visit Jacksonville, explained that he has used different marketing approaches to help keep Jacksonville’s positive tourism scene. “Those who live here know that Jacksonville is the premiere city in the state of Florida,” Corrigan said.
Corrigan said his agency markets to cities that have direct flights to Jacksonville. It's also using a newer form of marketing that taps into social media “influencers,” who typically have hundreds of thousands of followers on social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Related: Listen to Corrigan's full interview on First Coast Connect
Corrigan said Visit Jacksonville would either directly market to the influencer’s social media platform or pay influencers to experience Jacksonville for themselves.
That way they can tell their followers all that Jacksonville has to offer. “Once you visit Jacksonville you start to fall in love with it,” Corrigan explained.
Corrigan also addressed the current media campaign, called "Jax. It's Easier Here." He said it has been performing well around the country although locally people were not embracing it as much.
'Jax. It's Easier Here ' Video Campaign
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjCnAc9qVQw
Amanda Brannon can be reached at newsteam@wjct.org, 904-358-6317.
