The Story Behind Sarasota’s Top Spot in CNN Travel

Guest Correspondence

Sarasota County is as soon as once more the speak of the city. By now, you’ve most likely heard that CNN Travel has topped our vacation spot because the Best Town to Visit in 2026—and ultimately, the remainder of America is catching on to why many people determined to maneuver, increase our households, and put money into our livelihoods right here.

If you haven’t come throughout the function but, CNN highlights what locals have lengthy identified. Sarasotais the place arts and tradition, award-winning seashores, distinctive eating, out of doors journey, and circus heritage come collectively to create our identification as Florida’s Cultural Coast®…and sure, a compelling itinerary for guests and residents alike.

The information we’ve needed to be tight-lipped about for weeks is lastly circulating broadly within the sunshine and on social feeds far past our area. And but, for as many impressions as this function has already generated, there’s one other story to be instructed. After all, nationwide consideration from powerhouse publishers like CNN don’t simply fall into our laps, regardless of how a lot Sarasota County has to write down dwelling about. Sustained, strategic advertising and marketing and outreach beats resting on our laurels any day.

Like any good secret, although, it’s solely matter of time earlier than phrase will get out. And we’d like to ensure Tourist Development Tax—that 6% surcharge that solely vacationers pay but funds so many quality-of-life facilities for residents—receives the credit score. Here’s why.

For years, our tourism group and businesses at Visit Sarasota County have taken an lively but behind-the-scenes method to securing and stewarding these accolades. As a public-private partnership, our bureau is closely powered by Tourist Development Tax, particularly our public relations efforts. Earned options and best-of lists are in any case one of many strongest nudges to persuade a customer to click on that “book” button, whose keep finally has optimistic ripple results, like maintaining companies open and residents employed, for our native economic system.

Earlier this 12 months, as a part of our ongoing communications with CNN Travel, our home PR agency, Lou Hammond Group (LHG), proactively pitched Sarasota for consideration. Over the next months, our Marketing group alongside LHG labored carefully with freelance journey journalist Terry Ward to coordinate a May go to, serving to facilitate interviews and experiences with native companies. Perspectives from the Arts & Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County, The Ringling, Circus Arts Conservatory, Discover Sarasota Tours, MOTE, and Ocean Properties, amongst many others, then helped carry this function to life.

Visit Sarasota County labored in partnership with the native tourism trade to safe help for the author’s resort lodging whereas she was in vacation spot. Tourist Development Tax, powering our efforts, funded her transportation, eating bills, and itinerary improvement, but additionally the efforts that led to incomes her consideration. If not for this tax, particularly the 13% of the vacationer improvement tax allotted to tourism advertising and marketing, there doubtless would have been no pitch, no hosted go to, no story, and fairly probably no No. 1 rating.

We’re grateful simply this week the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners unanimously accredited our 2027 price range and scope, so we are able to proceed fostering relationships with journalists like Terry and others whose items transfer the needle on bookings and, in flip, financial influence.

That funding permits us to mix specialised public relations companions with in-house experience to ship the fitting message, to the fitting viewers, via the simplest voice. Whereas LHG oversees home media, Gosh PR pitches Sarasota County globally to the U.Okay. and German markets and Knight Strategic Communications amplifies consciousness of sporting occasions amongst regional and commerce publications. We even have an inside PR company of kinds, our Community Relations group, who helps talk the worth of our bureau regionally by constructing belief, proof of partnership, and optimistic resident sentiment towards tourism.

These efforts aren’t measured in headlines alone. Already, this accolade arrives on the heels of sturdy May tourism information displaying will increase in each the variety of guests and the way a lot they spent throughout their journey, an encouraging indicator as we head into the ultimate leg of the summer season journey season.

Sarasota County stands out as the speak of the city at this time, however tales like this start lengthy earlier than the headlines. Behind each nationwide accolade celebrating Sarasota County is years of relationship-building, strategic funding, and collaboration between the private and non-private sectors.

Even although no single story drives visitation by itself, we’ll have a good time being No. 1 at this time. Tomorrow, we’ll get again to the work that received us there.

Erin Duggan is the President and CEO of Visit Sarasota County.

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