FY2022 TDC Marketing Plans all Agencies

Table of Contents FY22 Culture Council Marketing Plan FY22 Destination Marketing Plan FY22 FTC Marketing Plan FY22 PBCSC Marketing Plan

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Cultural Council Marketing Plan

FY22

Executive Summary

Cultural Tourism Marketing Plan Executive Summary

Dear cultural tourism stakeholders, Cultural tourism is big business in Florida. Pre-pandemic, the state attracted more than 100 million visitors per year, and 65% of those visitors took part in at least one cultural activity.

These visitors spent more on their trips and stayed longer than other visitors.

The Palm Beaches are called “Florida’s Cultural Capital®” because art and culture are part of the destination’s brand and what helps set it apart from other travel locations. The destination is home to outstanding arts and cultural organizations that offer thousands of events annually, generate $633 million in economic impact and employ over 14,000 people, due, in part to the support of the Cultural Council and the leadership of the Tourist Development Council and its board of directors.

While COVID-19 has impacted arts and cultural organizations across the globe, The Palm Beaches continues to invest in infrastructure to meet the needs of increased tourism. Many institutions have used this time to focus on planned renovations and expansions. Examples include the Maltz Jupiter Theatre’s new 30,000-square-foot addition that includes a Broadway-scale stage, an expanded orchestra pit, a state-of-the-art production center and a second 199-seat theatre. Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach is underway with a $20 million expansion that will add another 27,500-square-feet to its campus to accommodate about 45 sea turtle patients, or about twice as many as it can now. It also will have six times as much educational space, a large research lab, new auditorium and exhibit space, and an in-house water filtration system to provide sea turtle patients with uncompromised water in the event of a crisis such as red tide. And for visual arts aficionados, The Norton Museum of Art opened a $100 million renovation and expansion by the legendary Sir Norman Foster in 2019, and the Boca Raton Museum of Art will debut the world-premiere exhibit, Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru in October. This growth and investment will continue to build The Palm Beaches’ reputation for being a world-class destination for art and culture.

While experts have predicted vital leisure and hospitality industries won’t return to normal levels until 2024, part of the Cultural Council’s program of work will be to find ways to beat projections and support the return of tourism in The Palm Beaches by leveraging its arts and cultural offerings.

A recent article in Travel Weekly (August 12, 2021) states: “As leisure travel continues to rebound, family travel is showing impressive growth potential, according to several travel advisors — and cultural experiences are an especially attractive fit for this lucrative market.”

Understanding our role in tourism recovery, the Cultural Council’s marketing plan for FY22 will continue to build on the success of its “Where Culture Always Shines” brand campaign to meet its performance measures and inspire cultural travel. Some of the highlights include: 1.

Optimizing a digital-focused strategy to find the balance in driving impressions and highly engaged users; and staying nimble with target audiences—especially as travel trends continue to be impacted by the pandemic—by using insights from VISIT FLORIDA, Discover, and other TDC agencies to market to the right audiences at the right time.

2. Building on the MOSAIC campaign in its fifth year by engaging a local visual artist to update the creative with new work; refining the media strategy based on travel & tourism climate and learnings from past performance; and researching (possibly implementing) new technology that all participating orgs can use to track redemptions and provide universal user experience.

3. Strategically locating the giant “Shades of Culture” around the county building partnerships with host cities or attractions to maximize attention and visitor engagement, including Lake Worth Beach, Wellington and Riviera Beach.

4. Utilizing earned media to reach a goal of 1.4B impressions to promote cultural tourism, leveraging the excitement that today’s travelers have to visit arts & cultural organizations. One important element in FY22 will be to bring back the New York media luncheon/reception in the Fall to build excitement for the upcoming season and begin cultivating media targets for FAM tour visits. This year, the Council is exploring a partnership with Discover The Palm Beaches on this initiative.

5. Publishing the award-winning magazine three times a year (Fall, Winter, Spring/Summer), featuring behind-the-scenes stories about cultural organizations, performances, and collectors that help build awareness for The Palm Beaches as a world-class destination for arts and culture.

On the grantmaking and advocacy side, the Cultural Council also has a strong plan in FY22 to improve processes, strive for efficiencies and provide important professional development and support services to the sector. Some of the highlights include: 1.

Creating and implementing workshops and technical assistance programs to aid organizations in the application and submission process.

2. Instituting a bi-annual site visit initiative to monitor grantees and funded activities.

3. Refining and revising interim and final report instruments to provide information on funded projects and programs, as well as metrics to monitor effectiveness and impact of funded projects.

4. Adding enhancements to co-op strategy to make marketing dollars more effective.

5. Building capacity for the cultural sector with quality professional development opportunities through the Institute for Cultural Advancement (ICA) by offering six workshops led by locally or regionally recognized speakers; maximizing attendance capacity; and encouraging audience diversity so there is a mix of cultural organizations, arts educators, and creative professionals.

Equally as important to its marketing and grantmaking, The Cultural Council will continue to promote Equity, Diversity and Inclusion both internally and externally. The host partners plan to reconvene after the Arts & Tourism Summit on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (Aug. 2021) to share case studies and best practices in a virtual Town Hall meeting. And, the Council will continue to demonstrate our commitment to this initiative by funding a customized 6-

month Palm Beaches Diversity Challenge in collaboration with Discover The Palm Beaches and the People’s Institute for a cohort of 10 cultural and hospitality organizations to launch in the Fall.

This has been an unprecedented year, but it has taught us that we are stronger together and has made our TDC agency communication and partnerships stronger than ever.

We look forward to the new year.

Thank you for your continued support and leadership.

Dave Lawrence President & CEO

Jennifer Sullivan VP of Marketing & Programs

Marketing Plan

FY22 CULTURAL TOURISM MARKETING PLAN INTRODUCTION What is a Local Arts Agency?

The nation’s 4,500 Local Arts Agencies (LAAs) promote, support, and develop the arts at the local level ensuring a vital presence for the arts throughout America’s communities. LAAs are diverse in their makeup—they have many different names and embrace a spectrum of artistic disciplines – but each works to sustain the health and vitality of the arts and artists locally, while also striving to make the arts accessible to all members of a community. Each LAA in America is unique to the community that it serves and each evolves within its community—no two LAAs are exactly alike in name, programming or even mission.

---Americans for the Arts About The Council The Cultural Council for Palm Beach County is the LAA for The Palm Beaches, Florida’s Cultural Capital®. The 501(c)3 nonprofit organization is dedicated to promoting cultural activities, fostering the growth of the sector, encouraging opportunities for professional artists and enhancing local arts education. In this leadership role, the Council administers a portion of the local Tourist Development Fund (“bed tax”) under contract with Palm Beach County to promote the destination’s cultural offerings through grants, advertising, and public relations programs.

The Council’s headquarters in downtown Lake Worth Beach —The Robert M. Montgomery, Jr. Building—is a venue highlighting works by Palm Beach County visual and performing artists in its galleries and store, and a premier resource for tourists and residents seeking information about arts and culture in The Palm Beaches through its VISIT FLORIDA-certified Visitor’s Information Center and signature Cultural Concierge program.

Priorities • • • • • •

Promote cultural tourism Provide grants to cultural organizations and professional artists Advocate for cultural issues and funding at the local, state and federal levels Offer support services to build capacity for cultural organizations and foster growth of the sector Create opportunities for creative professionals (artists, musicians, dancers, actors, writers, etc.)

Enhance local arts education by supporting teaching artists and educators

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Mission Champion. Engage. Grow.

Fulfilling the need for arts and cultural experiences in Palm Beach County.

Equity Statement We believe that everyone has cultural traditions that are inherently valuable. We seek to honor and value creative expression of all people through the work of the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County. Creating an art-filled community means seeing, celebrating, and serving all. Cultural equity is essential to a sustainable arts and cultural sector and a vibrant and thriving community.

Cultural tourism is big business in Florida The state attracts more than 100 million* visitors per year, and 65% of those visitors take part in at least one cultural activity. These visitors spend more on their trips and stay longer than other visitors. The Palm Beaches are called “Florida’s Cultural Capital®” because art and culture are part of the destination’s brand and what helps set it apart from other travel locations. The destination is home to outstanding arts and cultural organizations that offer thousands of events annually, generate $633 million in economic impact and employ over 14,000 people, due, in part to the support of the Council.

While COVID-19 has impacted arts and cultural organizations across the globe, The Palm Beaches continues to invest in infrastructure to meet the needs of increased tourism. Many institutions are using this time to focus on planned renovations and expansions. Examples include the Maltz Jupiter Theatre’s new 30,000-square-foot addition that includes a Broadway-scale stage, an expanded orchestra pit, a state-of-the-art production center and a second 199-seat theatre. Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach is underway with a $20 million expansion that will add another 27,500-square-feet to its campus to accommodate about 45 sea turtle patients, or about twice as many as it can now. It also will have six times as much educational space, a large research lab, new auditorium and exhibit space, and an in-house water filtration system to provide sea turtle patients with uncompromised water in the event of a crisis such as red tide. And for visual arts aficionados, The Norton Museum of Art opened a $100 million renovation and expansion by the legendary Sir Norman Foster in 2019. This growth and investment will continue to build The Palm Beaches’ reputation for being a world-class destination for art and culture. *This data is pre-pandemic. VISIT FLORIDA has reported that the state handled 86.714 million travelers in 2020, down 34% from the previous year and the lowest number in a decade. Experts have predicted vital leisure and hospitality industries won’t return to normal until 2024. Part of the CCPBC’s program of work will be to find ways to beat projections and support the return of tourism in The Palm Beaches by leveraging its arts and cultural offerings.

Investing in Cultural Tourism in The Palm Beaches** As the LAA, the Council administers two county grant programs in coordination with the Tourist Development Council that are designed to support tourism efforts by funding marketing and program expenses associated with offering top-tier performances, exhibitions and events. Over $4 million is awarded annually in two categories—Category B grants for major institutions and Category C-II grants for mid-sized institutions (based on budget size).

As part of this grantmaking, the Council facilitates a biennial audience-intercept survey to collect standardized spending and marketing data to evaluate economic impact and the return on investment of these funds. The following highlights some of the results from the 2018-2019 report:

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CULTURAL TOURISTS (non‐residents visiting Palm Beach County SPECIFICALLY to experience the county's arts and cultural opportunities) • 52.8% report that this was their first-ever visit to Palm Beach County.

• 83.2% made the decision to attend the grantee where they were surveyed before arriving in Palm Beach County.

• 64.1% report that cultural opportunities were a significant factor in their decision to visit Palm Beach County.

• 58.2% report that they only visited one cultural destination during their entire visit to Palm Beach County (i.e., the event where they were surveyed) • 88.4% anticipate that they will visit Palm Beach County again in the future.

• 81.3% anticipate that they will return to the grantee where they were surveyed in the future.

• 67.2% only spent one day in Palm Beach County (i.e., daytrippers).

• 32.8% spent at least one night in Palm Beach County (i.e., overnighters), and they spent an average of 11.3 nights.

• 61.1% of overnighters utilized paid lodging in Palm Beach County (i.e., hotel, motel, resort, vacation rental, Airbnb).

ECONOMIC IMPACT • Grantees generated an estimated $589,138,628 in total culture‐related spending in Palm Beach County during FY 2018‐19. These dollars include all event‐related spending ($326,658,182), any additional spending in Palm Beach County by nonresidents who traveled specifically to experience Palm Beach County's arts and cultural opportunities ($118,814,084), and the aggregate budgets of the grantees themselves excluding admissions‐related revenues ($143,666,362).

• This total culture‐related spending attributed to the grantees supporting 13,434 full‐ time equivalent jobs, generating $280,726,000 in household income to Palm Beach County residents, and generating $55,117,000 in revenue to local and state governments (e.g., taxes, licenses, permits).

• Cultural tourists utilized an estimated total of 316,151 room nights in paid lodging in Palm Beach County during their trip, spending an estimated total of $67,775,172 on paid lodging. ** Since many Categories B and C-II grantees closed due to COVID-19 (some remain closed) and had reduced visitation, the Council has paused the audience intercept survey process in 2020-2021 and collected data in a different way during this period. The survey process is expected to resume in FY23.

Cultural Tourism Marketing – Where Culture Always Shines The Council also manages an annual contract with the county through the Tourist Development Council to create a multi-faceted marketing plan designed to attract cultural travelers to the destination in concert with the efforts of the other TDC agencies (Discover The Palm Beaches, PBC Sports Commission and the PBC Film & Television Commission).

The robust plan includes: • Digital and print media advertising in local, drive, and target national markets • Co-op advertising (discount packages for grantees) • Paid and organic social media • Influencer marketing • Blogs and native content • Email marketing • Video

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• • •

Activations & Arts Infusions Public relations Consumer magazine (published 3x year)

The Council’s marketing campaign is inspirational – inviting travelers to visit The Palm Beaches for its world-class arts and culture. The “Shades of Culture” have become a signature icon synonymous with art and culture in the destination. These aquamarine-colored sunglasses appear in advertising, social media, and have now extended into promotional items and a 20-foot pair that travel around Palm Beach County to promote cultural tourism.

Cultural Concierge Program The Council’s tourism-focused Cultural Concierge program provides an expert resource available to provide tourists with access to cultural experiences by sharing information and collateral, recommending venues and activities for leisure and group travelers, and enhancing the meetings and events industries with customized arts infusions. This unique service is a point of distinction for the destination and has its own branding and suite of materials. The program is also leveraged in some advertising efforts.

New Brand In 2019, the organization went through a rebranding project as part of its strategic plan. The goal was to reinvigorate the Council’s brand and tell a story that clarifies its unique and critical role in the arts and cultural sector in Palm Beach County. The new name: Cultural Council for Palm Beach County (slight change from ‘of’ to ‘for’ to emphasize service) and mark was unveiled in January 2020. This logo has been incorporated into the tourism marketing campaign materials.

As part of the FY22 Marketing Plan, the Cultural Council will focus its grantmaking and marketing efforts around these performance measures, goals and tactics:

I.

Continue to expand the Council's destination marketing efforts through grants to eligible nonprofit cultural organizations. a. Goals: i. Size of out-of-county audiences ii. Estimated number of cultural room nights iii. Direct room nights from cultural activity

1,031,073 213,638 18,247

b. Tactics: i. Improve processes: Continue to revise and refine grant application and guideline materials to increase access, remove barriers, and strengthen the quality of cultural tourism projects funded through the allocation. ii. Support: Create and implement workshops and technical assistance programs to aid organizations in the application and submission process. iii. Site Visits: Create and institute a bi-annual site visit initiative to monitor grantees and funded activities.

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iv. Reporting: Continue to refine and revise interim and final report instruments to provide information on funded projects and programs, as well as metrics to monitor effectiveness and impact of funded projects. v. Co-op: Add enhancements to co-op strategy to make marketing dollars more effective (see performance measure VI.).

II.

Provide both technical and professional development for the cultural industry in order to build capacity and sustainability within the industry*. a. Goals: i. Number of cultural audiences

3,143,286*

*This performance measure and goal will be combined with performance measure I. in FY23 to better represent the work being performed. b. Tactics: i. Grant Workshops/Trainings: Create and implement workshops and technical assistance programs to aid organizations in the application and submission process. ii. Capacity: Build capacity for the cultural sector with quality professional development opportunities through the Institute for Cultural Advancement (ICA); offer six workshops led by locally or regionally recognized speakers; maximize attendance capacity; and encourage audience diversity so there is a mix of cultural organizations, arts educators, and creative professionals. iii. Convenings: Organize quarterly meetings (virtual) with Cultural Leaders, Cultural Marketers and Cultural Educators to provide updates on Council programs and services and hear from the field. iv. Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI): Continue to promote EDI both internally and externally: 1. Reconvene after the Arts & Tourism Summit on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (Aug. 2021) to share case studies and best practices on implementing EDI initiatives in a virtual Town Hall meeting.

2. Look for ways to continue professional development and create opportunities for the sector around this initiative. a. Partner with Discover to launch a customized 6-month Palm Beaches Diversity Challenge in collaboration with the People’s Institute for a cohort of 10 cultural and hospitality organizations. v. Advocacy: Activate the sector around important issues related to arts and tourism funding and other priorities.

1. Strengthen engagement with local officials at the state and local levels.

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2.

Manage and facilitate the Cultural Advocacy Alliance (committee of cultural organization leadership); meet quarterly with the expectation that all attendees are engaged, attend meetings, and take information back to their board and staff.

3. Attend advocacy days in Tallahassee with Alliance, board members, and TDC partners, as appropriate.

4. Continue to update and refine the Council’s advocacy messages and materials.

III.

Increase awareness of Palm Beach County as a cultural destination through integrated advertising, marketing, and public relations efforts. a. Goals: i. Website sessions (visits) ii. Tourism email database iii. Partner referrals

600,000 34,000 52,000

b. Tactics: i. Brand Campaign & Seasonal Campaign Extension Execution: Evolve the “Where Culture Always Shines” campaign to include refreshed creative elements to keep the advertising relevant and improve performance. Campaign extensions will be focused on specific messaging in target markets to influence travel decisions and may include: 1. Holiday travel (Northeast) 2. Spring Training (St. Louis, Houston and Washington DC) 3. Art Basel (NY and Miami) ii. Media Strategy: Continue to optimize a digital-focused strategy to find the balance in driving impressions and highly engaged users.

Demographic targeting and channels may vary by geographic area to ensure optimum performance metrics. Media insertions will include: 1. Print / traditional OOH ads 2. Programmatic Display 3. Paid Social Media 4. Retargeting Tactics 5. OLV / OTT / CTV 6. Digital Radio iii. Target Audiences: Be nimble with target audiences—especially as travel trends continue to be impacted by the pandemic—and use insights from VISIT FLORIDA, Discover, and other TDC agencies to market to the right audiences at the right time.

1. Traditional markets include: National: Atlanta Boston New York Philadelphia Washington DC

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Drive Markets: Ft. Myers/Naples Jacksonville Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Orlando Tampa Seasonal: Chicago Boston Houston St. Louis Washington DC New markets to consider/test: California (Los Angeles) Texas (Houston, Austin) 2.

Continue to refine audience profile: Millennial, Gen X and Cultural Boomer (Age 35+) HHI: $150K + Interests in Travel, Vacations, and Arts (Museum, Ballet, etc.)

iv. MOSAIC: Continue to build on the campaign success in its fifth year.

1. Engage a local visual artist and update creative with new work.

2. Refine media strategy based on travel & tourism climate and learnings from past performance.

3. Research technology that all participating orgs can use to track redemptions and provide universal user experience.

4. Continue to engage mid-tier influencers; include CTA around following @palmbeachculture; provide UTM codes to track traffic to the website.

5. Create partnership with one local influencer to act as a “MOSAIC experience curator” and pitch their guide/insights to national outlets for coverage.

6. Concentrate on Instagram as primary platform due to high engagement in FY21; create a custom filter and/or scavenger hunt contest to promote multiple redemptions.

7. Coordinate a dedicated FAM tour with national writer. v. Partnerships: Expand and enhance local partnerships to promote cultural tourism and community engagement through the following: 1. Strategically locate the giant “Shades of Culture” around the county, building partnerships with host cities or attractions to maximize attention and visitor engagement; target three locations, options include: a. Boynton Beach Town Square or Amphitheater b. Manatee Lagoon, Riviera Beach c. Winter Equestrian Festival, Wellington d. Lake Worth Beach (HATCH 1121 or Cultural Plaza)

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2.

Utilize the smaller “Shades of Culture” pop-up display at county hotels to build relationships, showcase cultural tourism collateral, and promote area cultural venues, while national tradeshows return to pre-pandemic levels; target three locations.

3. Complete the remaining episodes of Art Adventures in The Palm Beaches, the series for South Florida PBS and The Palm Beaches TV, in partnership with the PBC Film & Television Commission.

4. Re-engage with Brightline, in collaboration with Discover, when service resumes; build on previous MOSAIC partnership; create new opportunities around major cultural events (like Art Basel) and holidays.

5. Influence traffic at Palm Beach International Airport by exploring opportunities for cross-promotion in marketing campaigns, co-op advertising and support of the on-site exhibition space and public art installations.

6. Support the return of SunFest in April/May; create MOSAIC or other extensions during festival.

7. Support the Boca Museum of Art’s world-premiere exhibition, Machu Picchu & The Golden Empires of Peru in the fall by hosting a dedicated FAM tour, initiating specific marketing support tactics, and cross-promoting in the Council’s gallery.

8. Engage with area events, festivals, and attractions that align with the Council’s goals (i.e. LagoonFest). vi. Interactive: Continue to refresh all tourism landing pages and add new content on palmbeachculture.com, including: 1. Monthly blog stories that promote seasonal travel and support marketing efforts by Discover The Palm Beaches; engage guest bloggers, especially minority writers/influencers; leverage stories through paid advertising and social boosting strategy; sample topics: a. Historic Culture, Blasts from the Past b. Insider’s Guide to West Palm Beach (an artist’s perspective) c. Black History in The Palm Beaches d. Architectural Highlights in The Palm Beaches e. Food & Cultural Pairings 2. Engaging video content that supports the blog topics or advertising sub-campaigns and tells the cultural destination brand story in a way that is welcoming to everyone. vii. Public Relations: Utilize earned media to reach a goal of 1.4B impressions to promote cultural tourism, leveraging the excitement that today’s travelers have to visit arts & cultural organizations; highlight cultural partners, creative professionals, special events, and initiatives related to arts & culture in The Palm Beaches; and educate the media on the extensive cultural offerings available in The Palm Beaches: 1. Develop an “always on” News Engine a. 12 Press Releases; sample topics: i. Museum Hopping in The Palm Beaches

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2.

3.

ii. Arts & Culture Wedding Destinations iii. Celebrating Women Artists iv. Top 10 Most Instagrammable Places in The Palm Beaches v. LGBTQ+ Pride: Artists, Artwork, and Exhibitions You Should Know About b. Leverage above as pitch concepts.

Engage the media through FAM trips, events, and special initiatives: a. Host 4 Editor FAM trips (3 national, 1 regional). b. Secure 4-6+ pieces of national coverage (4+ driven by national FAM trips, 1-3+ from proactive pitching). c. Secure 1-2+ pieces of regional coverage / fly markets (1+ driven by regional FAM trip, 1+ driven by proactive outreach).

Reach the consumer through unique activation(s)*: a. Host at least one media event in a national target market (NYC) to engage with top travel, lifestyle, and arts writers. b. Host at least one national or regional consumer activation (i.e. live performance or interactive art) in target market. *Explore ways to co-host or partner with Discover The Palm Beaches, if possible

4. Leverage influencers to promote visibility through digital channels: a. Host 2 Influencer FAM Trips. b. Include CTAs to help reach social media goals.

5. Support Meetings & Events tourism by generating editorial coverage in corporate event planning trade media (B2B). a. Partner with 1+ select hotels and develop a new "Arts & Culture" package targeted to groups and meetings: i. Sample package: Book a certain number of rooms for a conference or event and get access to unique arts & cultural experiences curated by the Cultural Concierge program (examples: an "afterhours" event at the Norton; "adopt a turtle for a day" at Loggerhead; etc.) viii. Magazine: Continue to publish the award-winning magazine three times a year (Fall, Winter, Spring/Summer), featuring behind-thescenes stories about cultural organizations, performances, and collectors that help build awareness for The Palm Beaches as a worldclass destination for arts and culture.

1. Rebuild advertising revenue impacted by the pandemic to increase distribution throughout The Palm Beaches and at area hotel properties and vacation rentals.

2. Develop creative co-op packages that include other publications owned by Palm Beach Media Group (Palm Beach Illustrated, Jupiter Magazine, Naples Illustrated, Ft. Lauderdale Illustrated, and others).

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IV.

Increase social media followers, specifically targeting users interested in arts, culture, and/or travel. a. Goals: i. Social media followers

38,000

b. Tactics: Build the strategy and content calendar to revolve around engagement and follower growth; share the cultural destination brand story in a way that is welcoming to everyone. i. Inspiration channels: Continue to focus on Instagram and Facebook as inspiration channels. ii. Video storytelling: Expand the use of video to support advertising campaign. iii. Paid strategies: Diversify the boosting strategy for blogs, special events, and Council exhibitions; incorporate in-feed social media advertising with ‘follow us’ CTA based on strong testing metrics in FY21. iv. Influencer: Include ‘follow us’ CTA in paid influencer agreements. v. Live coverage: Re-introduce live coverage of cultural events postpandemic (serve as cultural influencer of The Palm Beaches). vi. Measurement: Track engagement against other domestic cultural destinations and major institutions in The Palm Beaches to benchmark success.

V.

Utilize the Cultural Concierge program to grow high-impact cultural tourism leads. a. Goals: i. Cultural Concierge program leads

850

b. Tactics: i. Advertising: Refresh creative and use a portion of the media budget to support the program for B2C and B2B audiences through print and digital advertising in industry publications. ii. Hot Tickets: Increase bi-weekly e-mail subscriber list by 25%. iii. Cultural Enhancements: Create and deliver cultural enhancements for hybrid, virtual, or face-to-face events, reaching a minimum of 500 outof-market registered event attendees.

1. Maintain a discretionary cultural enhancement budget to strategically support key events at the Convention Center or hotels; funds will be leveraged to drive tourism by providing

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2.

cultural entertainment, art experiences, speakers, swag, gifts, or other related cultural support.

Provide complimentary assistance to engage the best available talent, venues, and cultural resources in The Palm Beaches, including negotiating fees, setting expectations, procuring documents (W9’s, COIs, Workplace Agreement Forms, etc.) and streamlining communications between stakeholders.

iv. Business Engagement: Engage with eight local/regional businesses, including realtors, to provide Hot Tickets emails and other services to their out-of-destination friends/family/clients, by leveraging vanity number, landing page, Hot Tickets emails, MOSAIC promotions, art&culture magazine and print/digital collateral. v. Destination Sales Support: Work in tandem with Discover The Palm Beaches, PBC Convention Center, and other partners to help bring meetings business to the destination.

1. Furnish smaller “Shades of Culture” pop-up display to drive social media and distribute cultural tourism collateral.

2. Produce or facilitate cultural enhancements.

3. Conduct tours, participate in webinars, organize excursions or make local venue recommendations.

4. Serve as a resource (providing theatre specs/capacity upon request, for example). vi. Memberships: Maintain membership and participation with Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), Concierge Association of the Palm Beaches (CAPB) and the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA). vii. Visitor Information Center (VIC): 1. Maintain the Cultural Council’s VISIT FLORIDA-certified VIC by serving walk-in visitors, answering phones, and assisting visitors.

2. Facilitate distribution of destination brochures to local hotel partners and VICs quarterly, maintaining a list of engaged partners.

3. Participate in Discover’s VIC Advisory Council, as needed.

VI.

Expand co-op opportunities for cultural organization partners and hotels. a. Goals: i. Co-op program packages sold

50

b. Tactics: i. Strategy: Create a post-pandemic strategy for the co-op program in FY22 to provide a wider range of price points for national, regional, and local packages to accommodate more participation from cultural organizations of all sizes; this may include a 1:1 match on some media buys.

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ii. Media mix: Develop packages that include print and digital opportunities; survey the Category B and C-II grantees to understand their areas of interest and support needs. iii. PBIA: Renew the annual contract with Clear Channel to provide on-site advertising opportunities at key locations within the arrival terminals. iv. MOSAIC: Grow the co-op opportunities among partner organizations and introduce new tactics. v. Enhanced service: Part of the FY22 strategy will be to provide additional services to the cultural orgs to help produce and/or collect advertising assets; roll-out new packages throughout the year; and improve reporting and tracking.

VII.

Promote the Robert M. Montgomery, Jr. building as a cultural destination and informational hub for the County. a. Goals: i. Visitors to the Cultural Council

8,000

b. Tactics: i. Exhibitions: Continue to attract visitors to the building and support local visual artists with quality exhibitions.

1. Produce three Main Gallery shows; six Solo Artist shows; and ongoing community-based programming in the Ephraim Gallery; create Calls to Artists, engage guest curators/collaborators and look for other ways to ensure exhibitions are accessible and diverse.

2. Host a Member Preview reception for every Main Gallery show to include a press tour and local influencer outreach.

3. Utilize paid and in-kind media tactics to advertise Main Gallery shows to attract residents and visitors when they are in-county.

4. Introduce “Collector Tours” on the first Saturday of the month to encourage support of local creative professionals. ii. Performances: Continue to attract visitors to the building and support local musicians, dancers, and spoken word artists.

1. Re-introduce the Evenings at the Council series on the third Thursdays of the month in the outdoor Project Space.

2. Engage galleries and other art-friendly businesses in downtown Lake Worth Beach to create an Art Walk on the third Thursday of the month to build traffic and engagement.

3. Build on the success of the Summer Performing Arts Series and find ways to engage with the artists post-performance. iii. Education: Continue to attract families and lifelong learners to the building and support local cultural organizations and teaching artists.

1. Build attendance for Family Saturdays on the first Saturday of the month.

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2.

Program a series of Art Talks with local creative professionals in conjunction with Main Gallery shows.

3. Produce an online Cultural Summer Camp Guide.

4. Produce an annual Teacher’s Guide to Arts & Cultural Education with field trip information and resources for arts-based curriculum.

Accomplishments in FY20/FY21 COVID-19 Relief and Recovery • • • • • • •

• •

•

• •

Launched a COVID-19 hub at palmbeachculture.com/covid-19 that was updated several times a week to include event schedule changes, resources for artists & cultural organizations, virtual cultural experiences, and more.

Utilized email marketing and social media channels to communicate openings/closings and share virtual experiences as well as uplifting content.

Created an infographic illustrating ways to support local arts and culture during this crisis.

Created a #PalmBeachCulture "wish list" to encourage audiences to share favorite local cultural experiences on social media.

Submitted an op-ed to local dailies highlighting the importance of Palm Beach County's cultural community.

Launched a "Hire a Musician" program on social media to help local musicians replace lost income due to cancelled events and gigs. For $50, the public could directly pay a local musician to dedicate a song to a loved one.

Launched a Palm Beach County Artist Relief Fund via donations through Facebook and the Council’s website. This community fundraiser raised nearly $10,000 for local creative professionals of all disciplines who had lost critical income during the COVID19 crisis.

Hosted three virtual Institute for Cultural Advancement (ICA) sessions designed to provide valuable professional development and resources during the pandemic.

Provided promotional support to local cultural organizations for a video project showcasing the amazing talent from Ballet Palm Beach, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Palm Beach Opera, and Palm Beach Symphony all performing virtually, in unison, Barry Manilow’s “One Voice.” The video was shared by Manilow himself.

Supported The Palm Beaches Pledge along with additional county-wide mask mandates and health & safety guidelines on social media, in national public relations efforts, and on the Council’s website—including a blog post that highlighted open cultural organizations, their safety protocols, and The Palm Beaches Pledge.

Collaborated with Discover The Palm Beaches and ISSA to encourage cultural venues to apply for GBAC STAR accreditation; two organizations completed the full accreditation.

Hosted a virtual State of the Cultural Sector Town Hall (October 2020), which welcomed 158 attendees and garnered nearly 300 views on Facebook; shared results from an initial COVID-19 impact survey, announced the new Cultural Resiliency Fund (part of the CARES Act funds through the Board of County Commission), and encouraged cultural organizations to “go green” on October 16 to indicate “Restart with the Arts;” 10 organizations lit their buildings up in green, and more participated

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on social media; efforts resulted in several pieces of media coverage and well over 3,200 people reached on social media.

Mailed approximately 25 special care packages to the PBC Delegation and the chairs/co-chairs of the House and Senate appropriation committees filled with Palm Beach cultural swag and impact materials that arrived in Tallahassee offices in midFebruary to support advocacy around the critical 2021/2022 Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) grants.

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Sent curated swag boxes and secured nine virtual desksides with national travel & arts media in December to highlight the destination, COVID-19’s impact on the sector, and major upcoming cultural events engaging journalists from Forbes, Travel + Leisure, Town & Country, Veranda, Southern Living, Galerie, Country Living, and Departures.

Paused the traditional MOSAIC campaign (May 2020) and turned it into a cultural tourism recovery strategy in Fall 2020 by updating creative and messaging and using a phased approach to welcome back visitors as soon as venues reopened and programming resumed; achieved website visitation at pre-pandemic levels.

Successfully launched and managed MOSAIC 2021 (May 2021). Highlights included 51,000+ pageviews to the MOSAIC landing page, 2,200+ cultural partner referrals, 3,200+ email sign-ups, 104,000+ social media impressions, and 14 “earned media” stories (68 million impressions).

Strategically located the giant Shades of Culture at ArtiGras in Palm Beach Gardens, Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter and Sanborn Square in Boca Raton.

Conducted a RFP process for Creative & Media agency of record for new annual contract.

Grants • Simplified and streamlined the grant application process for the Tourist Development Fund for Cultural Tourism (Category B) and Tourist Development Fund for Cultural Marketing (Category CII). Incorporated Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in all aspects of the grant application and evaluation process.

• Managed the administration of the Artist Innovation Fellowship program, a privately funded fellowship to support artists in any discipline; the Artist Relief Fund, funded by community donations that supported artists who lost income during COVID-19; and the Cultural Resiliency Fund, funded by the CARES Act to support cultural organizations.

• Handled approximately 3,000 grant inquiries and delivered training to 227 applicants and grantees in FY21.

Cultural Concierge Program • Provided support for PCMA Convening Leaders 2021 by engaging artist Gregory Dirr to create a custom live art installation during the PCMACL in the pre-event space; activated the Shades of Culture pop-up display to welcome arriving guests to the Convention Center with collateral; and debuted a new digital map of cultural sites and public art in downtown West Palm Beach.

• Supported the Palm Beach County Sports Commission and Discover The Palm Beaches for a press conference in April 2021 to announce Ballpark of the Palm Beaches as one of only two U.S. stadiums to host Olympic Baseball Qualifier events for Tokyo 2020; secured a brass quintet from Palm Beach Symphony to perform and Palm Beach County artist Gregory Dirr to paint live during the event.

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EDI • •

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Sponsored and facilitated local singer, Mercedes Nodarse (featured on NBC’s The Voice), to sing the U.S. national anthem at an Olympics baseball qualifying game on May 31 at The Ballpark of The Palm Beaches.

Arranged a cultural tour for the PBC Delegation in July 2021 with stops at the Lighthouse ArtCenter Gallery, Center for Creative Education, and the Armory Art Center.

Created a staff and board equity committee to guide internal and external work; quickly responded to current events by hosting special exhibitions How Do We Move Forward? and Karibu, the Council’s first-ever show featuring all Black visual artists.

Partnered with Discover The Palm Beaches to present The Arts & Tourism Summit on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion to address EDI issues and access for cultural organizations, creative professionals, tourism leaders, and those working in the hospitality sector. Held at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in August 2021, the two-day event featured nationally recognized speakers and break-out sessions providing targeted workshops and facilitated dialog. 150+ attended.

Diversified our network of cultural contributors for our tourism blog and art&culture magazine.

Awards • • •

Recognized as the David Burke Partner of the Year Award for 2021 by Discover The Palm Beaches Received a 2020 bronze Flagler Award for 2019 MOSAIC campaign Received three 2021 Charlie Awards by the Florida Magazine Association for art&culture magazine: o Charlie (Gold) Award for Best Design: Feature for the "Stranded for Art" piece from Winter 2021 o Charlie (Gold) Award for Best Design: Photography for "Book Face" from Winter 2021 o Bronze Award for Best Feature: Writing for the "Behind the Lens" piece from Winter 2021

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Marketing Plan COVID-19 Addendum

Cultural Tourism Marketing Plan COVID-19 Addendum

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be prevalent across the country, and the Delta variant has caused new concerns for tourism recovery, this addendum acknowledges that the FY22 marketing plan must remain fluid, and that the Cultural Council’s team may be required to make changes to the plan quickly.

Should a pivot be required in FY22, the Cultural Council will use learnings from FY20 and FY21 to be responsive. Some of these tactics may include: -

Pausing all advertising campaigns Narrowing advertising markets depending on travel restrictions Cancelling or rescheduling FAM tours Pausing agency contracts (advertising/PR) or reducing monthly retainers/scopes of work Communicating to Category B and CII grantees to get alignment on messaging and media strategy Reactivating the Council’s COVID-19 resource page to communicate cultural organization openings/closings and serve as a resource for the sector Reverting back to a message of health & safety while traveling, and renewing efforts to support the promotion of The Palm Beaches Pledge and GBAC Certification

FY 2022 Destination Marketing Plan Draft

FY 2022 Destination Marketing Plan - DRAFT Table of Contents Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1 Strategic Planned Refresh .............................................................................................................. 11 Strategies & Tactics Strengthened Brand Awareness & Marketing .......................................................................... 15 Expanded Meetings & Events .................................................................................................... 19 Ensured Organizational Sustainability ....................................................................................... 21 Improved Alignment & Community Engagement .................................................................... 23 Equity, Diversity & Inclusion ...................................................................................................... 26 Organizational Highlights FY2020 .................................................................................................. 27 Organizational Highlights FY 2021 ................................................................................................. 29 Tourism Performance in the Palm Beaches ................................................................................... 32 About Discover The Palm Beaches................................................................................................. 41 TDC Performance Measures .......................................................................................................... 43 Governance & DTPB Staff .............................................................................................................. 44 Appendix: COVID Variant Plan ....................................................................................................... 49 Discover The Palm Beaches 2195 Southern Boulevard Suite 400 West Palm Beach, FL 33406 (800)554 – PALM Satellite Sales staff locations: Washington, D.C.

Chicago, IL

Newport, RI

Representation firm locations: London, UK Mexico City, Mexico

Toronto, Canada Munich, Germany ThePalmBeaches.com

Atlanta, GA

Executive Summary It’s been a year and a half of upheaval and disruption for the global tourism industry and The Palm Beaches have been no exception. Hence, this Destination Marketing Plan for fiscal year 2021-2022, marks a relative return to a new normal, to a time when market trends and traveler behavior were more predictable – and the DTPB team and board are fully committed to capitalizing on a more optimistic landscape to achieve the organization’s vision, mission, and strategic goals. As we write this letter, the US Travel Association is predicting a full return of the domestic leisure market by 2022, with a longer recovery timeframe for business and meetings as well as international inbound markets until 2024. More specific to Palm Beach County, the month of June ended at 70% occupancy – up 83% from the height of the crisis in 2020, but more importantly, up 6% from 2019’s record levels. Strong hotel room rates that began late last year continue to benefit our resorts and upscale properties, bringing this year’s bed tax collections much higher than originally predicted. In a nutshell, things are looking up. Last year’s dramatic drop in demand forced us to make difficult decisions relative to expense management and staffing – with massive reductions in overall expenditures for the last 2 quarters: putting us on a solid fiscal path toward recovery. Meanwhile, the Discover The Palm Beaches team shifted its approach from its traditional sales and marketing function to one of “trusted source of information” and communicator of health and safety actions and efforts to earn the confidence of our community, travelers and event planners. Countless town hall meetings and community events with experts in the health sector became the norm, while, simultaneously, conducting an in-depth soul-searching exercise about our brand and how to best inspire travel to our destination.

Two major initiatives proved extremely successful: first, the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) accreditation program – the gold standard in sanitation and cleaning processes was implemented on a destination wide basis (the first place in Florida and one of the first in the nation) – sending travel planners a clear message about The Palm Beaches commitment to the health and safety of visitors and residents.

Second, The Palm Beaches Pledge, a simple, yet visually appealing campaign encouraging everyone to “mask, distance and sanitize” - was adopted by hundreds of hospitality and business organizations; again, clearly communicating our destination’s commitment for the wellbeing of visitors and residents.

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A three phased Destination Recovery Plan was put in motion by midsummer 2020 starting with a strong push for locals to stay at hotels given the travel restrictions around the country. Progressively, the “Stay and Play Local” was expanded to “Free Nights” for the Florida drive market and finally, a massive campaign in fly markets between Thanksgiving and New Year’s capitalizing on CARES funds granted by the county.

This carefully orchestrated approach resulted in strong leisure demand and a gradual improvement in occupancy that saved most of the 2021 season.

In 2020, our Destination Development strategy paid off with the final report of the Convention Center District Expansion Study that was received and accepted by the TDC board in September. This 200-page report lays out in great detail the actions required to maximize the potential of the Palm Beach County Convention Center with the development of a second headquarter hotel being at the very top of the 2

priority list. We continue to advocate for the launch of a Tourism Master Plan initiative. This project, which has been in the works for several years, is critical to defining the roadmap and priorities to ensure the long-term success and resilience of the tourism industry. DTPB continues to offer its support to get this project underway.

[The important work that took place in the backdrop of the crisis included a comprehensive Brand Assessment, leading to a new brand positioning statement, brand promise and a truly inspiring leisure campaign: The Original – The One – The Only; The Palm Beaches. Grounded on the historical claim as America’s First Resort Destination, the place that truly created tourism in the grand style during the gilded age; we have seen very positive results in brand awareness since its launch in February 2021.

It is noteworthy that in the midst of a second major surge in pandemic activity, the DTPB board participated in a Strategic Plan “refresh” session aimed at updating our overall direction at the conclusion of the three-year timeframe since the last strategic plan retreat. Aimed at “refreshing” what was already considered a well-grounded plan (using the Destination NEXT platform), the “new and improved plan” took full account of the critical importance of establishing an intentional mindset in which Equity, Diversity and Inclusion permeate the organizations actions and thinking relative to governance, staffing, marketing, and community engagement. In a nutshell, making The Palm Beaches a place where everyone feels welcome! This new strategic goal has been reaffirmed at the Art and Tourism Summit on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in collaboration with the Cultural Council.

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Moreover, the revamped Strategic Plan, coupled with the latest Destination NEXT research findings, consolidated the importance of Community Engagement in the overall success of Destination Organizations, reigniting the need to establish the work of destination marketing and tourism development as a “shared community value”, earning that critical seat at the table during important conversations impacting the future of our county.

As we write these lines; local, state and national leaders have been vocally supporting the case for widespread vaccination, giving the country a much greater chance of suppressing the virus once and for all.

The plan includes 43 strategies and 173 tactics under the 5 strategic goals. All these initiatives are to meet the following organization objectives.

Organizational Objectives        

Grow visitation to 7.5M Sell 4.5M hotel room nights Generate $5B in direct visitor spending for $7.25B in economic impact Restore leisure & hospitality jobs to 92,600 Increase the share of hotel room nights sold in Florida to 4.2% Rank first in occupancy within South Florida two months per year Increase the share of tourism spending in Florida to 7% Increase the group room night contribution to 23% of total occupancy

Key highlights from the plan include: 

Business Intelligence and Market Research o 2020 marked a historic decline in tourism. Visitation down 37%, hotel room nights sold down 34% and economic impact down 29%. As of April 2021, tourism performance has significantly rebounded. Hotel performance for the months of April, May and June has been at record levels, far surpassing 2019. This performance is expected to continue with a surge of leisure travel through Labor Day. Beyond Labor Day business/group travel is has been expected to return, however this may be delayed by the surge in COVID activity.

Some international markets like Mexico and Colombia are growing while others wait for borders to open. Canadian travel and domestic travelers visiting friends/family are key market opportunities for the fall into winter as normal travel patterns may resume. DTPB is monitoring changes in travel habits carefully to ensure effective sales and promotion.

Next Summer could see a surge in international and/or a continuation of 2021 domestic demand. There are still challenges associated with a resurgence of COVID variants and other economic factors such as labor shortages and inflation. These challenges are likely temporary but still can inhibit growth for an unknown period. DTPB utilizes a variety of sources including STR, CBRE, MMGY, Omnitrak, VisVue, Longwoods, Destinations Analyst, Arrivalist, among other 3rd party data sources. Performance key trends and research can be found on pages 17-22 of the plan.

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2022 Social Media Strategy o DTPB saw tremendous growth and progress across all social media channels in 2021. In 2022 FY, our goals include: 4

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Increase our combined followers to 500k+ Grow Instagram following to 150k (4th destination after Visit Florida, Orlando and The Keys)  Keep leader status on TikTok as the most followed destination in Florida  Increase original content by 40%  Pioneer Monthly influencer partnerships Our 2022 Key Priorities for social media are:  Turn all platforms into customer service platforms  Launch Selfie Trail  Launch social media / basics of photography partner training  Paid partnerships with video content creators  Increase followers, reach and awareness through giveaways (Restaurant Week, SPATOBER Sunfest, Pride Lagoonfest and all other anchor events) 

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2022 Public Relations Strategy o

We will be putting more emphasis on digital media coverage in 2022 as travelers continue to consume more and more information digitally. This includes closely aligning with digital content, paid digital advertising and social media.

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Securing media coverage in trusted outlets will be key in 2022, as the pandemic continues to shape travelers’ mindsets and they turn to these outlets for inspiration. The pandemic will also continue to affect our key messages. Messages of continued health and safety will be prevalent as we build traveler confidence that our destination is a safe place to visit.

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Other priorities include communicating our destination health and wellness assets that are in higher demand in a post-pandemic world:

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Create a “Social Media Ambassadors Program” for content creators

 Less congestion/open spaces  An abundance of outdoor activities  Comfortable climate  Beautiful beaches  Open-air dining  Ease of access – more PBI direct flight messaging  Emphasis on health and wellness offerings  No passport required In 2022, we will also look to elevate our general culinary scene as initiatives like The Palm Beaches Restaurant Week become an annual event. As borders reopen, we will concentrate on visitation from Canada to capture long pent-up travel demand coming.

Group Sales Convention Center (Discover & PBCCC) Shared Sales Funnel Strategies o Continue to market the health and safety partnerships, protocols and processes of the venue and destination. o

Strategically focus on key target industries for the destination that is inclusive but not limited to financial services, medical life sciences, technology, agri-business, marine, engineering, distribution, and logistics.

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Leverage the support of a thought leadership council in partnership with the Business Development Board to secure national conventions and events.

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Market to South Florida based corporations to keep meetings local while promoting and utilizing local products and services increasing economic impact to the destination.

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Develop compression and mitigate seasonality through transformational and live events programming during “need periods”.

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Leverage research tools to forecast and strategically place events.

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Develop simplified pricing and audio video packages that secure both short- and longterm opportunities.

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Educate, solicit and market targeted promotions focused on the current needs of customers.

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Advocate for the Convention Center District roadmap established in the CSL report.

Planned engagement of the Cities & Towns o DTPB has established the importance of highlighting key cities/areas with significant tourism assets or potential. o

Outreach to these designated cities/areas has taken the form of the Community Advisory Roundtable (CART), the creation and participation in chamber tourism committees to further acquire input from stakeholders.

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A special city partnership category has been established as part of an enhanced partnership program, providing city marketing and PR staff with collaborative and co-op opportunities aligned with overall County tourism development objectives and brand strategies.

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Regular outreach to city leaders to advocate for tourism development ideas and opportunities is conducted by our Community Engagement and Destination Development teams.

Hotel Room Night Generation Strategies and Return on Investment Measures o DTPB tracks performance of all initiatives including room night production and ROI with the following methodologies and tools  Tracking paid and owned digital media from impression to arrival to The Palm Beaches and the 15 largest hotels 5,262 total rooms through Arrivalist. 

Brand tracking and advertising ROI studies will be conducted in targeted origin markets to evaluate overall performance and impact on visitation and room nights.

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Segmentation and visitor profiles studies will be implemented to ensure growth in target demographics, particularly diverse segments.

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Meetings and events will be tracked through contracted room nights, room night pick-up, Destinations Internationals overnight room demand analyzer (ORDA), and event impact calculator (EIC) powered by Tourism Economics.

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Overall visitor volume and hotel room night demand goals for the destination have been established to evaluate total DTPB performance.

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Tourism growth potential of overall targeted Demographics o In 2022 FY we will implement a new segmentation strategy that will seek to increase market share and total visitation from "high potential” segments. While the ongoing study will determine these segments, we currently expect they will include:  LGBTQ Frequent Florida Visitors  Black Frequent Florida Visitors  Tri-State Area (NY/NJ/CTY) Families w/ Kids, Florida Intenders

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Super Eight Domestic Markets targeted by each agency & why? o VisitFlorida has changed their targeting from the “Super 8” domestic markets to the “Super 6” with 5 secondary markets. The following markets are the top domestic target markets based on current visitation, airlift, travel intent and Arrivalist Top Origination data:  NY/NJ/CT (New York Tri-State Area)  Washington, D.C. / Baltimore  Boston  Philadelphia  Chicago  Miami / Ft Lauderdale  Tampa  Orlando  Houston and Dallas

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Demographics within each targeted market & why? o DTPB is currently conducting a segmentation study to redefine targets. This study looks to define visitors to The Palm Beaches and share of the Florida market through a variety of demographics, trip characteristics and travel motivators.

Specific targets will be selected through this process. DTPB will deploy unique strategies to increase visitation from each group. Tracking mechanisms will be put in place to monitor the effectiveness of DTPB efforts. Additionally, diverse targets will be among the select groups to be targeted and monitored. This will be an evolution built upon past segmentation and visitor profile work from Experian and lifestage targets in line with our Digital Center of Excellence.

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o DTPB targets Florida Vacation Intenders in each domestic market. These are defined by IP Address (phone, computer) that has searched key Florida vacation terms, visited our website, engaged with our social channels, clicked on our banners, signed up for our email, and are known to have visited TPB in the past.

We target and re-target these prospective guests with both paid and earned media to entice a booking to the destination.

Drive Markets targeted by each agency & why? o We target the following seven major drive markets based on current visitation, airlift, travel intent and Arrivalist top origination data:  Miami / Ft Lauderdale  Tampa  Orlando  Jacksonville  Atlanta (off-peak only)  Nashville (off-peak only)  Charlotte (off-peak only)

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Demographics within each targeted drive market & why? o DTPB will leverage the previously mentioned segmentation study to define key demographic targets within Florida and other drive markets. Strategies, goals and performance tracking will be part of this initiative. Diverse targets will also be among the select groups to be targeted with performance metrics.

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International Market Investment Strategy Impact from Pandemic o DTPB paused all international efforts and our seven international representation firms in April 2020. o During this year and a half, we have continuously monitored international market updates on a weekly basis. o We worked with Visit Florida as they maintained their representation firms in Global markets and provided opportunities that served our target international markets. o We have been able to reinstate four of the seven international representation firms, based on data collected from the recent Destinations Analyst research conducted in June 2021 and our continued communication with international trade representatives that we work with, Brand USA and Visit Florida. o Representation firms restarted:   

Canada- July 1, 2021 Mexico- July 1, 2021 Germany- August 2, 2021 8

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United Kingdom- August 2, 2021 Remaining representation firms in Colombia, Brazil, Argentina will be restarted if and when possible

o We will work on specific marketing and travel trade efforts in these international markets for continued awareness and inclusion in programs to regain international visitation. 

Airlift Inbound Marketing Support o DTPB is finalizing a new consumer campaign, “FLY PBI” that will promote the benefits of PBI over other South Florida airports. The campaign will promote the quick time from home to gate (for outbound travelers) and from Gate to fun (for inbound travelers). The campaign will launch in September 2021 and run through January 2022. It will target Broward County residents (outbound) and Tri-State area (NY) travelers searching for flights on Expedia & Kayak. o DTPB will budget $300k to support new “high priority” routes, as defined by PBIA marketing team throughout 2022 FY. DTPB will produce campaign materials and paid media buys to support these “high priority” routes as needed throughout the FY, in collaboration with PBIA.

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Delta Variant impact on Q1 (Oct to Dec) o DTPB is carefully monitoring key health & safety variables:  Traveler sentiment research  New PBC COVID Cases  Number of new negative PR stories / PR Newswire o DTPB will also continue to monitor official guidelines (CDC, Federal, State, Local) and restrictions that may affect travel; if necessary DTPB will leverage its COVID19 recovery plan which is included as an appendix to the FY 2022 Marketing Plan. o Traveler sentiment is monitored through Destinations’ Analysts, Longwoods and MMGY on a bi-weekly and monthly basis. Any significant changes to leisure and event traveler perceptions will incur a delay in marketing activity and increase in health & safety messaging. o When Traveler sentiment (travelers ready to travel) dips below 60%, openness to travel inspiration falls below 5.5, resident sentiment (residents welcoming to visitors) falls below 15% and traveler sentiment index falls below 105:  An updated Palm Beaches Pledge is launched  The Palm Beaches Pledge is added to all communications  GBAC Star accreditation is added to all Groups & Meetings communications

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Paid media to all fly markets is paused or reduced (depending on channel) Consumer events (Spatober, etc.) are delayed or postponed

o Border closures, travel advisories, airlift and international travel sentiment is being monitored to determine the right timing and messaging for each target country o DTPB is in constant communication with booked groups and prospects to mitigate attrition, cancelations and rebook if necessary o Destination performance is monitored weekly with hotel performance, visitor arrivals, web traffic, social media engagement, group bookings. If any metrics underperform DTPB can react accordingly

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Recovery and Beyond Strategic Plan Refreshed On March 9, 2020 a state of emergency was declared in Florida due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Historic downturns in business activity and travel occurred – with devastating impacts, employment in travel and tourism decreased by 50% to the worst levels since the Great Depression of 1933. Hotels in PBC were ordered to only accept “essential lodgers” on March 25, 2020. This order was lifted on May 15th. During this time Discover The Palm Beaches dramatically adjusted plans and resources to ensure organizational sustainability and adapted strategies to serve the needs of the community. Health and safety programs were instituted to secure the trust of the traveling public and residents. Sales and marketing recovery plans were created to ensure a rebound in travel and tourism.

Over one year later, DTPB is still in the recovery stages. Vaccinations and pent-up demand over the Spring Break period showed strong signs with room nights sold in March of 2021 reaching 90% of 2019 levels. As the Fall approaches The Palm Beaches is entering uncharted territory poised with strong domestic leisure and tentative business travel demand. As vaccinations increase and capacity restrictions are removed demand for in-person events will also surge giving The Palm Beaches a unique opportunity to capture new events. As of press time, concerns regarding the DELTA variant continue to affect the industry, particularly the business and meetings market.

2020 marks the end of the Discover The Palm Beaches 3 year strategic plan. This plan was based on DestinationNext. In January of 2021 it was refreshed and leveraged the evolution of DestinationNext to OrganizationNext.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic OrganizationNext was developed to establish long-term resilience of destinations.

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1. Community Building How destination organizations support the efforts of their community and resident groups defines how they’re valued in their communities by locals and elected officials. The quality of engagement with government and economic development leadership will help drive destination performance and elevate quality of life now and in the future.

2. Customer Engagement Every destination organization is developing and sharing health and safety protocols, and they’re all gauging signals to reassess how, when and where to message leisure and business travelers. At the same time, organizations must also elevate their brand messaging to engage wary customers with diminished spending power.

3. Organization Sustainability The next couple of years will see a rethinking of how and why destination organizations operate with a new emphasis on strategies rooted in public policy, while still focusing on driving overall growth. We’ll also see a shift in KPIs related to resident sentiment; visitor satisfaction; and economic, socio-cultural and environmental sustainability.

4. Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Since the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020, there has been a foundational shift in how destination organizations are engaging and supporting diversity in their communities.

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STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES FOR 2021- 2023         

Grow visitation by 70% to 8.5 M in 2023 (+4% from 2019) Sell 75% more room nights to 5 M in 2023 (+10 from 2019) Increase share of hotel room nights sold in Florida from 4% to 4.3% Rank 1st in occupancy in South Florida 25% of the time (3 of 12 months) Increase hotel room night and bed tax revenue by 30% to $933M & $56M Recover economic impact by 30% to 7.8 billion Increase share of tourism spending in Florida from 6.8% to 7.0% Restore 24,000 leisure & hospitality jobs to over 100,000 Grow group room night contribution to 25% of overall room nights sold

Finding Our Cornerstone Every community must compete with every other community for their share of the world’s attention, customers and investment. To compete, people need to be aware of a community, have a positive impression, and want to visit to experience the community and meet its people.

This is achieved through clearly developing, articulating and managing the community’s brand.

Efforts must be made to promote, market, sell and engage potential visitors. And all of this must be reinforced again and again. Destination organizations are uniquely positioned to do this.

Addressing this need for destination promotion and tourism product development is for the benefit and well-being of every person in a community. It is a common good. It is an essential investment to develop opportunities and build quality of life to benefit all the residents. It should be perceived as a shared community value by residents.

Brand Strategy Positioning Statement America’s First Resort Destination® - The Palm Beaches are renowned as the warm weather getaway by discerning guests for over 125 years. Genuine hospitality is a way of life. Our vibrant blend of people, cultures and coastal towns welcomes everyone. Enjoy fewer crowds, a healthier beach experience, exceptional cultural offerings and the warm Atlantic Gulf stream weather that creates the finest Florida travel experience.

The original. The one. The Only.

The Palm Beaches Brand Promise The Palm Beaches are America’s First Resort Destination. The community where genuine hospitality is a way of life, and the diversity of travel experiences is matched by warmth of its coastal communities. It is Florida’s finest travel experience.

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Strategies & Tactics

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Strengthened Brand Awareness, Marketing & Leisure Trade Industry Sales A Destination Brand is a promise to deliver an experience. It is the culmination of all communications that uniquely position the destination. The destination brand should clearly differentiate us from our competitive set and be actionable by all stakeholders. The brand is anchored by the destination promise and positioning statement.

Destination Marketing encompasses the strategies and tactics created to bring the brand to life across all communication channels, ultimately driving new visitation and increasing loyalty among existing visitors while generating resident engagement and support.

Lead: VP – Marketing in collaboration with Marketing Advisory Committee (MAC) and Board/Community Leadership Strengthened Brand Awareness/Marketing (a) Launch new brand campaign across all channels (paid and owned).  Create off-peak version that shows more approachable and casual experiences  Populate website with significantly more images featuring campaign tone  Develop new campaign activation in NY Tri-State Area to launch in the Fall (seasonal) campaign  Leverage latest research tools to track brand and campaign performance (b) Gain consensus on new destination brand identity, across TDC and economic development entities for maximum impact. Launch new brand identity.  Solicit proposals from creative and brand partners (Agency/Brand Strategy)  Present comprehensive Brand Identity concept proposal to DTPB and TDC Boards for approval  Secure support of TDC agencies, BDB, Airport and other key business and NGO partners to adopt new common visual brand identity architecture  Create and distribute new brand book  Change all digital and hard logo placements to the new brand identity, including printed materials, facility signage, trade show materials and all digital placements and secure appropriate trade marks (c) Develop new digital “center of excellence” that positions the destination as a clear DMO leader in digital marketing across all channels (social, paid, owned)  Launch new organization structure to align all digital roles under one accountable director  Develop a new database acquisition strategy to significantly increase first party data capabilities. Integrate all channels into one database growth strategy  Ensure that location tracking data is integrated into all digital performance tracking  Launch complete website overhaul, including new wireframes and content refresh  Accelerate social follower acquisition to achieve top three ranking in the state (d) Forge new partnerships to elevate the destination brand including possible city, local, state or national brand partnerships

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Actively seek out new partnerships with other CVB organizations (I.e. Palm Springs: “Palm-to-Palm")  Expand on established partnership/alliance efforts and collaborate with group sales / services to increase presence in the meetings market  Accelerate partnership with Brightline to coincide with re-launch of South Florida service in Q4 2021 and upcoming line between Orlando and West Palm Beach  Establish one major new lifestyle brand partnership (I.e. Lilly Pulitzer) to create new database sharing and brand affinity  Leverage Miami Dolphins partnership to significantly increase The Palm Beaches brand visibility across Dolphins team assets, South Florida and other key markets  Launch new Spring Training mini campaigns to increase visitation from Washington, Houston & St. Louis baseball fans during Spring Training Produce significantly more new content (video, photos, social, blogs, editorial, diversity, etc.) to tell the destination brand story and highlight key cities attributes and personas in a way that is welcoming to everyone.  Create new social content series  Produce and post new website imagery  Revise and update the format of all outbound email campaigns and blogs  Create updated brand anthem video to feature new off-peak content  Allocate and invest production budget to achieve revamped content development strategy Develop and implement a segmentation framework that prioritizes demographic and psychographic groups  Create new actionable segments for media buying and marketing messaging  Create regular tracking tool to measure impact of marketing activities against segment share trends  Assess The Palm Beaches visitor profile to understand key demographic and psychographic attributes as well as diverse groups  Benchmark segments within Florida and comparable destinations Add a booking engine on our website to capture and convert upper funnel traffic into lower funnel bookings. Partner with an OTA to “white-label” their technology and services.  Ensure the tool is live in Q4 2021  Re-invest resources from booking engine toward expanded OTA marketing  Report on monthly website booking conversions and provide reporting to hotel partners Establish a framework in collaboration with the Film & TV Commission and appropriate Florida DMOs toward the production of a feature film capturing the grandeur of The Palm Beaches  Begin script development with Miles creative brief potentially based on Henry Flagler’s story or other current events that support The Palm Beaches brand positioning statement  Pitch script to major streaming services  Collaborate with TDC to possibly capture/create production incentives  Collaborate with hotel and attractions partners to secure sites to enable filming  Secure funding partner to provide financial support for production costs 

(e)

(f)

(g)

(h)

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(i) Develop a “Palm Beaches Passport” that provides each guest with special offers and discounts to encourage expanded cross-visitation between cities and attractions  Gather partner offers in collaboration with partnership team  Identify promotion and distribution plan for Passport  Report and measure on offer redemptions  Target meetings guests with leisure bounce back offers (j) Leverage enhanced Public Relations capabilities to build relationships with key media representatives and influencers to keep The Palm Beaches top of mind through proactive pitching / hosting in destination  Develop a comprehensive pitch calendar detailing target publications and topics  Revitalize international pitch / hosting in Q1 2022  Build an influencer calendar targeting key audiences (k) Increase efforts to pitch stories that reinforce and amplify our destination brand promise. These pitches will emphasize the rich history of hospitality in The Palm Beaches

Leisure Trade Industry Sales (l) Increase leisure domestic and international room nights through trade opportunities and partnerships  Deploy marketing efforts with intermediaries including but not limited to tour operators, travel agencies and trade publications  Enhance educational components (webinars/ training modules) with intermediaries (tour operators, travel agencies and trade publications)  Execute revamped sales activities (tradeshow, sales missions and DR’s) to complement marketing and educational initiatives with intermediaries  Implement call-to-action strategies to confirm bookings and strengthen results tracking into the destination  Use designated technology platforms to connect with travel trade for specialized 1-1 meetings  Structure webinar series to incorporate marketing collateral and act as an additional educational resource for travel trade  Implement virtual meetings with representation agencies for clear and concise monthly updates (m) Develop international marketing campaigns to counterbalance domestic seasonality curve  Design and deploy timely marketing campaigns to support specific need periods and seasonality downturns through strong trade relations  Impact seasonal visitation from international markets through time sensitive sales and call-to-action campaigns presented during off peak periods (n) Revise and strengthen incentive programs/ campaigns with GDS’ to create awareness and generate room night conversion  Grow the total number of bookings and revenue from new travel agencies through enhanced GDS campaigns and incentive program.  Target existing agencies and top producers to continue engagement and create momentum toward new bookings and leisure based revenue

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(o) Reignite international representation firms and leverage capabilities for trainings, education, trade efforts and competitive benchmarking (p) Update, revisit and create action plans for the remainder of the FY21 along with new marketing, sales and initiative plans for FY22  Source new travel agent education platform to enhance awareness of destination  Assess the value of the travel agent training platform  Audit travel agent platforms and most used educational tools for trade  Create new incentive program for travel professional certification participation (q) Execute assessment of key airline vacation packages to leverage product placement and training opportunities  Determine key airline partners and evaluate wholesale packaging options within each corporation  Introduce new hotel and attraction product to ensure placement opportunities and increase search results (r) Increase training opportunities for hotel partners with key airlines  Leverage research from strategic partnerships (GDS, ASTA, etc.) to determine market trends and future strategies  Leverage current research to forecast and manage KPIs to achieve leisure room night growth goals (s) Source additional research tools and obtain through strategic partnerships to track sales results and improve understanding of data and current trends  Continue to grow database of leisure contacts through sales and marketing efforts  Use sales and marketing efforts to increase engagement and build new relationships for wider reach of educational updates, marketing campaigns and key account partnerships.  Leverage PR & social media efforts to expand industry awareness and increase engagement in trade programs. (t) Leverage airlift fund in collaboration with Palm Beach International Airport (PBIA) to review opportunities with air carriers in strategic / emerging markets and present a compelling destination case.

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Expanded Meetings & Events Increase meetings, conventions, and events contribution to overall destination performance that aligns with county economic development strategies and minimizes seasonality.

Lead: SVP – Group Sales & Destination Services in collaboration with Sales Advisory Committees, Customer Advisory /Thought Leadership Board, Business Development Board (BDB) and Sr. Executives Expanded Meetings & Events a) Establish clarity relative to targeted customer base and destination knowledge for upgraded and repositioned group hotels  Research evolving needs and goals of our community partners  Alter target customers based on industry, organization type, size and budget  Review and/or initiate third-party agreements to include more comprehensive community participation, content development, customer engagement and increased data  Continue destination wide training opportunities to support personnel needs of community partners to effectively sell and market the destination b) Increase demand and compression throughout county and mitigate seasonality by securing transformational and repeat meetings and conventions  Leverage available research tools and reports to forecast and place groups based on market trends and calendar needs  Develop a “Shark Tank” type program to support new/start up live events in The Palm Beaches  Build multi–destination alliance and partnership agreements to share best practices, expand client base and increase return on investment c) Target buyers through expanded digital platforms to increase real time sales  Develop destination offers for event attendees based on research to increase economic impact to destination Leverage new technology solutions to implement destination offers   Expand social media distribution channels and elevate content with client call to actions  Develop marketing tools that elevate destination awareness with key technology providers  Build individual social media profiles and presence that is inclusive of community content Leverage social media influencers specialized in the meetings market segment  during destination reviews  Elevate tracking measures to better understand needs of both customer and community members through data analytics  Utilize technology platforms and data analytics from industry partners to improve tracking measures and increase impact of negotiated benefits d) Enhance client experience through expansion of partner base both locally and nationally 19

     

Evolve the customer advisory board into a thought leadership council that include both client and community business leaders Elevate the destination champions program to support the needs of future events Target and expand our local membership with organizations that support the evolving needs of future meetings, conventions, and incentives.

Evolve Discover The Palm Beaches educational, trade and marketing portfolio to better showcase the communities’ capabilities Accelerate the pace of communication and activities to our partner community that both educates and expands brand awareness (group and leisure) Identify and engage in national partnerships with suppliers to support sales and service activities

e) Evolve destination servicing tools to support both live and omni-channel experiences to grow economic impact Expand working knowledge of virtual/hybrid platforms  to support attendee engagement and encourage increased visitation or expanded stay  Develop new tools to share with planners for attendance building based on changing needs  Create community activations that can be easily incorporated into in-person meetings to grow engagement for virtual attendees Enhance relationships with sister agencies to leverage resources that can  provide both value add and cost savings Utilize digital storefront leveraging community partners and their local products to  enhance the destination experience  Increase group department efficiencies through enhanced CRM modules and workflows f)

Leverage new brand group presence to acquire greater market share from changing market segments.  Develop Alliance Partnership with the BDB through joint sales and marketing initiatives to increase business events and business relocations  Utilize destination champions from target industry sectors to gather greater content and support of all sales initiatives  Adapt new brand strategy and sales activities to target specific industries  Elevate team visibility through industry leadership roles to effectively connect with market demographics  Increase presence within various social media distribution channels

g) Bolster short term sales efforts while building base of long-term meetings and events  Incorporate industry and organizational data to identify short-term and longterm opportunities  Pursue marketing initiatives within Cvent to capture short term business Leverage hotel partner needs and promotions for inclusion in group sales and  marketing initiatives  Reevaluate all third-party strategic partnerships to achieve greater visibility and increase sales production  Develop a scheduled and balanced approach of virtual and in person sales calls, missions, and tradeshow activities in collaboration with community partners 20

Ensured Organizational Sustainability Organizational Sustainability encompasses the human, financial and information technology resources and destination development product development required to achieve the organization’s vision, mission, strategies and program goals over the long term. Board governance, advocacy, capacity management, destination development, and community leadership alignment will ensure the organization’s long-term relevance.

Lead: SVP Finance/HR, Associate VP Research, Strategy & Destination Development and President & CEO in collaboration with the Board of Directors Ensured Organizational Sustainability e) Continue a proactive Destination Development strategy to advance PB County’s product offer and competitiveness  Advocate for the establishment of a Tourism Master Plan, a bold long-term vision and roadmap of priorities for the destination embraced by key community leaders  Create a target inventory of parcels, buildings and other assets  Collaborate with County, Cities, BDB, Community Redevelopment Agencies and Downtown Development Authority’s to inventory and expand targeted incentives for development  Prepare presentations and collateral showcasing the development opportunities within The Palm Beaches  Maintain a list of developers and investors to gain insights into current projects, industry trends and as potential targets for future developments in The Palm Beaches f) Champion the implementation of Convention Center District report recommendations regarding headquarter hotel, center and district enhancements with TDC, county and city leadership  Advocate for the timely release of request for information (RFI) related to the 2nd headquarter hotel at the convention center district  Utilize new travel geo-location tracking technologies to gain insights into the current and potential impacts of the convention district in support of district development  Prepare a convention district sales pitch with relevant materials that highlight the opportunity for hotel developers and investors g) Maintain financial sustainability by advocating for the protection of tourism promotion funding and implementing prudent reserve and contingency planning policies.  Highlight the positive impact and economic opportunities created by destination marketing on communities through effective messaging advocating for tourism as a “shared community value”  Establish scenarios that inform elected officials and residents of the importance of a vibrant tourism industry highlighting the potential damage and loss of economic opportunity when improperly funded h) Promote measures that allow organizational adaptability and scalability to changing market and political environments 21

Leverage lessons from 2020 pandemic to build processes that can react to sudden stoppages in business activity or surges in demand  Develop a comprehensive crisis management strategy with new protocols related to various crises  Expand networks and collaboration with health, safety and security organizations to improve our destination's resilience to future shocks i) Conduct outreach and recruitment to build a more inclusive governance and work environment where all backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences are considered, paving the way for longterm success  Create a long-term governance strategy to recruit and retain board members and senior staff with diverse backgrounds and expertise that will help drive key issues such as product development, brand strategy, sustainability and EDI j) Explore all alternative revenue options and select key initiatives in the funding futures study including TMDs and major strategic alliances  Develop a framework for targeted TMDs in select cities/districts with key business/hospitality leaders  Identify community organizations, NGOs and major corporations to forge strategic alliances in support of new funding and common goals k) Support initiatives to address hospitality industry workforce shortages  Evaluate a Hospitality Certification Program that will help to achieve customer service and repeat visitation goals  Collaborate with higher public / private education organizations to increase knowledge and present a positive image of the tourism industry and the benefits for new entrants into workforce and skill acquisition l) Research and utilize learning and development tools to support development of talent to remain relevant and innovative  Update individual job descriptions based on overall organizational needs and skill set needed to support success of position  Develop individual learning and development plans that are inclusive of certifications to enhance skill set of employees and partners  Create specific training, development opportunities and workshops to maximize technology  Maximize capabilities on unified CRM platform 

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Improved Alignment & Community Engagement This strategic goal aims to establish destination leadership as a “shared community value”, looking to raise the profile of destination marketing and tourism development as “must have” strategies for County and City governments and strongly supported by our community. This, in time, achieves local understanding and support for tourism’s central role in economic development and quality of life and increases financial, in-kind and value-added resources for DTPB’s competitiveness and success.

Lead: AVP – Content & Community Engagement, AVP – Destination Services and Trade Show Activities in collaboration with SVPs, Community Leaders (i.e. Chambers, League of Cities, and NGOs) Improved Alignment & Community Engagement a) Increase community partnership and engagement to leverage resources for the destination and organization.  Expand new partnership program through increased marketing and business development efforts to create additional content and revenue  Continue to expand community task force meetings (ie. EDI Taskforce, VIC Taskforce, City Advisory Roundtable, Convention District DOS Meeting, etc.) to achieve alignment and increase knowledge of organizational impact  Develop Leisure Sales roundtable and international symposium to create awareness and collaborative approach with stakeholders/partners  Enhance onboarding program for partners to showcase marketing and sales capabilities.  Expand hospitality partner business opportunities by engaging convention attendees through a digital program providing destination benefits (i.e. restaurant promotions, discounted tickets to local venues, etc.)  Reactivate support to Visitor Information Centers in order to enhance countywide awareness of the DTPB services and elevate the visitor experience.  Support enhanced city partnership recruitment in alignment with marketing coop and brand goals. b) Develop and implement an advocacy and communications strategy to drive awareness on the role and value of DTPB and the tourism industry targeting diverse audiences (i.e. city leadership, county staff, chambers, economic council)  Continue resident awareness/call-to-action plan by deploying in-market communication strategy, primarily through regular newsletter communication, social media engagement and earned media coverage  Broaden the Destination Champions group lead generation program focused on targeted industry clusters in partnership with TDC agencies, BDB and other organizations  Enhance and expand relationships with local charitable organizations and not-for-profit entities (ie. Place of Hope, Quantum House, St. George’s Center, etc.) to provide 23

c)

d)

e)

f)

g)

mutually beneficial opportunities for the charities as well as convention organizers while creating destination awareness and DTPB advocacy Establish strategic relationships with diverse and inclusive businesses, political and community leaders at the local, state and national level.  Leverage the DTPB’s advocacy program to educate community stakeholders and partners about the tourism economy and EDI initiatives  Expand presence in local community social media conversations  Reinforce relationships with cities and community organizations to secure support of the hospitality and tourism industry (i.e. city partnerships and brand/marketing programs)  Organize and seek presentation opportunities to executives, trustees, and stakeholders of various Chambers of Commerce, BDB, non-profits and Economic Council to communicate tourism’s impact on the business community, move toward a common brand architecture and turn visitors into residents and investors Organize staff participation in outreach programs with diverse and inclusive community groups and industry organizations to ensure long-term collaboration and goodwill.  Create DTPB Speakers Bureau  Continue with community calendar of events to engage and motivate employees Leverage a content acquisition strategy through further involvement with cities and their related audiences  Leverage enhanced city partnerships for creative messaging to showcase city specific assets and experiences  Continue to leverage county community assets to create content and enhance experiences for business events  Ensure destination sustainability by appropriate dispersal of visitors to less visited areas through increased city/regional content in all communication channels Introduce tourism and hospitality to school age children, teens and young adults to help cultivate, foster and leverage the long-term importance of the industry as a shared community value.  Gain interest at an earlier age for hospitality & tourism careers in The Palm Beaches to support workforce development.  Work with local schools, colleges, universities, libraries and trade schools to ensure curriculums are in place to support education, certificate programs and degrees in hospitality and tourism  Work with industry leaders and stakeholders to promote sector in career days, job fairs and support internships and apprenticeships locally.

Create contest-based program that provides residents special offers and packages to experience the destination and turns locals into tourism advocates thru content development and the power of a personal invitation.  Create special offers and packages for residents creating “Locals Days”  Create contest-based program through social media channels to promote programs  Develop locals into Tourism Ambassadors thru content development and the power of a personal invitation.

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h) Develop a proprietary dining month in collaboration with internal DTPB teams and FRLA to foster community participation.  Support organizational sustainability by enhancing benefits of the partnership program creating new opportunities and driving additional private revenue.  Support restaurants by creating an innovative brand for dining month with special offers.  Drive staycation business with local hotel packages targeting neighboring counties  Emphasize our commitment to “Tourism as a shared community value” through program messaging i) Develop a new Spa and Wellness Program to enhance partnership engagement and foster community participation.  Support organizational sustainability by enhancing benefits of the partnership program creating new opportunities and driving additional private revenue.  Support spas and wellness centers by creating an innovative brand with special offers  Drive staycation business with local hotel packages targeting neighboring counties  Emphasize our commitment to “Tourism as a shared community value” through program messaging

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Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Foster a culture that celebrates and affirms the value of people of every race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, age, socioeconomic status, ability, and more. Promote a destination culture that welcomes everyone.

Lead: SVP Finance/HR, AVP – Community Engagement and Special Projects, AVP Destination Services in collaboration with SVPs, Community Leaders (i.e. Chambers, League of Cities, and NGOs)

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion a) Leverage Destination International’s EDI platform to drive local plans  Support the CEO Pledge  Pursue the Master Class Program for senior staff b) Utilize EDI-supportive data (visitor profiles, market research, and demographics) to incorporate and evolve existing content, activities, and messaging for all audiences: both domestic and international, Groups, and Leisure  Establish appropriate review process for all customer facing marketing materials to ensure compliance with EDI  Incorporate EDI content into DTPB’s Brand Book guidelines c) Create a strategy to promote underserved cities and areas to improve economic opportunity within The Palm Beaches  Reactivate discussions for hospitality product development in The Glades region  Continue discussions for product development with Riviera Beach and Lake Worth Beach City/DDA leadership d) Identify community-based groups that represent diversity, equity, and inclusion with whom DTPB should be communicating and collaborating with on a regular basis  Connect with diverse chambers of commerce to incorporate tourism presentations aimed at creating interest in hospitality careers  Explore an EDI Community Advisory Group e) Design and perform strategic outreach and recruitment to build a more inclusive governance and work structure that brings various backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences and fosters a creative environment that paves the way for long-term success  Use Destinations International Board Diversity White Paper as a guide in long-term Board recruitment efforts  Incorporate an EDI Focus in staff recruitment efforts  Expand on-going training programs to educate staff at all levels about EDI related topics f) Seek out local, domestic, and global EDI opportunities from a Groups and Leisure focus through event creation and acquisition, event participation, sponsorships, and brand partnerships that reflect and support DTPB’s EDI mission  Leverage EDI measures that attract conference organizers and tour operators to drive tourism  Identify activities and assets that are of interest to visitors and group attendees  Utilize marketing data that highlights EDI statistics and assets to incorporate into sales and marketing initiatives  Expand destination reviews and partner events to highlight community assets that represent diversity to target influencers 26

ORGANIZATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS FY2020 Strengthened Brand Awareness & Marketing                     

Conducted a Community Brand Assessment as the platform to develop a new leisure campaign Developed a comprehensive, multi-phase, destination recovery plan to jump start tourism and visitation as the pandemic conditions improved Developed virtual experiences, tours and 360 videos to allow consumers the ability to experience The Palm Beaches during “safer at home” orders and inspire future travel Initiated work toward a new and disruptive leisure campaign. Secured TDC approval to create: The Original, The One, The Only, The Palm Beaches Executed a major event surrounding NFL LIV Super Bowl incorporating key partners (Brightline, key sports teams, influencers and community) enhanced by paid and earned media Developed a destination-wide health & safety program called The Palm Beaches Pledge to rally support for CDC guidelines Re-joined Visit Florida and re-established key relationships and program participation Developed a unique co-op media plan that matched partner investments to encourage quick advertising resumption Released an enhanced 2019 Visitor Profile highlighting key traveler segments such as African American & business event travelers Conducted leisure traveler in-depth interviews from key fly & drive markets to understand potential travel and motivations during the pandemic Strategically sourced partnerships with multiple trade organizations including AAA, ASTA, OASIS Travel Network, Hotelbeds and GDS companies- Travelport and Travelclick Leveraged research tools available through partnerships with Travelport and Travelclick Deployed marketing and advertising with travel trade to support domestic markets in Chicago, Northeast, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Houston Launched new marketing and advertising representations in Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Germany and UK Collaborated with Marketing Department and PBIA on airline advertising campaign to increase awareness and visitation Engaged in partnership with Brand USA for participation in virtual tradeshows Increased our visibility and activity in appropriate travel trade channels Pivoted to virtual tradeshow participation to support engagement in lieu of in person events Analyzed and implemented travel agent certification program to enhance awareness of the destination Produced destination training program for continued education with travel trade representatives Evaluated and adjusted website to meet the needs of pandemic environment including landing pages for COVID-19 Updates, Traveler Information Page, Frontline Lodging, Virtual Palm Beaches, and Palm Beaches to Go.

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Expanded Meetings & Events 

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Lead the community in Global Bio-risk Advisory Council (GBAC) STAR accreditation that was inclusive of all hotels, convention center and cultural institutions becoming the only destination in the world to have an airport, convention center and headquarter hotel accredited Black Meetings and Tourism honored Michael Jackson with the prestigious APEX award based on his contributions to the industry Event Services Professional Association awarded Convention Services Manager of the Year to Yvonne McGill Rebooked over 30% of events cancelled due to COVID-19 Migrated to virtual site inspections and destination reviews to engage meeting planners and book meetings Shifted staff focus to support “essential lodgers” and re-invent processes to respond to virtual and hybrid events needs Increased 2021 group room night production during need period time from June through September by 14% For 2nd year in a row, voted as best DMO from SMART Meetings publications Nominated by Northstar Media for Stella Awards as best DMO in the Southeast for meetings and events Implemented unique in person and hybrid client events to showcase the county while raising over $20,000 for national and local organizations such as Place of Hope to help stop human trafficking

Destination Development   



Completed Convention Center Expansion Study that was presented, filed and accepted by the TDC Board in September 2020 Request for Information (RFI) drafted to determine developer interest in adding a hotel to the convention center campus Continued advocacy efforts with city and town leadership aimed at expanding municipalities focus toward hospitality and tourism economic activity Supported comprehensive onboarding of new hotels in the destination to increase exposure and coop activity.

Ensured Organizational Sustainability  

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Concluded the 2018-2020 Strategic Plan with record performance up till March 2020 when the pandemic interrupted travel and tourism Managed resources effectively through COVID-19 pandemic through thoughtful reduction in marketing, sales, staffing, and accelerated application of electronic platforms for daily transaction processing Communicated a weekly status report of industry performance and forecasts to all TDC agencies ensuring informed decision making Implemented a comprehensive end to end HRIS system including Payroll, Talent Management, and Benefits Administration 28

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Achieved 100% digital payments after implementation of an electronic banking Payment Manager Established an Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) committee that has created a strategic framework and goals Shifted focus towards directing partners to government assistance, education and special grants during pandemic Ensured proper documentation of financial transactions and in-kind expenses Established presence at higher education organization events to guide students

Improved Alignment & Community Engagement      

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Volunteered time and weekly support to Feeding South Florida Partnered with ISSA/GBAC to ensure health & safety among businesses in The Palm Beaches Evolved a messaging strategy based on the Cornerstone concept articulated in the Marketing Plan to establish the role of Destination Marketing as a “Shared Community Value” Created the “Open Palms” message to highlight the importance of supporting tourism and local businesses Hosted 6 Town Halls, Travel Rally Day and Global Meetings Industry Day to inform the community and partners on current trends, strategies and resources available Hosted the Community Advisory Roundtable; opened solid dialogue with key city leadership; established legislative update process, and addressed all chambers in The Palm Beaches among various other organizations like Palm Beach Tech and South Florida Tourism forums Established a bi-monthly Florida researchers call to better understand Florida performance and collaborate on future initiatives Launched The Palm Beaches pledge to unify the business community behind a health and safety message to ensure visitor confidence in planning a trip to The Palm Beaches Launched the digital, gamified Ale Trail of The Palm Beaches with 19 participating breweries

ORGANIZATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS FY2021 Strengthened Brand Awareness & Marketing         

Produced and launched new Leisure Campaign: The Original, The One, The Only – The Palm Beaches Successfully placed $1,800,000 in Federal CARES budget to support a COVID sensitive media buy in December, promoting visitation to The Palm Beaches Entered pioneering partnership with the Miami Dolphins, earning The Palm Beaches the title of “Official Partner of the Miami Dolphins” and garnering huge exposure in key fly markets Launched new partnership with American Airlines to secure added value equal to $150,000 Launched new media partnership with Visit Florida to secure matching funds of $350,000 Developed new vaccination campaign to support county communications effort Added resources to social media strategy to triple social media followers and engagement Fully tested leisure campaign with qualitative focus groups and quantitative survey which included diverse targets Developed a segmentation study to establish a baseline for the creation of a targeted strategy 29

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Co-produced with Palm Beach County Environmental Resources Management, “Hidden Wild,” a nationally recognized, award-winning film showcasing eco-tourism in The Palm Beaches Incorporated new and refreshed Equity, Diversity and Inclusion content across all digital channels through blogs and landing pages on ThePalmBeaches.com and through e-mail communications to visitors Continued efforts to ensure ADA compliance on ThePalmBeaches.com by increasing our site accessibility score to a 90.1%, industry standard score is a 74.3%

Expanded Meetings & Events   

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Transitioned reporting tools from TAP to Future Pace to best understand and leverage the impact of group business to The Palm Beaches Developed health and safety tools to effectively manage and successfully support definite events in The Palm Beaches in partnership with hotels and other stakeholders Elevated The Palm Beaches as a meetings destination by hosting PCMA Convening Leaders 2021 Live in The Palm Beaches to 60 key customers, community and industry leaders and over 6000 virtual attendees Pioneered partnership agreement with Incentive Research Foundation on the “New Era of Incentives” to increase room night production from target market segments for hotel and community partners Implement give back programs into trade and sales activities that are scheduled to secure over $15,000 to charitable organizations and individuals in need throughout the county In partnership with Palm Beach Film Commission advanced the impact of hybrid meetings to The Palm Beaches through interactive customer workshop Promoted Palm Beach County to one of the top 10 markets for lead growth through CVENT distribution platform

Ensured Organizational Sustainability         

Leveraged industry thought leaders in transition from DestinationNext to OrganizationNext, keeping DTPB in the forefront of Destination Management & Marketing Held a strategic planning session and refreshed Strategic Plan for 2020-2023 Strengthened attribution models by segmenting room night business Enhanced reporting capabilities with online dashboards providing greater access to information internally and externally Reengaged brand tracking, resident and stakeholder sentiment studies Secured PPP Funding to sustain financial sustainability despite significant revenue losses Digitized the invoicing process and have achieved 100% paperless approvals and invoices processing Implemented an electronic travel booking engine to allow for more control over T&E expenses and seamless reimbursements Initiated reorganization of marketing team to create new “Digital Center of Excellence”

Improved Alignment & Community Engagement 30

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Presented regularly to community groups such as chambers, leadership groups, as a featured speaker Selected as member of Visit Florida Strategic Marking Council – G. Weibull Launched new and comprehensive Partnership Program aimed to be more inclusive and cost effective for community businesses Provided over 30 community updates on the state of tourism, new leisure brand launch, and DTPB promotional initiatives to chambers, advisory committees, associations, and community groups Launched Palm Beach Restaurant week to support recovery efforts of restaurant industry in The Palm Beaches Developed new “Enhanced Partnership” proposals to the five largest cities in the destination Developed Spa & Wellness Promotion – “Spatober”

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion    

Partnered with MMGY with research on the Black meeting planner and leisure traveler Secured African American Visitor Profile Segmentation study Created new brand campaign content featuring significant rebalanced display of diverse visitors Collaborated on the first Arts & Tourism Summit on EDI with Cultural Council

Awards      

Black Meetings & Tourism – Apex Award (M. Jackson) Event Services Professional Association – Convention Services Manager of the Year (Y. Williams) Smart Meetings Manager – Best DMO 2020 Northstar Media – Stella Awards Nomination – Best DMO in Southeast The 2021 FSAE Associate Rising Star (B. Hall) Gold Coast PR Council – Bernay’s Awards 2021 – President’s Award (J. Pesquera)

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Tourism Performance in The Palm Beaches 2020 marked a historic decline in tourism. Visitation down 37%, hotel room nights sold down 34% and economic impact down 29%. As of April 2021, tourism performance has significantly rebounded. Hotel performance for the months of April, May and June has been at record levels, far surpassing 2019. This performance is expected to continue with a surge of leisure travel through Labor Day. Beyond Labor Day business/group travel is has been expected to return, however this may be delayed by the surge in COVID activity. Some international markets like Mexico and Colombia are growing while others wait for borders to open. Canadian travel and domestic travelers visiting friends/family are key market opportunities for the fall into winter as normal travel patterns may resume. DTPB is monitoring changes in travel habits carefully to ensure effective sales and promotion. Summer could be a surge in international and/or a continuation of 2021 domestic demand. There are still challenges associated with a resurgence of COVID variants and other economic factors such as labor shortages and inflation. These challenges are likely temporary but still can inhibit growth for an unknown period. DTPB utilizes a variety of sources including STR, CBRE, MMGY, Omnitrak, VisVue, Longwoods, Destinations Analyst, Arrivalist, among other 3rd party data sources.

After 10+ years of consecutive growth, visitation to The Palm Beaches declined by 37% to 5.16M due to stay at home orders, closed borders and business restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of the second quarter in 2021 visitation from local, drive and domestic fly markets have surged to levels higher than 2019 due to pentup demand for travel.

32

Hotel occupancy has grown from 57% to over 70% since coming out of the 2009 financial crisis. The 2020 pandemic caused a historic drop to 46% annual hotel occupancy, a record low

The first half of 2021 has shown record levels of performance in April, May and June.

In 2020, 5 hotels opened with a total of 577 rooms. There are 4 additional hotels scheduled to open in 2021 with 526 rooms bring total hotel rooms to 18,416.

33

The number of hotel rooms sold has grown 40% since 2009. The 2020 pandemic caused a 34% drop in hotel room nights sold to 2.95M due to “essential lodger” and “safer-athome” orders.

100=2019 Total room nights sold recovered 91.5% relative to 2019 and has been at record levels in April, May and June.

After growing 57% to $7.7 billion from 2009 to 2019, the total economic impact of tourism in The Palm Beaches dropped 29% to $5.5 billion.

34

$2.78 billion has been spent at accommodations, restaurants and attractions between January and May by visitors and residents, recovering 93% from 2019.

Leisure and hospitality employment grew 37% from 2009 to 93,800 jobs in 2019. 17,200 jobs were lost in 2020 due to the pandemic, 5,000 of which were at accommodations.

Over 4,000 jobs have been restored in 2021 still 13,000 off from 2019.

The hospitality industry is currently facing a labor shortage.

35

Industry & Economic Trends Positive Indicators or opportunities include:               

Pent-up demand from lifting of travel restrictions in both leisure and business travel, with high demand for Florida Vaccinations easing global travel restrictions and increasing local support for tourism Increase in US domestic travel Boomers will be an integral part of travel recovery from a spending perspective Meeting and event relocations causing a shift in destination selection Open spaces and beaches Increasing traveler sentiment Low consumer debt and high savings among US traveling population Low interest rates Road trips and staycations Proposed infrastructure bill improving tourism infrastructure through capital investments Potential of international travel with limited competition Targeting more diverse travelers Travelers seeking safe and familiar destinations GBAC certification and Palm Beaches Pledge

Concerns include:                 

Increased competition from large urban markets Prolonged restrictions on meetings and events COVID vaccination and/or boasters not effective against variants Safety of travel continues to temper demand Rising costs of travel Anticipated travel spend is down Reduced business travel Fewer trips per person per year Challenged tax revenues Labor shortages High unemployment Higher taxes Wage pressures in food & beverage and other sectors Increase in cost of business due to health & safety protocols Travel/Trade restrictions International travel impacts Increased competition due to newly renovated/expanded convention facilities

36

Traveler Sentiment Index (TSI)

Traveler sentiment declined significantly in 2020 and has since recovered in the first half of 2021. The resurgence of COVID-19 variants may likely cause sentiment to decline.

Confidence in the safety of travel has begun to decline in the last week of July, 2021 as news of increased infections from the Delta variant.

Interest in visiting The Palm Beaches has increased significantly from 2019 to 2021 due to pent-up demand for travel and introduction of a new leisure brand campaign

37

Demand for meetings and events is expected to be 90% of 2019 levels by the end of 2022 and recovering 100% by 2024.

38

International, business and group travel is not expected to recover until 2024, while domestic leisure travel has completely recovered and not expected to grow significantly over the next few years.

The Delta variant has caused readiness for travel to stall and could likely fall if the situation continues to deteriorate.

39

DESTINATION MARKETING TRENDS Leisure Travel        

Customer engagement - Connecting with customers through all stages of their experience, from awareness to interest to booking to visiting to post visit Expand content and messaging filters to ensure appropriate tone Develop messaging related to health and safety to reassure visitors Expand marketing outreach and campaigns to target local audience Develop a content strategy to showcase creative and innovative local makers and influencers Increasing importance on content creation and dissemination strategies Targeted customized digital messaging with greater emphasis on demographic profiles Promote and highlight mindfulness and wellness experiences

Groups, Meetings and Events       

Reassess business events market and target new groups (e.g. smaller, regional) Work with technology partners to expand capabilities to deliver hybrid meetings Long-term challenges, need for aggressive/creative sales planning for 2023 Enhance long-term opportunities with lost/rebooked business Elevating the attendee experience to deliver a healthy/safe experience Utilize client input to inform recovery messaging and timing (e.g. Client Advisory Board) Less traditional sales; more partnerships

Organizational Sustainability      

Collaborate with other organizations to determine opportunities for shared resources Expand advocacy and education role to protect funding sources and relevance Assess KPIs related to economic development and visitor/resident satisfaction Promote Master Plan for Tourism and adoption by local leaders/residents/community Destination Organizations becoming more involved in broader economic development Pursue alternative funding sources

Community Engagement     

Advocating for the need for strong unified destination brand that resonates across all economic development initiatives Education of residents and stakeholders on the benefits of tourism Push for more collaboration across community organizations on shared values Development of outreach programs in local community to broaden networks Connecting visitor experience with the quality of life of residents in the community

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

  

Foster a welcoming environment among local businesses that is inclusive and inviting for visitors to create a sense of belonging and connectedness to the local community Develop content to promote the diversity, equity and inclusion among local businesses Support diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives beyond hospitality and tourism Actively understand and promote to all underserved audiences



Develop training programs to educate staff at all levels about diversity, equity and inclusion



40

ABOUT DISCOVER THE PALM THE ORGANIZATION DISCOVER PALM BEACH COUNTY INC dba DISCOVER THE PALM BEACHES (DTPB) serves as Palm Beach County’s official source for travel planning to visitors around the US and internationally. It is a Destinations International accredited private non-profit corporation that delivers professional destination marketing services for Palm Beach County through the application of a wide range of marketing, sales, product development and community engagement strategies as established in a multi-year contract with the Board of County Commissioners. This contract is approved, endorsed and monitored by the Tourism Development Council. Its activities and strategies are anchored on Destinations International platforms such as the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP) and DestinationNext. It is funded primarily through a portion of the tourism taxes (TDT) collected by the hotels and other accommodations as well as hospitality partner support and cooperative programs.

Palm Beach County’s Tourism industry delivers $5.1 billion in direct visitor spending which generated over $7.7 billion in total economic impact in 2019. Nearly $500 million in state and local taxes are generated from tourism. Without this revenue, each household would need to pay an additional $900 in taxes annually. Nearly 70,000 jobs, one in every ten households, are supported by tourism, generating $2.1 billion in personal income to residents of Palm Beach County.

As the official tourism marketing organization charged with promoting Palm Beach County as a leisure travel and meetings destination, Discover The Palm Beaches plans and executes strategies in sales, marketing, research, visitor services, product development and industry relations. The goal is to deliver the right message, through the right medium, to the right audience, at the right time, in order to maximize brand awareness that inspires visitation to Palm Beach County on a year-round basis. Key strategies focus on: visitor acquisition, protecting and developing the brand, community engagement and enhancing market share. DTPB pursues cooperative and collaborative strategies with other TDC funded entities (Cultural Council, Film and TV Commission, Sports Commission, Environmental Resources Management and the Palm Beach County Convention Center) as well as the Business Development Board, Chambers of Commerce and other leading organizations. in order to promote broad alignment and synergies in messaging, overall market reach and economic development.

This Destination Marketing Plan is the roadmap that guides the DTPB’s efforts for the 2021-2022 fiscal year. The plan has been developed by DTPB staff based on research about relevant industry and consumer trends, as well as input and insights from key industry stakeholders, The Portrait of American Travel Report, Brand USA, US Travel Association, Destinations International, state tourism trends, partner surveys and the Board of Directors, among others.

DTPB must prioritize its resources to focus only on programs that maximize impact and create value for travelers and industry partners/stakeholders while working collaboratively with cities and county leaders to grow the tourism product. Hence, its efforts center on three pillars: 41



CO-OP DISCOVER THE PALM BEACHES is evolving into a cooperative marketing company.

DISCOVER THE PALM BEACHES will create co-op programs that allow stakeholders and partners to leverage the momentum of DISCOVER THE PALM BEACHES’s investment for their own marketing efforts in ways that create significant impact for the County’s tourism success.



BRAND DISCOVER THE PALM BEACHES is committed to creating, curating and distributing authentic Palm Beach County content that inspires travel to The Palm Beaches. DISCOVER THE PALM BEACHES will deliver the most relevant content to the right audience at the optimum time on the platform of their choice.



STRATEGIC MARKETING AGENCIES/Alliances DISCOVER THE PALM BEACHES counts on the expertise of a first-class team of marketing agencies to help enhance and expand The Palm Beaches brand. These advertising, public relations, digital development and publishing partners bring substantial resources and expertise to execute the Destination Marketing Plan. Strategic partnerships and alliances with entities such as Brand USA, ASAE, PCMA, IAEE, Helms Briscoe, Conference Direct and other TDC agencies enable DISCOVER THE PALM BEACHES to implement marketing initiatives with a scale and impact not otherwise possible.

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FY 2022 Performance Measures Organizational Objectives        

Grow visitation to 7.5M Sell 4.5M hotel room nights Generate $5B in direct visitor spending for $7.25B in in economic impact Restore leisure & hospitality jobs to 92,600 Increase the share of hotel room nights sold in Florida to 4.2% Rank first in occupancy within South Florida two months Increase the share of tourism spending in Florida to 7% Increase the group room night contribution to 23% of total occupancy

Marketing        

Consumer and Travel Industry database increases to 405,000 records* Generate 18,000,000 in Owned Views Digital Footprint* Generate 1,400,000 Social Engagements* Generate 600,000,000 Advertising Impressions - a universal performance measurement in advertising* Generate 200,000,000 Earned Media Impressions - a universal performance measurement in PR* Generate 5,000 pieces of branded content Measure 350,000 arrivals influenced by DTPB promotional efforts Generate 0.80 arrivals per million impressions

Sales        

Book 100,000 DTPB only room nights (Hotel Meetings Leads)* Generate 40,000 Group Level Booked Room Nights Convention Center Shared* Generate 30,000 Group Level Actual FY Room Nights for Convention Center Shared* Generate 70 participants in Destination Reviews* Generate 90 Destination Site participants* Generate an economic impact of $65M for groups contracted in FY 2022 for future dates Generate an economic impact of $75M for groups occurring during FY2022 Contribute 2.7M impressions to DTPN Owned View Digital Footprint

*Denotes a TDC performance measure

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GOVERNANCE 2020 – 2021 DTPB BOARD OF DIRECTORS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CHAIR Rita Barreto, President Top Tier Leadership

Troy McLellan, President/CEO Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce

VICE CHAIRMAN

Christophe Dagassan, Director of Leisure Sales & Global Partnerships The Breakers

Jason Emmett, Owner Paradigm Hospitality Group

IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR0.

SECRETARY/TREASURER

Patrick Franklin, President & CEO Urban League of Palm Beach County

John Carns, General Manager Boca Raton Resort & Club

INDUSTRY MEMBERS Mohamed Elbanna, Regional Vice President & General Manager Four Seasons Resort

Rick Rose, Owner Grandview Gardens Bed & Breakfast & Vacation Rentals

James Hansen, VP Sales & Marketing Kolter Hospitality

Jim Williams AW Architects Inc.

Brett Langbert, Executive Director JP Morgan

EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS Maria Antuña, Executive Vice President Central Palm Beach Chamber

Bruce Shulman, Strategic Advisor Northstar Travel Group

Cecilia Hudnet, Director of Sales The Chesterfield Palm Beach

Dr. Gary Vonk, President Keiser University West Palm Beach

Ken Kennerly, Executive Director The Honda Classic

Peter Yesawich, Vice Chairman MMGY Global

Ron Wichowski, General Manager Boca Raton Marriott at Boca Center

COMMUNITY MEMBERS

Ethel Isaacs Williams, Consultant

Mary Lou Bedford, CEO Central Palm Beach County Chamber

TDC LIASON

Yvonne Boice, Travel Consultant Fugazy International Travel

John Tolbert, President Boca Raton Resort & Spa

Lew Crampton, South Florida Science Museum Board Member & City Council – Town of Palm Beach

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2021 – 2022 TDC BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIR Maria Sachs, Commissioner Palm Beach County VICE CHAIR James Bronstien Marine Business Advisors BOARD MEMBERS Jeffrey Mayers, Managing Director PGA National Resort and Spa Jim Mostad, Senior Vice President-Sales The Breakers Christina L Romelus, Commissioner City of Boynton Beach Donald P. Dufresne, Esq. Fox Rothschild LLP Davicka Nicole Thompson Consultant Communications and Strategy Thompson Creative Collective Kelly Shoaf, Commissioner City of West Palm Beach STAFF Glenn Jergensen, TDC Executive Director

45

PALM BEACH COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MAYOR Dave Kerner – District 3 VICE MAYOR Robert S. Weinroth – District 4 COMMISSIONERS Maria G. Marino – District 1 Gregg K. Weiss – District 2 Maria Sachs – District 5 Melissa McKinlay – District 6 Mack Bernard – District 7

COUNTY ADMINISTRATION Verdenia Baker, County Administrator Nancy Bolton, Assistant County Administrator Todd J. Bonlarron, Assistant County Administrator Dorrit M. Miller, Assistant County Administrator Patrick Rutter, Assistant County Administrator

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DISCOVER THE PALM BEACHES STAFF Executive: Jorge Pesquera, President/CEO Kricket Marion, Assistant to the President/CEO Business Intelligence Gustav Weibull, Associate Vice President, Business Intelligence & Research International & Leisure Sales Erick Garnica, Senior Director, Leisure Trade Industry Sales Eva Damato, Manager, Leisure Sales Finance: Evan Lomrantz, Senior Vice President, Finance & Administration Chris Blackburn, Senior Director, Finance Lloyd Oakley, Senior Staff Accountant Victoria King, Specialist, Accounts Payable Steve Parsons, Director, Information Systems Marketing: Nick Parks, Vice President, Marketing Public Relations & Communications Lindsey Wiegman, Director, Public Relations & Social Media Beril Gutierrez, Manager, Social Media Veronica Arrieta, Manager, International Public Relations Amaryvis Sierra, Manager, Public Relations Natasha Boschetti, Social Media Specialist Content & Community Engagement Heather Andrews, Associate Vice President, Content & Community Engagement Sergio Piedra Director, Community Engagement/Advocacy Rosemarie Michel, Senior Manager, Website, CRM & Digital Platforms Mackenzie Morrel, Account Executive, Community Engagement Mary Brown, Senior Specialist, Marketing Integrated Marketing Bryan Glynn, Director, Digital Marketing Jaimie Hart, Marketing Manager, Groups & Meetings

47

Mike Reinhardt, Senior Manager, Creative Services Erika Constantine, Manager, Strategic Marketing Partnerships Group Sales: Kelly Cavers, Senior Vice President Group Sales & Destination Services Dori Jensen, Senior Director Sales, Meetings & Conventions Susan Carlson, Director Sales, Meetings & Conventions, Northeast & Canada Peter Cronin, Director Sales, Meetings & Conventions, Southeast Peggy Murray Hagaman, Director Sales, Meetings & Conventions, Midwest Shanon Villeneuve, Director Sales, Midwest/West Brandon Hall, Manager, Sales Monique Leo- Spinner, Senior Account Executive, Group Sales Linsey Barrett, Account Executive Group Sales Sophie West, Account Executive Group Sales Sharon Persaud, Account Executive Group Sales Destination Services Aly Fernandez, Associate Vice President, Destination Services & Trade Activities Yvonne Williams, Senior Manager, Destination Services Ashley Medeiros, Manager, Destination Services Jessica Lettsome, Manager, Destination Services

48

Appendix: FY 2022 Destination Marketing Plan

COVID VARIANT PLAN Discover the palm Beaches

Monitored Research IMPACT OF COVID VARIANTS

1.

2.

3.

Official Guidelines

Traveler / Meeting Planner Sentiment

Performance Metrics

Federal, State & Local Health & safety recommendations

Travel restrictions, border closures

Destinations Analyst Longwoods MMGY PR Newswire

Web traffic Social media Hotel performance Group bookings Competitive benchmarks Arrivals

HEALTH & SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS

RECOVERY: Health & Safety

DTPB will work with news outlets, hotels, restaurants, attractions and all partners to highlight key health & safety measures being taken.

Projected Timing Q1 2022 *TBD based on monitored research

Campaign Messaging Health & Safety Measures Travel Guidelines

Market

Audience

Palm Beach County

All Future Travel Intenders

Top Target Markets

RECOVERY

Communications Media Plan

Owned •

•

Website Landing Page

Earned •

Local News PSAs

•

PR Outreach

•

Health & Safety Procedures at All Partners

•

Public/County/Government Guidelines

•

Press Releases

•

Status of Key Tourism Businesses

•

Local News Coverage

Video Concept •

Partners Highlight Importance of New Safety Measures (Hotels, Convention Center, Airport)

•

Build Trust with Message We're Ready to Welcome You

•

Social Media

•

Email Database

• TV • Newspaper

PHASE I: Stay & Play Local

PHASE I

Projected Timing *TBD Based on monitored research

Campaign Messaging

Market

Audience

Stay & Play Local

Palm Beach County

Families

Support Local

Couples Affluent Friends and Family

PHASE I

Stay & Play Local in The Palm Beaches

OFFER: The Palm Beaches are Ready to Welcome You with Open Palms • Stay Local | Play Local | Support Local • Compelling Offers + Value Adds Stakeholder Participation: • Attraction Discounts • Restaurant Deals • Ale Trail Exploration Strategy • Bandwango Offers

PHASE I

Stay & Play Local in The Palm Beaches

Tactics • Landing Page with Local Offers + Destination Info - Re-Engage DTPB Locals Facebook Group •

Localized Video with Stay Local CTA; invite family/friends to visit/reconnect "The Palm Beaches are ready to welcome you with Open Palms"

•

Video Shorts Highlighting Destination Assets - Outdoors, Leisure Sports, Watersports - Family Attractions - Little Known Places to Explore in Key Towns

•

Direct Mail Campaign - Insider's Guide mailed to Locals - Tear-Off Postcard with CTA to forward to Family/Friends to Reconnect + Invite to Visit - 'Open Palms' Flyer with PBC Resident Offers

PHASE I

Stay & Play Local in The Palm Beaches

MEDIA MIX Owned •

• •

Social Media

Earned •

PR Outreach

•

Facebook

•

Press Releases

•

Instagram

•

•

Twitter

Local News Coverage

•

Influencers

•

Promotions

Email Database Website • Landing Page • SEO

Paid • • • • •

Paid Social • Facebook Local News PSAs OOH (Billboard) • Outfront Digital Display Radio • ESPN • Hubbard

PHASE II: Drive Markets

PHASE II

Projected Timing *TBD Based on monitored research

Campaign Messaging Drive Markets

Markets - Fort Lauderdale - Miami - Orlando - Tampa - Jacksonville - Southeast US

Audience Florida Residents Families Couples Family & Friends Affluent

PHASE II

Drive Market Offers

OFFER: "Free Nights & More in The Palm Beaches" - Geotargeted messaging to FL/GA/TX, etc. Residents - Compelling Discounts + Value Adds

DTPB Offer Match Partner Media Investment on Expedia - Up to $4K per partner, with DTPB logo+ campaign tag inclusion (up to $50K per month) Destination Partnership with American Express Stakeholder Participation Hotel Best Offers - Free Nights - Value Ads - Waived Resort Fees Attractions & Restaurant Offers

PHASE II

Drive Market

Tactics •

Florida Friends & Family Video Series - Local residents detail their favorite activities - Invite friends & family to visit + experience

•

Series of Video Shorts Highlighting Key Resort Properties AND Destination Assets - On or Near the Beach - Small Towns to Explore

•

Promotions with Strategic Partners - Girls Getaway Giveaway with Lilly Pulitzer - Golf Packages - Dine Around Weekly/Monthly Offers - Brightline Staycation Packages

•

Visit Florida Media Partnership

Drive Market Offers

PHASE II

MEDIA MIX Owned •

Social Media

Earned •

PR Outreach

Paid •

Digital Display

•

Facebook

•

Press Releases

•

MIQ

•

Instagram

•

•

Expedia

•

Twitter

FL Coverage – TV / Print / Web

•

SEM

•

Email Database

•

Influencers

•

Website

•

Promotions

•

Paid Social

•

Facebook

•

Landing Page

•

Local Broadcast TV

•

SEO

•

OOH (Billboards)

•

Outfront Media

PHASE III: Fly Markets

PHASE III

Projected Timing TBD Based on monitored research

Campaign Messaging Fly Market Offers

Markets - New York - Boston - Washington DC - Philadelphia - Atlanta - Chicago

Audience - Families - Affluent Couples - Expanded Fly and Drive Markets

PHASE III

Fly Market Call To Action

DTPB Offer •

Expedia Media Investment

•

Destination Offer via AMEX

•

Airline Partnership – Flight Subsidy

- Hotel Subsidy Promo Code

Stakeholder Participation •

Travel Agency Participation

•

Hotel Value Adds + Free Amenities -

Waived Resort Fees Free Valet Parking Free Daily Breakfast Free Welcome Cocktails Free Cabana Rental

PHASE III

Fly Market Communications

Tactics •

Social Content Series featuring Best Beaches in The Palm Beaches

•

PR events in Key NE Cities

•

Airport Takeovers

•

Promotions with Strategic Partners - Airlift Support + Airline Partnerships - Golf Packages - Rental Car Promotion

•

GDS Credit Targeting Travel Agency Incentives

•

Visit Florida Media Partnership

Fly Markets

PHASE III

MEDIA MIX Owned •

Social Media

Earned •

PR Outreach

•

Facebook

•

Press Releases

•

Instagram

•

Regional TV

•

Twitter

•

FL Print

•

FL Online Press

•

Email Database

•

Website •

Landing Page

•

SEO

Paid •

Digital Display

• • • • •

SEM Paid Social

• • •

MIQ Expedia GDS

Facebook

Local Broadcast TV OOH (Billboards)

•

Outfront Media

Relaunch Marketing

Film Commission •

Support with Video Production Utilizing Existing & New Footage

TDC Agency Collaboration Plan

Sports Commission • Shared Social Content Surrounding Leisure Sports • Golf • Tennis • Endurance • Watersports

Cultural Council • MOSAIC Special Offers from Culture Attractions • Social Sharing

Relaunch Marketing

Groups & Meetings: GBAC Star

Owned • Leverage GBAC Star certified messaging to communicate health & safety measures in place • Create video content hub for meeting planners • Revise meeting planner toolkit to include health measures • Virtual Site Inspections • Weekly Webinars to targeted customers • E-mail newsletter to feature health and safety content

Earned

Paid • Leverage partnerships with PCMA & ASAE to promote health case studies • Leverage CVENT to capture new RFPs

Group Incentive Offer

•

Groups PR Outreach •

Press Releases

• Trade Press • Social Media (organic) Leverage Customer Advisory Group Feedback: Ongoing

EXECUTIVE BRIEF FY21/22 The Palm Beach County Film & Television Commission (FTC) is a dynamic, multi-faceted organization that markets, supports, and expands the production industry for The Palm Beaches. Servicing the industry for 32 years, no project is too small or too large for clients to discover the FTC’s “can do” approach, superior service, attention to detail, responsiveness, and the resources to turn production projects into a reality.

The FTC is a non-profit 501(c)(6) agency funded through a portion of bed taxes under contract with the Board of County Commissioners, reports to the County through The Palm Beach County Tourist Development Council (TDC) and is governed by a Board of Directors and special committees that assist in directing finance, marketing, and programming initiatives. The organization oversees two contracts: 1) $1.1M contract with the BCC 2) $75,000 contract with DHES (Education) Emerging from one of the most challenging periods in Palm Beach County’s history due to the COVID19 pandemic, the FTC remained steadfast in its vision to be the innovative organization that positively impacts the community beyond expectations. In a time where so much uncertainty existed, the FTC strengthened communications with the local production community, aided in one of the first nationally released COVID safety guidelines for production sets, facilitated 20 COVID PSA’s with the County, designed and executed a phased marketing campaign aligned with “Open Palms” in collaboration with TDC sister agencies, and created The Palm Beaches TV Facebook Watch Party series to keep the destination top of mind for travel considerations.

Like no other film commission in the Country, the organization goes beyond the foundation of service to actively generate production and grow the local economy. The FTC’s Tourism Branded Content Sponsorship Program remains to be a successful marketing strategy that cultivates the development and distribution of new tourism programming. This initiative enabled us to launch the Palm Beaches TV in 2017 and begin building an impressive library of original broadcast content specific to tourism in The Palm Beaches. In addition, the program is generating new business opportunities for the local production community and has helped offset the impact of not having a state or local incentive program. Some new shows premiering this year include ScubaNation, partnering with Discover The Palm Beaches and Environmental Resources Management, Art Adventures of The Palm Beaches partnering with the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, a new sports series in partnership with The Palm Beach County Sports Commission!

On behalf of the TDC, the FTC continues to manage The Palm Beaches TV, Palm Beach County’s Official Tourism TV Channel. Distributing over 40 hours of original programming, this marketing platform provides all the family-friendly, iconic, and little-known offerings of Palm Beach County with the click of a button. The Palm Beaches TV is a complimentary marketing tool for those appearing on the channel – all designed to stimulate tourism growth to deliver the greatest economic impact. Available as a designated channel in nearly 4000 hotel rooms, on Roku, via mobile app and online at ThePalmBeaches.TV, this 24/7 channel offers inspiration and some of the best experiences and backdrops of the destination delivered through the lens of lively storytelling.

1

The Palm Beaches TV Facebook Watch Party series launched June 2020. Hosted by Palm Beach County Tourist Development Council Executive Director Glenn Jergensen along with co-host Lauren Tobin, the series is created using original content as seen on The Palm Beaches TV. These mini episodes spotlight our expansive tourism offerings while sharing relevant messages from local tourism leaders. To date, with minimal financial input, the FTC has produced over 60 episodes that have been distributed to the drive market. More than half a million people have been reached through this targeted campaign.

The FTC embraces the responsibility to develop and increase media and public relations outreach.

Plans include launching a new weekly Facebook Watch Party series dedicated to “PBC Tourism News.”

The Episodes are designed to share current tourism related events and happenings, provide monthly tourism data and spotlight new initiates from our tourism partners.

Local, domestic, and international projects continue to utilize the services and resources offered by the Commission. The FTC is the official Palm Beach County agency that issues permits for commercial production on public property offering a One-Stop permitting process that works with over 50 municipalities, taxing districts, county departments and other community entities. Unwavering in our commitment to service on-location production, the FTC’s expertise on regional regulations and strong community partnerships create opportunities for production teams to get the job done, focus on their craft and capture extraordinary footage. Over 130 local production companies call The Palm Beaches home, offering a wide array of services for creative and logistical needs alike. The FTC acknowledges the hard work of local industry professionals for their diligence, expertise, and adaptability, making it possible to get cameras rolling again despite the challenges of the pandemic.

Palm Beach County’s diverse population and tourism offerings brings together a mix of communities, backgrounds, and perspectives. The FTC is expanding its equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives across multiple programs under the guidance of the TDC and FTC Board of Directors.

As we are building for the future, educational programs that cultivate a solid workforce and showcase student work are essential to our communities' initiatives. From our structured internship program to the one-of-a kind student One-Stop permitting process, to the cornerstone of the FTC’s education outreach – The Palm Beaches Student Showcase of Films - we are committed to supporting up-andcoming talent and advancing the local industry and economy.

The enclosed marketing plan presentation focuses on the following key strategic priorities: marketing, content creation, service, educational programs and data collection.

2

3

Florida’s Film Industry: - Employs 23K people - Serviced by 5,130 businesses - Paying over 2.2 Billion in wages - Average annual wage of $89K which is 60% above the average annual wage in Florida

• Market, service and grow the production industry in Palm Beach County • Servicing the industry for 32 years • Funded through bed tax revenues • Official agency for permitting on-location production • $200M+ annual business • Oversee 40 hours of original programming for PBC’s tourism television channel, PBTV • 130 production related companies on record • Produce largest statewide film competition and award show in Florida • Collect, track and maintain statistical data Governed by a 25 Member Board of Directors Staff of 7 Employees Oversee Two Contracts:

1) $1.1M contract with the BCC 2) $75,000 contract with DHES (Education)

4

A Year in Review Covid Recovery

• • • • • • • • •

Florida led the industry with a seven-page document:

100 Recommendations for Clean and Healthy Sets

Adopted guidelines from DGA, SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, Teamsters and Film Florida Implemented safety plans and compliance officers on set Created Weekly Facebook Watch Parties Facilitated 20 Covid PSAs with the County Initiated outreach to production community and collected data on effects Established a webpage to provide timely information with links to support services Collaborated with agencies to create a 3-phase marketing approach Adopted Discover’s Pledge Initiative for Health & Safety in addition to becoming a proud partner

5

FYTD Impact of Production

6

7

Production Highlights Diners Drive-Ins & Dives

Cholo Soy and Coolinary Cafe

Food Network

BUDGET: $100K

Muck City

8-Part Series

BUDGET: $150K HBO Max

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition

Magazine

BUDGET: $200K

Under Armour

Team Sports

BUDGET: $400K

National Commercial

T-Mobile

Beyond The Bases BUDGET: $60K

Branded Content

Zac Brown Band

Same Boat

BUDGET: $75K

Music Video

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Strategic Priorities Expand

Marketing Initiatives

Promote the County as a production destination

Enhance

Service Promise

Infrastructure Essentials

Provide superior service and support to expand production

Bolster

Content Creation

Cultivate

Foster

Education Programs

Ensure

Initiate and sponsor tourism branded programming that features The Palm Beaches

Support education programs that cultivate a solid workforce and showcase student work

Develop new and support existing, locally-based production facilities, crews and events

Data Collection

Collect, track, maintain and report statistical and historical information 9

Origination Markets

60% Florida

13% Domestic - Outside FL, NY, CA 11% New York 8% California 8% International

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Marketing The Palm Beaches As an Ideal Production Destination

New Website Coming Soon

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Marketing Locations

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Print Advertising FTC

COMBO

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Advertorial Advertising Roger Amidon

Verdenia Baker

Bill Scott 14

One-Stop Permitting PPM # CW-0-031 Logistics Public Safety Insurance Drones – FAA Protect and Steward

Resources Production Facilities Crew Talent Hotels Rentals Marketing Public Relations

Locations Database 60K Images Custom Packages Scouts County Webcams Google Earth

The Palm Beaches TV Concept Development Greenlight Script Approval Deliverables Distribution Broadcast Inventory Tracking

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Infrastructure Production & Recording Studios

Home to 18 studios that operate year-round bringing a steady flow of business into the community

Local Production Companies

Over 130 production and related companies on record working together to keep the industry growth strong

Film Festivals

10 diverse festivals serve as a vital link to engage with the community and support a variety of artists 16

Retooling PBC’s Business Model

Dozens of States Expanding Tax Credits & Incentive Programs Florida is One of 18 States Without an Incentive Program •

California adds $330M

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Georgia adds $870M

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New York adds $420M

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Montana raised cap by an additional $2M

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Oregon’s new bill increased cap from $14M to $20M

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Oklahoma rewards for filming in rural communities or luring back natives

Georgia film industry bounces back from pandemic with record $4B year

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The Palm Beaches TV

Online - On Demand - Streaming Service for Participating Hotels - Roku - Free App

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Palm Beach County’s Official Tourism TV Channel

Overseen by the Tourist Development Council High Quality Family Programming Expert Tour Guide Creative Presentation of Tourism Assets Distribution Platform for Agency Partners Visitor Retention Entice Group Sales Extend Length of Stays

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Over 40 Hours Original Programming 81

75

59

33

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Episodes

Commercials

Network Promos

Short Segments

Live Events

30-minute broadcast

Various 15, 30 and

Created to promote

One-off projects

Covering events to

quality programs

60 second spots

“what’s next” and

that vary in length

broadcast in real time

“coming up”

Produce 6 -10 Hours of New Programming Evaluate Additional Live Events Create New Marketing Materials

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Currently Streaming

In Nearly 4000 Rooms – Expand PBTV Presence with Additional 1500 Rooms

THE SEAGATE

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Distribution Networks

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ON THE TOWN IN THE PALM BEACHES Delray - West Palm Beach - Wellington - Jupiter - Boca Raton - Palm Beach Gardens Boynton Beach - The Glades - Lake Worth - Palm Beach - Boca / Delray - Riviera Beach - History and Culture Outdoor Adventures - Culinary - The Perfect Week of Sports TRAVELS AND TRADITIONS WITH BURT WOLF The Palm Beaches - The Beach Vacation, 1 & 2 - Gone Fishing 1 & 2 - Palm Beach Scrap Book, 1 & 2 SCUBA NATION Under a Bridge Discover The Palm Beaches Diving Destiny - Reefs, Jungle and Family Escapades DRIVE THE PALM BEACHES - Cars and Coffee Palm Beach - Wings, Wheels and Fashion - Wheels Across the Pond - Palm Beach Concours - Wolf Gallery - Road Tripping the Palm Beaches PASSPORT TO THE PALM BEACHES Paradise on the Ocean - Living the Good Life & Giving Back - Getting Red Carpet Ready - Must See Palm Beach - Palm Beach Entrepreneur The Fountain of Youth HOOKED ON THE PALM BEACHES Big O Bass - Gladiator of the Sea Peacocks & Clowns - Silver Kings Super Grouper - Yellowtails & Sails Chasin’ Sails - Bass Bustin’ Western Palm Beach - Jupiter Jacks and Snooks - East Side of the Gulf Stream - Mahi Madness May The Fishing Force Be With You - No Fences in the Ocean - Bass & Exotics Loxahatchee River - Palm Beach Inlet Snook Urban Fishing Tactics - Silver Sailfish Derby BIRDING ADVENTURES Sandhill Cranes - Caracara - Nanday Parakeets Snail Kites - Swallow Tailed Kites - Woodstork LITTLE WONDERS OF THE PALM BEACHES Always Learning - Cultural Experiences - Too Much Fun - Discover and Explore - Wet and Wild - Busch Wildlife Sanctuary - Wild & Whacky - Artigras Grandview Marketplace - Lion Country Safari Shark Wake Park - Sandoway Discovery Center ART ADVENTURES OF THE PALM BEACHES Warehouse Wonderland Conscious Fashion - Outdoor Art - Art of Nature

81 Episodes Reaching 2.3 Billion Households GOLF ADVISOR ROUND TRIP - THE HONDA CLASSIC 2019 - THE BEST OF SUNFEST - THE POLO LIFE - THE PAR-FECT 18 IN THE PALM BEACHES - WOMEN IN POLO IN THE PALM BEACHES DOCK 'N DINE IN THE PALM BEACHES - LION COUNTRY SAFARI DOCUMENTARY TRAVEL SERIES WITH PETER GREENBERG - 3 PAR-FECT DAYS IN THE PALM BEACHES

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New Original Programming

BIRDING ADVENTURES

ON THE TOWN IN THE PALM BEACHES

SCUBA NATION

A six-part series that explores our full time and seasonal feathered residents and their habitats.

Celebrate season six with three new episodes of the South Florida PBS signature series.

Experience the magic of The Palm Beaches underwater world in this two-part series.

TRAVELS & TRADITIONS with BURT WOLF Explore The Palm Beaches with well-known and delightful travel host, Burt Wolf.

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New Original Programming

ART ADVENTURES OF THE PALM BEACHES

DOCK N DINE 2

Restart with the arts in The Palm Beaches! The Adventure is on as art and culture is explored with host, Shelli Lockhart.

Enjoy the waterways and boating scenes of restaurants along the County’s iconic water-front dining venues.

SPORTING LIFE Showcases the venues of various sport disciplines and a wide variety of sports stories within The Palm Beaches.

PASSPORT TO THE PALM BEACHES An insider’s look at the countless luxurious and lifestyle offerings available in Palm Beach County.

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Social Media

Over 15K Organic Followers

YTD Engagement Increase 120% to 10,848 YTD Reach Increase 79% to 369,808 •

Social Media Calendar

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Daily Posting, Sharing and Engagement

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Cross Populate & Collaborate with Industry and County Partners

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Stimulate and engage in conversations

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Identify target audience for paid sponsorship

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Monthly Social Media Report

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Facebook Watch Party Series

5 Seasons 58 Episodes

Total Reach = 666,446

Total Views = 392,709

Palm Beach County Film & Television Commission @FreePermits Public & Government Service · 3,902 likes · 4,269 follows

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County Tourism News New Weekly Series

Utilize TDC Studio and In House Talent to Create Broadcast Share Current Tourism Related Events and Happenings Spotlight New Initiates from Tourism Partners Provide Monthly Tourism Data, “Tourism Talks” Distribute on Social Platforms

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EDI Initiatives MARKETING

• • • • •

Facebook Watch Party series added diverse co-host Two new On The Town episodes that focus on diversity Marketing materials reflect inclusion Soliciting multicultural stories from the production community 15% of discretionary spending goes to SBE certified companies

PBTV

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Requires shows to reflect diversity in the content Focused content to include multicultural tourism Fostering relationships with local talent to ensure inclusion

SSOF •

• • • •

Continue outreach to special programs for at-risk students with an emphasis on film 25% of applications from minority predominate schools 52% of the student finalists represent diversity 13% of the judges are multicultural 45% of the presenters represent a variety of ethnicities

DIVERSITY TRAINING • •

Participated in Tourism Summit of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Commissioned and completed Diversity in the Workforce Training conducted by Barry University

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Student Showcase of Films

Produces Florida’s Largest Student Film Competition and Award Show

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Preserving Mr. Reynolds Legacy with the Burt Reynolds Scholarship

REC

Thank You That’s A Wrap

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FY22 Sports Commission Marketing Plan

Palm Beach County Sports Commission FY2022 Marketing Plan Executive Summary MISSION The Palm Beach County Sports Commission attracts sporting events and activities to Palm Beach County to enhance occupancy of hotel room nights; to maximize the positive economic impact of these events and activities on the Palm Beach County economy; to maximize the utilization of County facilities; to utilize events and activities to promote the image of Palm Beach County as a sports tourism destination on a national and international level.

COVID-19 IMPACTS ON SPORTS TOURISM COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the sports world. The coronavirus outbreak has forced organizations within the sports industry to make difficult and heartbreaking decisions regarding their events and business models. Nearly every major sporting event was canceled, relocated, or postponed after the onset of the pandemic.

Sports tourism represents a substantial value to the U.S. economy. However, this economic value has been severely limited by the coronavirus pandemic that has especially damaged the sports events and tourism industry. Nearly all industries are impacted by COVID-19, but to varying degrees. Given that sports and events are considered non-essential services and typically involve the gathering of many participants and spectators, which increases the risk of transmission, the sports tourism industry was significantly impacted for much of 2020 and 2021. Given the event cancellations/postponements, travel restrictions, and ensuing job losses and budget cuts resulting from COVID-19, the sports tourism industry suffered throughout the United States. Some sportsrelated organizations did not survive the pandemic.

Over the ten months from March to December 2020, an estimated 75 million fewer people traveled to sports events within the United States, compared to 2019, resulting in a loss of $20 billion in direct spending. Palm Beach County experienced a significant loss of sports tourism benefits. In 2020, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission lost 77 booked events due to cancellation and relocation. The loss of those events resulted in an elimination of 85,519 booked room nights and a projected economic impact reduction of $59.8 million. In 2021, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission lost 46 events due to cancellation and relocation. Losing those 46 events resulted in a removal of 50,394 booked room nights and a projected economic impact loss of $35.2 million.

Although the Palm Beach County Sports Commission endured its most challenging year in its history, the recovery of Palm Beach County’s sports tourism economy is proceeding. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission, in collaboration with the Tourist Development Council, implemented a phased recovery strategy for sports tourism. The plan was successful, and our Sports Commission realized tourism production during the summer of 2021 that mirrors pre-pandemic conditions in 2019. The Sports Commission’s portfolio of events during the summer of 2021 experienced levels of volume, reach, and potency that represent nearly a full recovery.

ORGANIZATIONAL OBJECTIVES • Visitor Acquisition: Building Back Better in 2022 - The Sports Commission’s tourism output returned to pre-pandemic normalcy in June and July of 2021. However, much work is needed to build the Sports Commission’s annual event portfolio back to its pre-pandemic stature. In FY 2020, the Sports Commission’s event portfolio experienced a 37% reduction after COVID-19 shutdowns were implemented with half of the year remaining. During FY 21, Quarter 1, the Sports Commission underwent a 40% loss in hosted events. Sports-related room nights dropped by 41% in FY 21, Quarter 1 (year over year comparison to FY 20). o

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Fall/Winter Sports Events – Our Sports Commission is actively looking to build back sports tourism during the Fall and Winter, which is a need time for Palm Beach County’s hotel industry.

Strategies being deployed include direct marketing and recruitment towards sports markets that have an active event calendar from October to January; concentration on outdoor sports, which offers Florida destinations a competitive advantage due its ability to host sports on year-round basis with an appealing warm/mild climate; pursuit of several game-changing events, including the National Hockey Festival (world’s largest field hockey tournament), Perfect Game WWBA Fall Championships (additional baseball events with 100+ team participation rates), USA BMX Sunshine State Nationals (premier BMX event in Florida), US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program & Development Player League Regional & National Championships (200+ team tournaments with growing participation rates), and much more.

Summer Sports Events - The primary timeframe of emphasis for recruiting and developing events is the summer. Hotel occupancy rates are at their lowest during the summer months; therefore, our Sports Commission will prioritize its efforts to enroll events during this period.

Several targets offer strong sports tourism products for the summer. The youth sports marketplace lends itself to the summer timeframe, more than any other market segment since families may travel with their children freely (outside of the school-year calendar). Summer is also a time when events tailored for Florida athletes thrive. As a dominant state for sports, Florida is home to an impressive array of state sports associations and governing bodies, offering a variety of sports events and activities that create drive market tourism. Tournaments, showcases, invitationals, qualifiers, championships, camps, and clinics with a statewide reach will are abundant during the summer. These events are more likely to maintain its tourism potency if the Delta variant negatively impacts traveler sentiment. To help develop tourism in the summer months, a focus is placed on sports with active calendars during the summer, such as baseball, softball, lacrosse, soccer, softball, aquatic sports, tennis, golf, and more.

Sports in Focus - The versatility and variety of facilities, venues, and infrastructure for sports is Palm Beach County’s competitive advantage in terms of developing sports tourism. The changeability of venues combined with the numerous types of public and private facilities that live in Palm Beach County allowed our Sports Commission to program 50+ different types of sports as vehicles to create tourism.

This is a key characteristic of Palm Beach County’s ability to remain in the top five of Florida’s chief sports tourism destinations. While the Sports Commission plans to host over 170 events in FY 22, representing approximately 50 different types of sports, several specific types of sports will be a primary focus. These sports offer significant tourism impacts and some will be more adaptable during potential instabilities with the COVID-19 pandemic. o

National Governing Bodies / Olympic Sports- The National Governing Bodies (NGB’s) are organizations that have a regulatory or sanctioning function over their specific sport. Every sport has a different governing body that can define the way the sport operates through its affiliated clubs and societies. There are a total of 47 National Governing Bodies that exist under the

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umbrella of the United States Olympic Committee. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission has formed partnerships with many of these governing bodies to host national events, which create tourism impacts and has led to future business opportunities. Examples of these partnerships include USA Baseball, United States Golf Association, USA Gymnastics, USA Field Hockey, US Soccer Federation, USA Water Ski, USA Wrestling, United States Equestrian Federation, USA Track & Field, USA Swimming, USA Volleyball, USA Softball, USA Water Polo, USA Badminton, and more. Marketing campaigns specifically tailored to the NGBs/Olympic sports will occur throughout the year. A full-court press on recruitment, bid submittal, and networking with past clients and prospective partners to obtain events under the NGB umbrella, will vigorously take place. Finally, the Sports Commission will attend ACES (Association of Chief Executives for Sport) Conference in Colorado Springs. This will be a significant business development effort to identify new business, as it relates to Olympic sports, for 2022 and beyond.

Baseball - As Florida’s only home to two (2) Major League Baseball (MLB) Spring Training complexes, which accommodate four (4) MLB teams, Palm Beach County is the Spring Training Capital of Florida. Ballpark of the Palm Beaches and Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium provide two marquee baseball stadiums and 26-MLB regulation diamonds, over the two sites. Baseball was the dominant sport that led to a full recovery of sports tourism during summer. Our Sports Commission hosted a variety of national baseball tournaments, which generated one-third of the room night production from May – September. These events cater to the high school, collegiate, and adult age groups. In FY 22, the Sports Commission plans to build an even better collection of summer events while rebuilding the fall’s slate of baseball tournaments that were relocated or impeded by COVID-19 Golf - Palm Beach County is Florida’s Golf Capital and it’s no surprise that our Sports Commission has utilized this sport on a year-round basis to drive visitation and room night generation. Golf is a vehicle to attract leisure visitors seeking to play on courses designed by the greatest architects in the game. Our Sports Commission also consistently utilizes Palm Beach County’s 170+ golf courses to host a variety of golf-related tournaments, both on an amateur and professional level. Considering Palm Beach County’s vast golf landscape, our Sports Commission will continue to be a leader in recruiting and hosting some of the nation’s premier amateur golf events. In 2021, our Sports Commission hosted 35 state, regional, and national golf events. Golf is one of our county’s identifying tourism products and represents 20% of the Sports Commission’s event portfolio. Golf will always be a cornerstone for sports tourism in The Palm Beaches and has persevered as a tourism generator during the pandemic. In fact, golf was the first sport to return during the COVID-19 pandemic, from a leisure perspective. Golf was also one of the first sports to come back from an event perspective, in the post-COVID-19 world.

Distancing is easy to achieve within the sport, which will make it more resilient to new threats posed by coronavirus variants. County Sports Commission is working to support a return of the LPGA in January of 2022. Our Sports Commission plans to further golf’s powerful position in Palm Beach County by building more layers of statewide and national golf events.

Racquet Sports - Palm Beach County is home to 1,400 tennis courts and an 8,000-seat stadium.

Currently, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission is hosting a variety of tennis events sanctioned by several event rights holders. Our Sports Commission supports the Delray Beach Open, which is one of two ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Tour events in Florida. Our Sports Commission has cultivated several United States Tennis Association (USTA) events in Palm Beach County, which are creating tourism year-round. Our development efforts are gaining momentum in the pickleball space. Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in America and USA Pickleball reported that the number of pickleball courts has more than doubled, since 2012.

Both tennis and pickleball have distancing built within the sport’s framework, which makes them resilient in a COVID-19 era. Tennis joined golf as one of the first events to return to play after

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the pandemic shutdown of Palm Beach County’s sports scene. FY 22 development plans include the recruitment and hosting of racquet sports to drive tourism from the drive and fly markets.

Equestrian Sports Tourism - Equestrian sports continue to represent the largest sports tourism product in Palm Beach County. The Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF), which is owned by Equestrian Sports Productions (ESP) and takes place at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC), is a 3-month long event that generates more bed tax revenue and economic impact compared to any other annual event in The Palm Beaches. WEF attracted visitors from all 50 U.S. states and 26 nations in 2021. Equestrian sports moved forward, despite challenges presented by COVID-19. The nature of equestrian sports allows for distancing to be achieved easily and Equestrian Sports Productions (ESP) worked with the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) on protocols to activate show jumping events during the pandemic. ESP successfully recuperated its Summer Series after the pandemic’s shut down in 2020.

Participation demand increased due to Florida’s growing desirability as a sports destination during the pandemic and the Holiday & Horses Circuit / Winter Equestrian Festival attracted more domestic and international riders. Equestrian Sports Productions also expanded WEF by two weeks, which inspired equine sport participants to stay and play longer in The Palm Beaches.

The Sports Commission is partnering with the United States Polo Association (USPA) Global Licensing in growing the polo season’s reach and tourism impact. The Gauntlet of Polo was formed, which is a series of three high-goal Polo tournaments: the C.V. Whitney Cup the USPA Gold Cup, and the U.S. Open Polo Championship. This partnership has led to a national television broadcast of the U.S. Open Polo Championship. The Sports Commission’s commitment to the equestrian sports market will be robust in FY 22.

Lacrosse - Lacrosse served as one of the largest vehicles for sports tourism, economic impact, and hotel rooms, prior to COVID-19. In the fall of 2019, the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Presidents Cup took place in Palm Beach County (International Polo Club and Village Park). This event brought 460 lacrosse teams, nearly 9,000 high school lacrosse players, 20,000 spectators, and 1,000+ college coaches and recruiters. This event was the largest lacrosse showcase taking place on the globe. The IWLCA Presidents Cup created 14,000+ hotel room nights and $11.2 million in visitor spending. Unfortunately, this event was relocated to Tampa in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will occur in Tampa and Dallas in 2021–23. The IWLCA President’s Cup represents our Sports Commission’s largest casualty to COVID-19. After becoming the nation’s premier destination for amateur lacrosse in 2019, losing the IWLCA Presidents Cup is an enormous setback. Despite this setback, our Sports Commission recognizes that building a foundation of lacrosse events will be a great catalyst for sports tourism. Replacing the IWLCA Presidents Cup in 2022 will be nearly impossible. However, lacrosse provides an opportunity for our Sports Commission to build its event portfolio back after it was diminished due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our development plan for lacrosse will include partnerships with national organizations in addition to grassroots strategies that include alliances with local lacrosse organizations.

Soccer (Youth, Collegiate & Global markets) - The sport of soccer continues to offer strong tourism products. Soccer participation in the United States increased in 2019 for the first time since 2015. After the United States failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, participation dwindled; however, in 2019 not only were more Americans playing soccer, but participation numbers increased by 4.5 percent in one year, which is a significant rise for the third-mostpopular sport in the United States. Now, nearly 12 million people in the U.S. participate in soccer.

Travel soccer also offers highly participated events taking place in the summer and fall. These reasons are why soccer will remain a target for the Sports Commission in FY 22.

Palm Beach County Convention Center - Creating business opportunities for the Palm Beach County Convention Center is a priority for our Sports Commission. The Convention Center’s exhibit hall is 100,000 square feet and with 1,800 tiered seats and connecting hotel, it can be

transformed into a venue for indoor sports. In 2021, the Palm Beach County Convention Center was home to (4) sports events, which included a marquee regional gymnastics meet, a statewide volleyball tournament, Deka-Fit – owned by Spartan Race, and a 200+ team national basketball tournament. The following is currently happening to grow the presence of sports events for the Convention Center in 2022: Accumulating a plan to bring back the 200+ national basketball tournament, the regional volleyball tournament, and Deka Fit. Pursuing a list of new targets for 2022, which includes the United States Table Tennis Open, Eminence Cup (DanceSport), Sunshine State Games, indoor pickleball, and more. Concentration is primarily on short-term business to avoid the Food & Beverage minimum, which excludes most amateur sports events.

SPORTS MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS • Marketing Research: The Palm Beach County Sports Commission along with a top national research firm developed and deployed a sports destination business intelligence survey targeted at event rights holders, promoters, and national governing bodies. This research survey examined the demographics and psychographics of our customers and their decision-making processes. The survey asked respondents to rate our destination against a competitive set. This insight has been extremely valuable in informing marketing efforts as we work to recruit events from many of these same rights holders.

• Search Engine Optimization - Search engine optimization and an effectively designed website are critical to promote and sell our destination. Over 26% of event owners indicated that they are more likely to use the website of a sports commission when researching destinations. As Our sports commission can increase the quantity and quality of traffic through organic search engine results, this, in turn, gives us more opportunities to convert qualified prospects into customers. Our website is an integral marketing tool that showcases and informs our sports event partners, potential clients, sports tourist, and the local sports community on facilities, sporting events, membership, attractions, hotels, and other Palm Beach County assets. Using this data, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission debuted a redesigned website to enhance the brand and provide the best service possible for all visitors. In FY 22, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission will continue to integrate multi-media galleries with videos and photos into the website that showcase our many offerings in the county.

• Digital Social Media Promotion - The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will continue to integrate social media into its marketing strategies. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will utilize this medium to promote brand awareness, provide additional support to event owners, and be a tool to engage and promote partners. Social media strategies will include using social media influencers, specialized advertising campaigns to grow a targeted audience, increasing live streaming capabilities at events, and special promotions delivered on our social media vehicles to increase audience engagement.

• Trade Shows - When selecting a destination, the majority of survey respondents (68.8%) who had not previously hosted an event in Palm Beach County before said they use tradeshows to get ideas for destinations in which to host their events. Additionally, when asked how they prefer to be solicited by Sports Commissions this group is much more likely to say they prefer contact at tradeshows and exhibitions. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will attend the sports travel industry’s most effective conferences, conventions, and tradeshows staged throughout the United States to further its networking, relationship building, and sales efforts.

• Familiarization Tours: When moving prospective event clients through the sales process, site visits or familiarization tours are one of the most beneficial event development strategies. Site visits allow for an event owner to explore potential sports venues while experiencing Palm Beach County’s tourism assets, such as hotels, restaurants, and attractions. In FY 22, our Sports Commission will continue to pursue this winning strategy while creating several new group FAM’s by sport discipline for key event rights holders and event promoters. Through our market research, we found that 81% of event owners will not select a destination unless they tour the location in person first.

• High Quality Service: 98% of event owners, rights holders, and governing bodies surveyed indicated that they were satisfied by the level of service provided by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission. The

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Palm Beach County Sports Commission believes that our commitment to event servicing separates us from the competition. Our belief is that event servicing is the primary initiative that results in the repeat event business. Our event management support includes managing an event in its entirety assisting with various operational requirements, such as venue support, hotel, and housing solutions, logistical needs, event supplies, sourcing event equipment and service providers, transportation, volunteer recruitment, permitting, event layouts, and marketing and public relation strategies.

Marketing Campaigns - The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will continue to develop marketing campaigns to increase brand awareness and promote Palm Beach County as a premier sports destination. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission’s marketing and communication efforts focus on promoting Palm Beach County’s sports assets and capabilities. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will utilize specialty print and digital mediums in leading industry trade publications to promote our message of “Just Bring Your Game.” The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will continue to promote The Palm Beaches as a premier sports destination through digital and print mediums in leading trade publications, such as Sports Travel Magazine, Sports Destination Magazine, SportsEvents Magazine, the Sports Business Journal, and Sports Planning Guide & Directory. Advertising campaigns will also be planned to coincide with industry trade shows and national conventions. This provides an additional instrument and brand awareness during meetings with prospective event clients that occur during the trade shows.

AIRLIFT INBOUND MARKETING SUPPORT • The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will continue to promote the Palm Beach International Airport in FY 22. Commercials and print/digital ads for the airport will be included in assets as we engage in our marketing plan and position our sports commission in trade publications, digital assets, and collateral.

PERFECT WEEK OF SPORTS IN THE PALM BEACHES • The Perfect Week of Sports, first held in 2020, is a marketing initiative of the Palm Beach County Sports Commission with an emphasis on promoting The Palm Beaches as a premier professional sports destination. The ‘Perfect Week’ is a collection of diverse professional sports events that take place with a calendar week in Palm Beach County. The Perfect Week of Sports has shown great potential in its first iteration and, with an even stronger marketing push in 2022, can continue to take its position as a landmark of The Palm Beaches sports calendar. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will partner with the other TDC agencies to help promote this special tourism week. The FY 22 strategy for the Perfect Week of Sports will include earned media, with public relations and television coverage, owned media through social media, promotion collateral, and website campaigns, and paid media with video production and digital media ads.

CHAMPION EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION • In order to position Palm Beach County as a premier destination for sports, being a champion of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is imperative and the most pivotal pillar towards being a leader in sports tourism. Our Sports Commission must nurture an environment that celebrates diversity and demonstrates that people of every race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, age, and capability are embraced.

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Training: Diversity in the workplace is a benefit to any organization and is crucial to professional success. In the sports and tourism industries, diversity is a direct reflection of the customers we serve and is vital for success. Our Sports Commission has contracted with an EDI expert consultant and Barry University to help advise and improve our processes, procedures, and practices to ensure their alignment with DEI best practices. In addition, Barry University provided training sessions in the area of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for all Sports Commission staff. This effort

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underscores the value and benefits of working in an environment enriched by diversity and encourages essential skills to improve cooperation and maximize a diverse workplace's values.

Marketing Audit: A recent marketing audit, specifically to measure diversity and inclusion within the PBCSC marketing and media campaigns and materials, revealed that there has been a strong diversity representation in photos and other depictions used when promoting the organization, destination, and its events. This was true of both digital and print materials. PBCSC currently uses a variety of advertising sources that reach a wide range of diverse populations. PBCSC has an ongoing diversity outreach strategy, where it targets organizations with diversity-specific events.

Recognizing Local Sports Organizations for Champion of Equity & Diversity: The Palm Beach County Sports Commission created a new award, to be distributed at its annual Palm Beach Sports Hall of Fame Celebration. “The Champion of Equity & Diversity in Sports” is presented to organizations or individuals that have a profound impact on our community through creating an equitable and inclusive environment in sports. The African American Golfers Hall of Fame received the inaugural award. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will create additional recognitions for those local organizations that advance diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Business Connect: Business Inclusion & Diversity Connect is the Palm Beach County Sports Commission special event supplier diversity and inclusion program which will be launched in 2022. The Business Connect program works proactively to create opportunities for experienced, qualified, and certified businesses from local and diverse communities to compete for supply opportunities with Palm Beach County Sports Commission hosted events. This program provides a resource and encourages events to source products and services from these previously underused and well-qualified suppliers. The goal is to curate a robust list of 50+ event-ready Palm Beach County minority-owned businesses in 12 business lines to work with event producers hosting events in Palm Beach County. These businesses will be designated ‘approved’ vendors and will be added to the Business Inclusion & Diversity Connect Resource Guide of certified businesses ready to compete for opportunities. The Business Inclusion & Diversity Connect program also offers networking, educational, and business development opportunities to encourage greater business success for each participant.

Event Development: The Sports Commission will implement an aggressive inclusion strategy to attract specific sports events that celebrate diversity. Our Sports Commission has a lengthy list of targeted organizations events, which specifically commemorates diversity, equity, and inclusion.

OUTLOOK • Although the Palm Beach County Sports Commission endured its most challenging year in its history, the recovery of Palm Beach County’s sports tourism economy is proceeding. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission continues to strive for excellence and is always looking toward the future. As the Sports Commission continues to grow stronger and achieve new benchmarks, we will convey this success and enhanced capabilities to the sports travel industry. Our message to the sports travel industry continues to be – “Just Bring Your Game”.

Palm Beach County Sports Commission FY2022 Marketing Plan

DELTA VARIANT Palm Beach County Sports Commission’s comeback from COVID-19 was realized this summer when sportsrelated visitors and room nights returned to pre-pandemic numbers. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission’s production for the combination of June and July topped that of any previous year. After hosting national and international events this summer and observing pent-up demand drive participation to record levels for some sports, the confidence for a robust FY 22 was soaring. However, the Delta variant of COVID-19 presents a threat to the revival of sports tourism. This variant could obstruct the Sports Commission’s momentum due to its growing infection and hospitalization rates. If the sports tourism marketplace deteriorates or local and state governments apply constraints on activities, our Sports Commission will be prepared to react.

The following outlines actions that would take place: •

Our Sports Commission would revisit the Palm Beach County Tourism Recovery Plan, specifically for sports tourism events, which was established after the state of Florida declared a state of emergency during March of 2020.

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Focus is already being placed on sports that have great adaptability to distancing, such as golf, tennis, equestrian, endurance, aquatic, and individual sports.

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Emphasis is placed on drive market events and concentration is being applied to garner a greater understanding of participant and athlete origins for events (understanding local, statewide, regional, or global origination for attendees).

Our Sports Commission would also consider falling back to the early stages of the sports event recovery plan, which would create a primary focus on drive market events. Drive market events initiated the recovery of sports tourism events and will be more stable regarding traveler sentiment and government restrictions. Participant origin for events will be analyzed and favorability weighed for those events with

team/athlete origins on the east coast or within a 12-hour drive. These events could be transformed into drive market products.

•

Event-related backup plans are being established by working to secure more venue space (fields, diamonds, courts, etc..) over multiple facilities, which would allow event owners to spread out competitions to achieve more separation and distancing.

•

Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation, which oversees a multitude of sports facilities and programming, has been a significant resource during COVID-19. Parks and Recreation constructed excellent guidance and protocols for return to play, after the onset of COVID-19. If the Delta variant causes government-mandated restrictions, our Sports Commission will have constant communication with Parks and Recreation.

•

Our Sports Commission will also work with local sports organizations to measure the sentiment and opinions of athletes, coaches, and their families regarding sports participation. This will be a measuring tool to understand the viability of event hosting on a statewide, regional, and national level with the Delta variant rising in numbers.

*The above steps are fluent and flexible, based on information presented by health officials.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS MISSION

PG.2

VISITOR ACQUISITION STRATEGY

PG.2

COVID-19 IMPACTS ON SPORTS TOURISM

PG.2

DELTA VARIANT

PG.4

KEY MOMENTS IN FY 21

PG.7

SPORTS TOURISM PRODUCTION TRENDS

PG.15

ORGANIZATIONAL OBJECTIVES AND FOUR PILLARS OF SUCCESS

PG.16

SPORTS TOURISM IN THE PALM BEACHES – BUILD BACK BETTER IN 2022

PG.19

REBUILD THE FALL/WINTER CAMPAIGN OF SPORTS EVENTS AS A PRIORITY

PG.20

SUMMER SPORTS EVENTS

PG.21

PURSUIT OF SPORT EVENT PRODUCTS BASED ON REACH

PG.22

SPORTS SALES & DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES

PG.24

SPORTS IN FOCUS, FY 22

PG.25

SPORTS TOURISM INVESTMENTS

PG.36

EVENT SERVICING

PG.39

EVENT PARTNERSHIPS

PG.39

PARTNERSHIPS WITH LOCAL SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS

PG.40

PALM BEACH COUNTY CONVENTION CENTER

PG.40

MOTORSPORTS IN THE PALM BEACHES

PG.41

EVENTS CREATED AND OWNED BY THE SPORTS COMMISSION

PG.42

SPORTS MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIES

PG.44

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

PG.44

MARKETING STRATEGY

PG.46

AIRLIFT INBOUND MARKETING SUPPORT

PG.48

PERFECT WEEK OF SPORTS IN THE PALM BEACHES

PG.48

TESTIMONIALS

PG.50

SOCIAL MEDIA

PG.50

PUBLIC RELATIONS

PG.52

SUPER 8 MARKETS

PG.53

CHAMPION DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INLUSION

PG.55 1

MISSION The Palm Beach County Sports Commission attracts sporting events and activities to Palm Beach County to enhance occupancy of hotel room nights; to maximize the positive economic impact of these events and activities on the Palm Beach County economy; to maximize the utilization of County facilities; to utilize events and activities to promote the image of Palm Beach County as a sports tourism destination on a national and international level.

VISITOR ACQUISITION STRATEGY The Palm Beach County Sports Commission’s visitor acquisition strategy is based on recruiting sports events to The Palm Beaches, which in turn creates visitation from participants and affiliated spectators.

From a tourism perspective, sports events are divided into two types of categories: participatory sports events and spectator sports events.

More specifically, sports travel is defined as the packaging of tourism-related products for individuals or groups with the primary purpose of participating in competitive or recreational sports events and activities or spectating at professional, collegiate, amateur, and other types of sports events. Both spectator and participatory sports would play a role in a community’s tourism industry by acquiring visitors.

COVID-19 IMPACTS ON SPORTS TOURISM COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the sports world. The coronavirus outbreak has forced organizations within the sports industry to make difficult and heartbreaking decisions regarding their events and business models. Nearly every major sporting event was canceled, relocated, or postponed after the onset of the pandemic.

Sports tourism represents a substantial value to the U.S. economy. However, this economic value has been severely limited by the coronavirus pandemic that has especially damaged the sports events and tourism industry. Nearly all industries are impacted by COVID-19, but to varying degrees. Given that sports and events are considered non-essential services and typically involve the gathering of many participants and spectators, which increases the risk of transmission, the sports tourism industry was significantly impacted for much of 2020 and 2021. Given the event cancellations/postponements, travel

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restrictions, and ensuing job losses and budget cuts resulting from COVID-19, the sports tourism industry suffered throughout the United States. Some sports-related organizations did not survive the pandemic.

Over the ten months from March to December 2020, an estimated 75 million fewer people traveled to sports events within the United States, compared to 2019, resulting in a loss of $20 billion in direct spending. Palm Beach County experienced a significant loss of sports tourism benefits. In 2020, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission lost 77 booked events due to cancellation and relocation. The loss of those events resulted in an elimination of 85,519 booked room nights and a projected economic impact reduction of $59.8 million. In 2021, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission lost 46 events due to cancellation and relocation. Losing those 46 events resulted in a removal of 50,394 booked room nights and a projected economic impact loss of $35.2 million.

Although the Palm Beach County Sports Commission endured its most challenging year in its history, the recovery of Palm Beach County’s sports tourism economy is proceeding. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission, in collaboration with the Tourist Development Council, implemented a phased recovery strategy for sports tourism. The plan was successful, and our Sports Commission realized tourism production during the summer of 2021 that mirrors pre-pandemic conditions in 2019. The Sports Commission’s portfolio of events during the summer of 2021 experienced levels of volume, reach, and potency that represent nearly a full recovery.

COVID-19 - PALM BEACH COUNTY RECOVERY STAGES – SPORTS TOURISM EVENTS Stage 1: Identified sports and venues that lend themselves to social distancing practices & modify certain events for the pandemic.

Stage 2: Support the recovery of local sports leagues, camps, activities, and events.

Stage 3: Implement the hosting of sports events that will attract participants from the drive market.

Stage 4: Reestablish national events, which will attract participants outside of Florida and require airlift All Stages: The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will continue to recruit sports tourism events for the future.

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DELTA VARIANT Palm Beach County Sports Commission’s comeback from COVID-19 was realized this summer when sports-related visitors and room nights returned to pre-pandemic numbers. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission’s production for the combination of June and July topped that of any previous year.

After hosting national and international events this summer and observing pent-up demand drive participation to record levels for some sports, the confidence for a robust FY 22 was soaring. However, the Delta variant of COVID-19 presents a threat to the revival of sports tourism. This variant could obstruct the Sports Commission’s momentum due to its growing infection and hospitalization rates. If the sports tourism marketplace deteriorates or local and state governments apply constraints on activities, our Sports Commission will be prepared to react. The following outlines actions that would take place: •

Our Sports Commission would revisit the Palm Beach County Tourism Recovery Plan, specifically for sports tourism events, which was established after the state of Florida declared a state of emergency during March of 2020.

•

Focus is already being placed on sports that have great adaptability to distancing, such as golf, tennis, equestrian, endurance, aquatic, and individual sports.

•

Emphasis is placed on drive market events and concentration is being applied to garner a greater understanding of participant and athlete origins for events (understanding local, statewide, regional, or global origination for attendees).

Our Sports Commission would also consider falling back to the early stages of the sports event recovery plan, which would create a primary focus on drive market events. Drive market events initiated the recovery of sports tourism events and will be more stable regarding traveler sentiment and government restrictions. Participant origin for events will be analyzed and favorability weighed for those events with team/athlete origins on the east coast or within a 12hour drive. These events could be transformed into drive market products.

•

Event-related backup plans are being established by working to secure more venue space (fields, diamonds, courts, etc..) over multiple facilities, which would allow event owners to spread out competitions to achieve more separation and distancing.

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•

Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation, which oversees a multitude of sports facilities and programming, has been a significant resource during COVID-19. Parks and Recreation constructed excellent guidance and protocols for return to play, after the onset of COVID-19. If the Delta variant causes government-mandated restrictions, our Sports Commission will have constant communication with Parks and Recreation.

•

Our Sports Commission will also work with local sports organizations to measure the sentiment and opinions of athletes, coaches, and their families regarding sports participation. This will be a measuring tool to understand the viability of event hosting on a statewide, regional, and national level with the Delta variant rising in numbers.

*The above steps are fluent and flexible, based on information presented by health officials.

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After a statewide shutdown, historic downturns in travel, and the sports event industry’s collapse in 2020, coming back from the COVID-19 pandemic seemed implausible for 2021. However, a tourism recovery plan was implemented and bolstered a “return to play” that ultimately led to a valiant sports tourism comeback in 2021. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission is still navigating in unchartered times and the pandemic’s destruction of sports event products in The Palm Beaches will take more time to build back. Nevertheless, this past year (FY 21) provided significant milestones in terms of operating in a postpandemic era and sparked momentum towards a comprehensive sports tourism recovery.

KEY MOMENTS IN FY 21 October: •

On October 10-12, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission hosted a United States Tennis Association Florida Sectional, Florida State Golf Association (FSGA) tournament, and a Blue Line Hockey ice hockey event at Palm Beach Skate Zone & Ice Works. This was the first weekend with multiple events attracting athletes and teams from across the state while providing hotel business.

•

The PGA Tour Champions returned to Palm Beach County with the TimberTech Championship from October 27 – November 1. The PGA Tour Champions represents the first professional sports event that took place in The Palm Beaches during the pandemic. Although the TimberTech Championship did not allow for spectators, this event provided 3-days of live television coverage on the Golf Channel.

November: •

The Men’s Senior Baseball League (MSBL) Fall Classic was granted permission to take place at Ballpark of the Palm Beaches and Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on November 7-21 and became the first national sports event to take place in Palm Beach County, since the onset of COVID-19.

•

The Equestrian Holiday & Horses Circuit returned in December without spectators and attracted a greater number of total participants from the northeast compared to the prior year (before COVID-19), due to Florida’s perception as a more sustainable environment for a winter showjumping site (especially during COVID-19).

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December: •

The Roofclaim.com Boca Raton Bowl was a milestone in the recovery and the first national event to allow for a restricted number of spectator seating. This college football bowl game was also televised live on ESPN.

January: •

The Delray Beach Open (ATP Tour) moved its dates up to January and escaped the disruption that COVID-19 was bringing to professional tennis. This event had a successful execution with limited spectators and received 41 hours of live TV coverage.

•

The Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) returned without spectators; however, more participants from across the nation and globe attended the event due to Florida’s desirability as a host for sports. WEF’s economic prowess is similar to pre-pandemic levels. The Gauntlet of Polo also returned with minimal spectators at the International Polo Club.

February: •

The AVP Americas East End Beach Volleyball Tour made its Palm Beach County debut with more than 200 teams spread out over 18 courts on Singer Beach in the City of Riviera Beach.

•

Next Level Greats 7v7 Football brought 30 teams from across Florida to play on Orange Bowl Field at Glades Pioneer Park, Lake Lytal Park, and County Pines Recreational Complex at Samuel Friedland Park.

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March: •

Major League Baseball Spring Training returned to the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches and Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Restrictions included limited attendance (approximately 1,500 seats for both venues) and restricted travel. Essentially, Palm Beach County’s spring training teams played each other.

•

The Palm Beach Challenge, a spring training platform for NCAA Division II schools, returned to action at the Santaluces Athletic Complex and attracted teams from across the United States, during the entirety of March.

•

The Tim Rand Invitational, which is a prominent national gymnastics meet, represented the last sports event to take place in Palm Beach County before COVID-19 forced a county-wide shutdown in 2020. On March 5-7, this event returned to the Palm Beach County Convention Center and brought 800 gymnasts from across the southeast region, creating a symbolic milestone on the road to recovery.

•

US Amateur Basketball sanctioned a youth basketball tournament with over 80 girls’ and boys’ teams. The event was spread out over 12 different gyms, demonstrating how indoor sports may return during the pandemic.

•

The Honda Classic, on the PGA Tour, symbolized one of the largest leaps forward during the recovery. The Honda Classic attracted the largest gathering of spectators for a sports event, since COVID-19. PGA National was limited to 10,000 attendees per day or 50,000 total (25% of prepandemic numbers). The event was also televised on the Golf Channel and NBC. 9

•

During the same weekend of The Honda Classic, the APP (Association of Pickleball Professionals) Tour made its debut at the Delray Beach Tennis Center with over 1,000 athletes from across the nation/ was televised on CBS Sports Network.

April: •

The Palm Beach County Sports Commission hosted six (6) events during the weekend of April 1011, including the USA Powerlifting Florida Championship, a Kayak fishing tournament, a regional slow-pitch softball event, a statewide AAU karate tournament, a national adult baseball camp, and a statewide USSSA Fastpitch girls’ youth softball tournament. Although restrictions were in place, the weekend resembled a return to normalcy in terms of sports tourism activity.

•

After being canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, the Spartan Race returned to Palm Beach County and brought 6,000 participants to Burt Aaronson South County Regional Park on April 2425 to compete in the 3.2-mile course. Staggered start times allowed for distancing. Spartan Race signifies a giant step forward for tourism recovery.

May: •

The prestigious Walker Cup took place at Seminole Golf Club on May 7-9, strengthening Palm Beach County’s golf resume. Moreover, this event featured the most prestigious international match-up in amateur golf: the United States vs. Great Britain & Ireland. The event also delivered 2-days of uninterrupted coverage on the Golf Channel. The world saw the epic scenery of The Palm Beaches. Additionally, the world saw that Palm Beach County was once again a stage for international sports.

•

After losing an NCAA Golf National Championship to COVID-19 in 2020, the Sports Commission hosted the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf National Championship at PGA National Resort & Spa on May 16 -21, demonstrating the return of a collegiate national championship to The Palm Beaches.

Limited spectators were allowed. This event equals another major milestone for the recovery.

•

The Sunshine State Games Lacrosse Championships tournament took place at The Gardens North County District Park, attracting nearly 100 teams from Florida. This event represented the largest lacrosse event to take place in Palm Beach County, since COVID-19.

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June & July: •

The Palm Beach County Sports Commission’s summer campaign of sports events signified a vigorous revival of sports tourism in a post-COVID-19 era. After hosting the Baseball Americas Qualifier for the XXXII Olympiad from May 31st – June 5th, the Sports Commission experienced a full recovery in terms of events in volume, reach, and potency. The Sports Commission hosted 55 events in June & July, which created robust tourism that exceeded production created during the summer of 2019 (pre-COVID-19)

•

The Palm Beach County Sports Commission created an Olympic stage in The Palm Beaches. The Baseball Americas Qualifier for the XXXII Olympiad took place from May 31 – June 5. Cuba, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Canada, and the United States vied for a single spot in the Tokyo Olympic Games. Team USA ultimately won their ticket to the Olympics through Palm Beach County. The tourism and media impact of hosting a Baseball Olympic Qualifier is immeasurable, especially for a baseball destination like Palm Beach County.

Attendance was significantly restricted, although nearly 10,000 fans attended the games and enjoyed Olympic baseball. The Baseball Americas Qualifier games were broadcast on ESPN+ and televised in more than 70 countries & territories. This Olympic qualifier was the first global multiteam event to take place in The Palm Beaches, since COVID-19.

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•

Florida Elite Lacrosse events, sanctioned by US Lacrosse, were held at the Seacrest Soccer Complex on June 5-6. Nearly 100 traveling youth lacrosse teams participated with 2,000+ athletes. This embodied a comeback for the sport of lacrosse in Palm Beach County.

•

After relocating last year due to the pandemic, the Prospect Select Baseball National Showcase took place at Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, and the Santaluces Athletic Complex from June 8 – 14. Prospect Select Baseball brought 283 teams, and 5,000+ athletes from across the nation. The 283 teams are the highest in the event’s history, which indicates the pent-up demand for sports participation.

•

The First Responder Games, which consisted of 30 different sports at multiple venues throughout Palm Beach County, took place on June 8-20. Over 2,000 members of the police, fire, medical, and military communities traveled from across the nation and participated in this Olympic-style Festival.

•

The Palm Beach International Equestrian Center was home to the U.S. Dressage Olympic Qualification Event, June 8 – 12. Palm Beach County became home to two Olympic qualification events over two weeks.

•

The USA BMX Gold Cup Regional Qualifier, which represents the first national event to take place at the Okeeheelee BMX Track since COVID-19, attracted over 600 riders from across the nation.

•

Balling on the Beach became the first multi-team basketball event to take place at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. This was an extraordinary relocation that brought 200 elementary & middle school teams to compete on 10 courts, that were placed in the 100,000 sq. ft. exhibit hall.

Over 2,000+ youth athletes with 3,000+ family members from 30 states, traveled to The Palm Beaches.

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•

The Perfect Game Ultimate Baseball Championship & 13U WWBA National Championship took place at Ballpark of the Palm Beaches on June 22-25 and July 3-7. Over 80 teams with 4,500 visitors from 30 states traveled for these Perfect Game events.

•

The Palm Beach County Sports Commission established a training camp for international soccer teams competing in the CONCACAF Gold Cup Training, which took place across the United States.

Teams from six (6) nations trained at The Gardens North County District Park and South County Regional Park. This represented another building block for the return of more international sports event hosting opportunities.

•

The Cal Ripken Baseball Rookie State Championships & 9U-12U State Championships took place at Gardens Park on June 24-27 & July 1-4. The pair of Cal Ripken Baseball youth events attracted 100+ teams with 5,300 attendees from Florida and the southeast region of the United States.

•

After its cancellation in 2020 due to COVID-19, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Boys 16s & 18s National Clay Court Championships returned to Palm Beach County and utilized 100 courts at multiple tennis facilities, including the Delray Beach Tennis Center, from July 11-18. This week-long USTA national event attracted the top 450 high school tennis players in the nation, while also bringing hundreds of college coaches and thousands of spectators.

August: •

The Cal Ripken Baseball 10U/12U World Series took place at Gardens Park on August 6 -14, after its cancellation last year, due to COVID-19. The Cal Ripken World Series is one of the grandest stages for little league baseball players in America. A total of 36 teams from across the nation, consisting of 540 players and 2,000+ spectators stayed in Palm Beach County for over a week. The hotel impact was enormous, and the sports tourism comeback grows stronger.

•

The Palm Beach County Sports Commission and Keiser University partnered to host two seasonopening NAIA women’s volleyball tournaments at Keiser University’s flagship campus in West Palm Beach (August 12-14 and August 18-19). The two invitational events featured a total of 26 collegiate teams from 14 different states. The event was branded the “Palm Beach County Sports Commission Volleyball Classic.”

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Year-End Performance: •

The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will host 153 events with a forecasted 227,605 room nights. While the total room night creation for the summer months surpasses production compared to 2019 (pre-pandemic), the year-end totals are down. This is due to the wreckage COVID-19 inflicted on the Sports Commission’s event portfolio during the fall, winter, and early spring months.

•

44,424 room nights were created from bids for new events, which is over 20% of the total room night production for FY 21.

•

18 events showcased Palm Beach County to a nationally or international televised broadcast

•

93 bids have been submitted in FY 21 for future events scheduled to take place from 2022 to 2026 – offering a potential of 230,300 room nights over the five years.

•

Total economic impact projection of $204,512,400

Lost Business for FY 21: •

46 Sports Commission events experienced a cancellation and relocation.

•

50,394 booked room nights were eliminated

•

Projected economic impact loss of $35.2 million.

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SPORTS TOURISM PRODUCTION TRENDS

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ORGANIZATIONAL OBJECTIVES AND FOUR PILLARS OF SUCCESS The Palm Beach County Sports Commission’s visitor acquisition and development strategy are built on four pillars of success: Recruit and Develop New Events, Retain and Grow Current Events, Brand Awareness and Marketing, and being a Champion Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Sports Event Industry.

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SPORTS TOURISM IN THE PALM BEACHES – BUILD BACK BETTER IN 2022 The Sports Commission’s tourism output returned to pre-pandemic normalcy in June and July of 2021.

However, much work is needed to build the Sports Commission’s annual event portfolio back to its prepandemic stature. In FY 2020, the Sports Commission’s event portfolio experienced a 37% reduction after COVID-19 shutdowns were implemented with half of the year remaining. During FY 21, Quarter 1, the Sports Commission underwent a 40% loss in hosted events. Sports-related room nights dropped by 41% in FY 21, Quarter 1 (year over year comparison to FY 20).

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REBUILD THE FALL/WINTER CAMPAIGN OF SPORTS EVENTS AS A PRIORITY As the onset of COVID-19 forced events to cancel or relocate away from Palm Beach County, our Sports Commission witnessed some of its largest event properties dissolve or sign multi-year agreements in other destinations, in the fall and winter months. Therefore, the fall/winter period (Quarter 1, October – January) has suffered the most. Event victims of COVID-19 that resulted in lost business during this timeframe included the world’s largest lacrosse tournament, which would have generated 14,000+ room nights, US Youth Soccer’s Olympic Development Program with 2,000+ room nights, a weekend of Perfect Game events with 5,500+ room nights, a season-long event filled with collegiate swim teams, and a global tennis event with participants from 60 nations just to name a few.

Our Sports Commission is actively looking to build back sports tourism during this timeframe, which represents a period of need for Palm Beach County’s hotel industry. Strategies being deployed include: •

Direct marketing and recruitment towards sports markets that have an active event calendar from October – January.

•

Concentration on outdoor sports, which offers Florida destinations a competitive advantage due to its ability to host sports on a year-round basis with an appealing warm/mild climate

•

Pursuit of several game-changing events, including the National Hockey Festival (world’s largest field hockey tournament), Perfect Game WWBA Fall Championships (additional baseball events with 100+ team participation rates), USA BMX Sunshine State Nationals (premier BMX event in Florida), US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program (ODP) & Development Player League (DPL) Regional & National Championships (200+ team tournaments with growing participation rates), and much more.

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SUMMER SPORTS EVENTS The primary emphasis for recruiting and developing events is the summer. Hotel occupancy rates are at their lowest during the summer months; therefore, our Sports Commission will prioritize its efforts to enroll events during this period. Several targets offer strong sports tourism products for the summer: •

The youth sports marketplace lends itself to the summer months, more than any other market segment, since families may travel with their children freely (outside of the school-year calendar).

•

Summer is also a time when events tailored for Florida athletes thrive. As a dominant state for sports, Florida is home to an impressive array of state sports associations and governing bodies, offering a variety of sports events and activities that create drive market tourism. Tournaments, showcases, invitationals, qualifiers, championships, camps, and clinics with a statewide reach are abundant during the summer. These events are more likely to maintain their tourism potency if the Delta variant negatively impacts traveler sentiment.

•

To help develop tourism in the summer, a focus is placed on sports with active calendars during that period, such as baseball, softball, lacrosse, soccer, softball, aquatic sports, tennis, golf, and more.

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PURSUIT OF SPORT EVENT PRODUCTS BASED ON REACH Emphasis on Florida Drive Market: Our Sports Commission will continue its aggressive effort on attracting and hosting statewide events, such as tournaments, competitions, meets, qualifiers, showcases, camps, clinics, and championships to maximize the “Florida drive market.” These events, which are tailored for Florida residents, are often presented by state associations for sport or national organizations with state chapters. Greater emphasis is placed on these drive market events as the COVID-19 Delta variant is creating uncertainty about traveler sentiment. Drive market events were the catalyst for sports tourism recovery in FY 21 and will be a safeguard market to maintain tourism products during any setbacks created by the Delta variant.

Regional & National Sports Events: Our Sports Commission successfully created a return to full normalcy for national sports events in The Palm Beaches during the summer of 2021. Many of these national events enjoyed a higher participation rate compared to pre-COVID-19 levels, due to pent-up demand. The plan for 2022 is to host a full return of regional and national events with a particular focus on recruitment and activation of participatory event properties as a priority.

Events with a regional or national reach create longer lengths of stay, increased visitor spending, and airlift. The Sports Commission is planning to host participatory events (individual and team sports) without limitations on participation or restrictions. The plan for spectator-driven events, such as the TimberTech Championship, Boca Raton Bowl, Delray Beach Open, and The Honda Classic, also includes a full return without restrictions or a limited audience.

The virus is unpredictable, and the Delta variant poses a threat to recovery. Our Sports Commission will embrace the following tactics to react to setbacks created by the Delta variant: •

Analyze participant origin for regional/national events – team and athlete origin from the east coast or within a 12-hour driving distance will be desired – as these events could be modified into a drive market event.

•

Develop backup plans, which include additional venues, field space, or court space – allowing an event to implement pods and spread out to create safer distancing and separations.

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•

Our Sports Commission will continue its ongoing communication with major events that attract guests from the local community and across the nation – restrictions and enhanced safety protocols will be implemented, especially within indoor settings – if the Delta variant worsens.

International Sports Tourism: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in cancellations of international events throughout the majority of 2021. Events with a global reach have been the most fragile during the pandemic. However, the Winter Equestrian Festival was successful in bringing international riders to The Palm Beaches and several events were effective in delivering international teams to The Palm Beaches.

The Baseball Americas Qualifier for the XXXII Olympiad was the first global multi-team sports event to take place in Palm Beach County this past June. This Olympic Baseball Qualifier was also the only predominant international event of the summer, which attracted teams and spectators from outside the United States.

In 2022, the Sports Commission is planning for a return of international events. For example, our Sports Commission is working with the International Tennis Federation and USA Rugby on bids for three (3) global events during the spring of 2022. These events would bring nearly 3,000 athletes from over 30 nations while creating 6,000+ room nights. These events are examples of several major international opportunities that are under development for 2022. If the Delta variant worsens, the pursuit of international business could slow down or come to a stop.

Our sports commission will continue to work with National Governing Bodies and International Federations on strategizing for future international sports business in The Palm Beaches. These organizations are the authorities for their respective sports and will be able to provide guidance as our Sports Commission attempts to regain market share for international sports.

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Alliances With Local Sports Associations: Creating joint ventures with local sports associations and organizations is a critical strategy for sports tourism development. Providing resources and support from our Sports Commission allows Palm Beach County-based sports organizations to host events with a statewide and national draw. Local sports associations have specific rights and opportunities to bid for events within their respective sport. If our Sports Commission assists local sports organizations with bids for these events, together with we could strengthen sports participation within our community while creating tourism.

Partnerships with local sports associations are more essential in the post-COVID-19 era. Aiding local sports organizations with their return of programs was the first stage for our Sports Commission’s recovery efforts. Local sports organizations can share participation sentiment from local athletes and their families.

This knowledge is invaluable to our Sports Commission, especially as COVID-19 positivity rates are fluctuating.

Specific partnerships in 2022 to highlight: •

Florida Atlantic University, Palm Beach Atlantic University, Lynn University, & Keiser University – development of collegiate championships

•

Ski Club of the Palm Beaches – bid for the USA Water Ski Nationals

•

Delray Beach Riptide – this local lacrosse club is transforming local summer events into national tournaments

•

Palm Beach Gardens Youth Athletic Association – bids for Cal Ripken Baseball national events

SPORTS SALES & DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES Bid Process: A primary mechanism for event solicitation is through the bid process. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will continue to research and assess the needs of numerous event owners.

Assessments include the time of year, venue requirements, hotel requirements, logistical necessities, marketing initiatives, funding expectations, and relationship potential, which are determining factors on whether the Palm Beach County Sports Commission will commit its resources to submit a bid. Palm Beach County Sports Commission will continue to identify qualified leads that fit within Palm Beach County’s infrastructure and climate to minimize time and expenses allocated to unsuccessful bids. To recognize potential bid opportunities, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission will be at the forefront of the industry and engage with event owners.

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Travel Party Size: The Palm Beach County Sports Commission strongly considers “average travel party” during the evaluation of event hosting opportunities. By analyzing sports participation data provided by the Florida Sports Foundation, the Sports Commission considers and directs its efforts on recruiting events that have a high spectator to athlete ratio, which results in a greater hotel room night demand. Some of the sports that carry the highest spectator to athlete ratio are listed below: A.

Ballroom Dancing – 4.28

B.

Cheer/Dance – 4.15

C.

Swimming – 3.98

D.

Gymnastics – 3.97

E.

Softball – 3.97

F.

Equestrian – 3.92

G.

Martial Arts – 3.79

H.

Youth Baseball (12 & under) – 3.76

SPORTS IN FOCUS, FY 22 The versatility and variety of facilities, venues, and infrastructure for sports is Palm Beach County’s competitive advantage in terms of developing sports tourism. The changeability of venues combined with the numerous types of public and private facilities that live in Palm Beach County allowed our Sports Commission to program 50+ different types of sports as vehicles to create tourism. This is a key characteristic of Palm Beach County’s ability to remain in the top five of Florida’s chief sports tourism destinations.

While the Sports Commission plans to host over 170 events in FY 22, representing approximately 50 different types of sports, several specific types of sports will be a primary focus. These sports offer significant tourism impacts and some will be more adaptable during potential instabilities with the COVID19 pandemic.

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Baseball Development: As Florida’s only home to two (2) Major League Baseball (MLB) Spring Training complexes, which accommodate four (4) MLB teams, Palm Beach County is the Spring Training Capital of Florida. Ballpark of the Palm Beaches and Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium provide two marquee baseball stadiums and 26-MLB regulation diamonds, over the two sites.

Baseball was the dominant sport that led to a full recovery of sports tourism during summer. Our Sports Commission hosted a variety of national baseball tournaments, which generated one-third of the room night production from May – September. These events cater to the high school, collegiate, and adult age groups.

In FY 22, the Sports Commission plans to build an even better collection of summer events while rebuilding the fall’s slate of baseball tournaments that were relocated or impeded by COVID-19: •

Expanding partnerships with current clients to bring more events in the summer (Prospect Select, & Prep Baseball Report could add 4 or 5 events from June – September).

•

Formation of partnerships with new clients – Ripken Tour & Prospectwire have a national reach and are a primary target for new events in 2022.

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Discussions of NCAA Division I college baseball spring training games at the MLB Spring Training facilities, in partnership with ESPN Events for 2022, are occurring.

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Bring back fall events that were relocated or modified in FY 21, due to COVID-19 (Perfect Game WWBA Week & Men’s Senior Baseball League Fall Classic create 12,000+ room nights in October & November).

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Our Sports Commission is working on an extraordinary relocation of Perfect Game WWBA tournaments over 4 straight weeks in July – this would bring 2,000 teams, 36,000 athletes, & 50,000+ room nights – it is currently the largest streak of amateur baseball in the United States.

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Golf: Palm Beach County is Florida’s Golf Capital and it’s no surprise that our Sports Commission has utilized this sport on a year-round basis to drive visitation and room night generation. Golf is a vehicle to attract leisure visitors seeking to play on courses designed by the greatest architects in the game. Our Sports Commission also consistently utilizes Palm Beach County’s 170+ golf courses to host a variety of golf-related tournaments, both on an amateur and professional level.

Considering Palm Beach County’s vast golf landscape, our Sports Commission will continue to be a leader in recruiting and hosting some of the nation’s premier amateur golf events. In 2021, our Sports Commission hosted 35 state, regional, and national golf events. Golf is one of our county’s identifying tourism products and represents 20% of the Sports Commission’s event portfolio. Golf will always be a cornerstone for sports tourism in The Palm Beaches and has persevered as a tourism generator during the pandemic. In fact, golf was the first sport to return during the COVID-19 pandemic, from a leisure perspective. Golf was also one of the first sports to come back from an event perspective, in the postCOVID-19 world. Distancing is easy to achieve within the sport, which will make it more resilient to new threats posed by coronavirus variants.

Before the pandemic, Palm Beach County became one of the only destinations that offered the “Trifecta” of professional golf. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission has supported the PGA TOUR in Palm Beach Gardens and PGA TOUR Champions in Boca Raton for over a decade. In 2020, the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) also established an event in Boca Raton (Gainbridge LPGA), creating the Trifecta of Golf in Palm Beach County. Unfortunately, the LPGA relocated its event to Orlando, due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission is working to support a return of the LPGA in January of 2022.

The Honda Classic continues to be one of Palm Beach County’s finest events in terms of attendance, economic benefits, global impressions, and excellence. The Honda Classic, which is one of the premier events on the PGA Tour, will take place on February 21-27, allowing it to kick off the Florida swing at PGA National Resort & Spa. The TimberTech Championship (PGA Tour Champions) will take place on November 1-7 on The Old Course at Broken Sound in Boca Raton. This event also creates significant economic benefits and worldwide impressions. The Gainbridge LPGA would take place in January and become the third professional golf event creating global impressions in 2022.

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Our Sports Commission plans to further golf’s powerful position in Palm Beach County by building more layers of statewide and national golf events: •

Grow the number of amateur golf events from current partners, such as the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA), United States Golf Association (USGA), Florida State Golf Association (FSGA), Optimist International, and more.

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Organize the NCAA Division I Regional Championship in partnership with Florida Atlantic University in FY 22 in addition to bidding on future collegiate championships (Conference USA, Mid-American Conference, & NAIA National Championship)

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Enhance support for PGA Tour events (The Honda Classic & TimberTech Championship), which are marquee events for Palm Beach County that command a large television audience.

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The Ladies Professional Golf Association made Palm Beach County its home in 2019 and departed after the onset of COVID-19. Our Sports Commission is supporting the return on the LPGA in 2022, which will provide another televised event for The Palm Beaches.

Racquet Sports: Palm Beach County is home to 1,400 tennis courts and an 8,000-seat stadium. Currently, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission is hosting a variety of tennis events sanctioned by several event rights holders. Our Sports Commission supports the Delray Beach Open, which is one of two ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Tour events in Florida. Our Sports Commission has cultivated several United States Tennis Association (USTA) events in Palm Beach County, which are creating tourism yearround.

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Our development efforts are gaining momentum in the pickleball space. Pickleball is one of the fastestgrowing sports in America and USA Pickleball reported that the number of pickleball courts has more than doubled, since 2012. Both tennis and pickleball have distancing built within the sport’s framework, which makes them resilient in a COVID-19 era. Tennis joined golf as one of the first events to return to play after the pandemic shutdown of Palm Beach County’s sports scene.

FY 22 development plans include the recruitment and hosting of racquet sports to drive tourism from the drive and fly markets as shown below: •

Our Sports Commission will continue to recruit and host USTA events – ranging from Florida Sectionals to National Clay Court Championships

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The International Tennis Federation (ITF) awarded its Senior and Super Senior World Championships to The Palm Beaches – bringing 14 days of global tennis – which will be a landmark occasion in a post-COVID-19 world – filling thousands of hotel rooms.

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Collegiate tennis events are being targeted on the NCAA and NAIA levels

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Our Sports Commission is working on bids for two APP (Association of Pickleball Professionals) Tour events, which is the highest level for the sport, creating hotel demand and bringing national television coverage

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Pursuit of USA Pickleball sanctioned tournaments for 2022 is underway and efforts to reestablish a winter pickleball event that was lost due to COVID-19 in Delray Beach are taking place.

Equestrian Sports Tourism: Equestrian sports continue to represent the largest sports tourism product in Palm Beach County. The Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF), which is owned by Equestrian Sports Productions (ESP) and takes place at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC), is a 3-month long event that generates more bed tax revenue and economic impact compared to any other annual event in The Palm Beaches. WEF attracted visitors from all 50 U.S. states and 26 nations in 2021.

Equestrian sports moved forward, despite challenges presented by COVID-19. The nature of equestrian sports allows for distancing to be achieved easily and Equestrian Sports Productions (ESP) worked with the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) on protocols to activate show jumping events during the pandemic. ESP successfully recuperated its Summer Series after the pandemic’s shut down in 2020.

Participation demand increased due to Florida’s growing desirability as a sports destination during the 29

pandemic and the Holiday & Horses Circuit / Winter Equestrian Festival attracted more domestic and international riders. Equestrian Sports Productions also expanded WEF by two weeks, which inspired equine sport participants to stay and play longer in The Palm Beaches.

The Sports Commission is partnering with the United States Polo Association (USPA) Global Licensing in growing the polo season’s reach and tourism impact. The Gauntlet of Polo was formed, which is a series of three high-goal Polo tournaments: the C.V. Whitney Cup the USPA Gold Cup, and the U.S. Open Polo Championship. This partnership has led to a national television broadcast of the U.S. Open Polo Championship.

The Sports Commission’s commitment to the equestrian sports market will be robust in FY 22: •

Our Sports Commission will continue its support of the Winter Equestrian Festival which takes place from January through the first week of April. Strategies are being discussed with Equestrian Sports Productions to host additional FEI (Fédération Équestre Internationale) sanctioned events in April, which will create more overnight stays from equestrian sports participants.

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Our Sports Commission will continue its investments into the Equestrian Holiday & Horses Circuit, which is suited to expand Palm Beach County’s equestrian season back into December.

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WEF will be utilized as a catalyst to recruit more showjumping tourism products, such as collegiate, preparatory, and scholastic events.

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A collaborative partnership with the TDC agencies has led to Palm Beach County obtaining a nationally televised broadcast of the U.S. Open Polo Championship and our Sports Commission is prepared to continue this effort in 2022.

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Lacrosse: Lacrosse served as one of the largest vehicles for sports tourism, economic impact, and hotel rooms, prior to COVID-19. In the fall of 2019, the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Presidents Cup took place in Palm Beach County (International Polo Club and Village Park). This event brought 460 lacrosse teams, nearly 9,000 high school lacrosse players, 20,000 spectators, and 1,000+ college coaches and recruiters. This event was the largest lacrosse showcase taking place on the globe. The IWLCA Presidents Cup created 14,000+ hotel room nights and $11.2 million in visitor spending.

Unfortunately, this event was relocated to Tampa in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will occur in Tampa and Dallas in 2021–23. The IWLCA President’s Cup represents our Sports Commission’s largest casualty to COVID-19. After becoming the nation’s premier destination for amateur lacrosse in 2019, losing the IWLCA Presidents Cup is an enormous setback.

Despite this setback, our Sports Commission recognizes that building a foundation of lacrosse events will be a great catalyst for sports tourism. Participation in lacrosse has mushroomed in numbers of players, schools, and geographically, to become the fastest growing sport in high schools and colleges. Travel lacrosse teams have also grown at a feverish rate. Today, 2,098,000 total youth lacrosse participants live in the United States. This number has grown from 1.1 million youth participants in 2017.

Replacing the IWLCA Presidents Cup in 2022 will be nearly impossible. However, lacrosse provides an opportunity for our Sports Commission to build its event portfolio back after it was diminished due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our development plan for lacrosse will include partnerships with national organizations in addition to grassroots strategies that include alliances with local lacrosse organizations.

Developing sports tourism from the growing sport of lacrosse includes: •

Recruiting more national lacrosse events for males and females, including middle school, high school, and collegiate tournaments.

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Recruitment and development of a youth lacrosse tournament, “The Eye of the Hurricane”, which is a boys’ and girls’ event (from 5th through 8th grade) that could draw 150 teams and create 3,500 room nights in the winter.

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Recruitment of Sunshine State Games Lacrosse for the summer of 2022, which is one of the largest statewide lacrosse tournaments.

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Partnerships with local lacrosse organizations, such as the Delray Beach Riptide, led to the production of three Florida Elite Travel Lacrosse events in Palm Beach County, attracting over 100 lacrosse teams, 2,000 athletes, and nearly 3,000 hotel room nights.

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Collaboration with US Lacrosse in terms of submitting bids for events or developing start-up lacrosse tournaments in Palm Beach County with the potential to grow.

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Begin the work to aggressively bring back the IWLCA Presidents Cup to Palm Beach County in 2024 and beyond.

Soccer (Youth, Professional & Global markets): The sport of soccer continues to offer strong tourism products. Soccer participation in the United States increased in 2019 for the first time since 2015. After the United States failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, participation dwindled; however, in 2019 not only were more Americans playing soccer, but participation numbers increased by 4.5 percent in one year, which is a significant rise for the third-mostpopular sport in the United States. Now, nearly 12 million people in the U.S. participate in soccer. Travel soccer also offers highly participated events taking place in the summer and fall. These reasons are why soccer will remain a target for the Sports Commission in FY 22.

Youth Soccer: FY 22 development plans include the recruitment and hosting of youth soccer events to drive tourism from the drive and fly markets as shown below: •

Our Sports Commission will host the 3v3 Live National Championships in Palm Beach Gardens over Thanksgiving weekend in 2021. This event was scheduled to take place in 2020 but relocated to 32

Alabama because of COVID-19 restrictions. Our Sports Commission will organize the event in 2021 & 2022, which is projected to drive over 300 soccer teams each year.

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Our Sports Commission continues to work with United States Youth Soccer Association (USYSA) to develop event opportunities within its Olympic Development Program, Presidents Cup Series, National League, National Championships, Futsal, and Esports.

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The Florida Youth Soccer Association (FYSA) continues to provide drive-market event opportunities with several state and regional championships available for bid.

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The Sports Commission will continue to work with its local soccer clubs like the Palm Beach Gardens Predators and Palm Beach Soccer Academy to continue to grow their event properties or create additional opportunities.

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The American Youth Soccer Organization offers a state, regional, and national championship and is a prime target for FY 22 and beyond.

CONCACAF: The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will continue to build its partnership with the Confederation of North, Central American, and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). CONCACAF is one of FIFA’s six (6) continental confederations, servicing 41 Member Associations, from Canada in the north to Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana in the south. Through offices located in Miami, Guatemala City, and Kingston, Jamaica, CONCACAF provides leadership for a network of unified competitions and development activities that unites this diverse region in soccer, with the goals of actively promoting universal access to the sport and raising the quality of football across the Confederation.

CONCACAF brings soccer closer to people across the region through competitions including the CONCACAF Nations League and the biennial Gold Cup for national teams, and club tournaments including Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League, the Scotiabank CONCACAF League, the Caribbean Club Championship, and the Caribbean Shield. CONCACAF also supports FIFA in coordinating qualification events for Men’s and Women’s World Cups and Olympic Games, and the Beach Soccer and Futsal World Cups. The Confederation also organizes championships at the under-13, under-15, under-20, and Olympic Championship levels for girls and boys, women, and men.

In July of 2021, CONCACAF began hosting its biennial “Gold Cup”, with the preliminary rounds taking place in Fort Lauderdale, FL at the Inter Miami CF training facility. The preliminary rounds consisted of 12 total nations vying to qualify for the Gold Cup Group Stage. The Sports Commission was able to work with 33

CONCACAF to host 6 of the 12 teams in Palm Beach County for training camps for 10 days before the Gold Cup Preliminary Rounds. The Sports Commission worked with Bermuda, Guatemala, Guyana, French Guiana, Montserrat, and Trinidad & Tobago to find training locations in Palm Beach County, notably at The Gardens North County District Park. With our first-class facilities and accommodations, we look to expand on this opportunity and recruit more teams for training.

Collegiate Sports Marketplace: Considering Palm Beach County is home to five (5) universities and colleges in Palm Beach County, such as Florida Atlantic University (NCAA Division I), Palm Beach Atlantic University (NCAA Division II), Lynn University (NCAA Division II), Keiser University (NAIA) and Palm Beach State College (NJCAA), our Sports Commission will continue to partner with these institutions to pursue conference, regional and national championships. In addition to these events, which represent the pinnacle of college sports, our Sports Commission will develop other collegiate-related event properties, such as training camps, showcases, invitationals, and tournaments (both on varsity and club levels).

The Palm Beach County Sports Commission has established a tremendous resume in hosting college national championships. The resume includes four NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championships, two NAIA Women’s Golf National Championships, one NCAA Women's College Cup (Soccer National Championship), three NCAA Golf National Championships, and numerous Conference Championships (mainly Conference USA, Sunshine State Conference, and The Sun Conference). Our Sports Commission has also hosted NCAA and NAIA regional playoffs for a variety of sports. These events generate large levels of visitation and overnight accommodations, while creating enormous media impressions for The Palm Beaches.

In 2022, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission will host several marquee collegiate events, which includes the NCAA Division I Golf Regional Championship, the Boca Raton Bowl (NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision College Football Bowl Game), the Sun Conference Baseball Championship, a NCAA Division II spring training baseball event, a NCAA Division I Women’s basketball tournament, and a NAIA Volleyball Invitational. The plan to grow and enhance Palm Beach County’s position as a premier destination for collegiate sports championships and events in 2022, includes: •

Organize the NCAA Division I Regional Golf Championship at PGA National Resort & Spa and implement an in-county and out-of-county digital marketing campaign to attract leisure golf fans to The Palm Beaches.

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•

Prepare bids for NAIA Women’s Golf National Championship, which is looking for a new home in 2022, and the NAIA Men’s Golf National Championships for 2023-24.

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Preparing a bid to host the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Women’s Golf Championship for the winter of 2022 – would be the first SEC-related event to take place in The Palm Beaches.

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Developing execution plan and marketing campaign for the Roofclaim.com Boca Raton Bowl, which is produced by ESPN Events and takes place in December – and will be televised on ESPN

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Pursuing an opportunity with ESPN Events to develop a spring training baseball setting for NCAA Division I teams, which would also create a televised event on ESPN.

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Planning to host the Palm Beach Challenge, an NCAA Division II spring training baseball event, by securing the Santaluces Athletic Complex and creating a marketing campaign towards college baseball programs, located in the “Super Eight Markets.”

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Solidifying an NCAA Division I Women’s basketball tournament, scheduled to take place at Massimino Court on the campus of Keiser University in December.

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Partnering with Keiser University in hosting The Sun Conference Baseball Championships

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Partnering with Keiser University in developing an NAIA Season Opening Volleyball Invitational in August, which would attract 30 teams over two weekends.

National Governing Bodies / Olympic Sports: The National Governing Bodies (NGB’s) are organizations that have a regulatory or sanctioning function over their specific sport. Every sport has a different governing body that can define the way the sport operates through its affiliated clubs and societies. There are a total of 47 National Governing Bodies that exist under the umbrella of the United States Olympic Committee. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission has formed partnerships with many of these governing bodies to host national events, which create tourism impacts and has led to future business opportunities. Examples of these partnerships include USA Baseball, United States Golf Association, USA Gymnastics, USA Field Hockey, US Soccer Federation, USA Water Ski, USA Wrestling, United States Equestrian Federation, USA Track & Field, USA Swimming, USA Volleyball, USA Softball, USA Water Polo, USA Badminton, and more.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games were postponed to the summer of 2021 and were successfully executed.

The Olympic Games represent a huge victory for the perseverance and power of sports, considering this achievement took place during a national health crisis that caused a great threat to sports activation and participation. This victory will spur interest and growth for many Olympic sports in 2022 and beyond.

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Following any Olympic Games, the NGB’s, notably at the local club level, experience a spike in membership and participation. This year, our Sports Commission will be targeting the NGB’s in pursuit of various events, including state competitions, regional events, national championships, and training camps. After the Olympic Games, many of the NGB's will expand their event portfolio due to added revenue, greater time to focus on the development of events, and the motivation to take advantage of the heightened popularity for their sport. Our Sports Commission will emphasize growing event production coming directly from NGBs. Marketing campaigns specifically tailored to the NGBs/Olympic sports will occur throughout the year. A full-court press on recruitment, bid submittal, and networking with past clients and prospective partners to obtain events under the NGB umbrella, will vigorously take place. Finally, the Sports Commission will attend ACES (Association of Chief Executives for Sport) Conference in Colorado Springs. This will be a significant business development effort to identify new business, as it relates to Olympic sports, for 2022 and beyond.

SPORTS TOURISM INVESTMENTS •

Grant Program, Business Development, & Tourism Sponsorships - Historically, our grant program has been the primary mechanism available to us in attracting and retaining sporting events for Palm Beach County. Funds are necessary for the Sports Commission to submit competitive proposals on sports events and to provide enticement to event organizers in selecting Palm Beach County as a destination.

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•

Business Development/Tourism Sponsorship - The business development/tourism sponsorships have been a great addition to our financial incentive program. Although this program is only utilized to make small investments into events ($5,000 or less), it allows us to be nimbler, notably with event opportunities that require a quick turnaround/decision on the financial investment.

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Event Servicing Funds - Palm Beach County Sports Commission’s event servicing program is a funding mechanism that is set aside to assist sport organizations directly with their event production obligations. Rather than reimbursing a sports organization for their event-related expenses, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission would simply source the service directly.

Creating economies of scale by packaging services over multiple sports events, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission would be able to receive competitive prices from service providers.

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Florida Sports Foundation Incentives - The Florida Sports Foundation (FSF) has an active grant program to support sporting events that generate economic impact from out-of-state attendees.

The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will continue to utilize this grant program to help supplement our tourism investments.

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EVENT SERVICING The Palm Beach County Sports Commission believes that our commitment to event servicing separates us from the competition. Our belief is that event servicing is the primary initiative that results in the repeat event business. Our event management support includes managing an event in its entirety assisting with various operational requirements, such as venue support, hotel, and housing solutions, logistical needs, event supplies, sourcing event equipment and service providers, transportation, volunteer recruitment, permitting, event layouts, and marketing and public relation strategies. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission is extremely experienced in sharing overall responsibility for an event and maintains numerous contractual relationships with multiple event owners. Ultimately, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission strives to provide superior event services in order to persuade an event owner that Palm Beach County is the only option when searching for a destination.

Event services provided to event rights holders selecting Palm Beach County as their home includes, but is not limited to: Operational & Logistical support

Design of Event Layouts

Public Relations

Venue/Facility Coordination

Volunteer Recruitment

On-site staffing

Pre-Event Planning

Hotel/Lodging

Hospitality

Budget management

Transportation

Public Relations

Sourcing of service providers

Security Planning

Marketing

Permitting

In-Kind partnerships

Medical

The Palm Beach County Sports Commission has a proven track record of retaining events by working with event owners to enhance their productivity. By improving operational efficiencies or marketing strategies, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission can increase an event’s participation levels and profits, thereby securing the event for future years and generating more revenues for both the event owner and for Palm Beach County.

EVENT PARTNERSHIPS The Palm Beach County Sports Commission’s willingness to form an event partnership, manage an event in its entirety and shoulder the workload that comes with the arrangement has been a key element in allowing Palm Beach County to win national bids and host successful events. Event partnerships also 39

represent revenue-generating opportunities for the Palm Beach County Sports Commission. In many instances, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission will be obligated to develop and manage an event budget. Both the event producer and the Palm Beach County Sports Commission will share in certain event-related revenues and expenses, as well as the potential proceeds.

PARTNERSHIPS WITH LOCAL SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS Palm Beach County Sports Commission will continue to partner with local sports clubs, organizations, chapters, and/or associations to maximize “bid-win potential.” Having the “experts” in each specific event space as partners will demonstrate our ability to effectively prepare for events and will also enable us to have access to volunteers needed for successful event production.

PALM BEACH COUNTY PARKS AND RECREATION The Sports Commission’s partnership with Palm Beach County Parks & Recreation is vital to our county’s ability to maintain sports as a cornerstone for its tourism initiatives. Palm Beach County Parks & Recreation system encourages a vibrant atmosphere for sports event development due to its 8,000 acres of parklands that offer a variety of facilities for sports, and some of the most multidimensional facilities in the United States. In 2019, prior to the pandemic’s beginning, Palm Beach County Parks & Recreation venues accommodated 37 tourism generating sports events, which contributed to nearly 30,000+ hotel room nights. Palm Beach County’s award-winning parks system continues to be vital to our Sports Commission’s success.

PALM BEACH COUNTY CONVENTION CENTER Creating business opportunities for the Palm Beach County Convention Center is a priority for our Sports Commission. The Convention Center’s exhibit hall is 100,000 square feet and with 1,800 tiered seats and connecting hotel, it can be transformed into a venue for indoor sports. In 2021, the Palm Beach County Convention Center was home to (4) sports events, which included a marquee regional gymnastics meet, a statewide volleyball tournament, Deka-Fit – owned by Spartan Race, and a 200+ team national basketball tournament. The following is currently happening to grow the presence of sports events for the Convention Center in 2022: •

Accumulating a plan to bring back the 200+ national basketball tournament, the regional volleyball tournament, and Deka Fit.

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•

Pursuing a list of new targets for 2022, which includes the United States Table Tennis Open, Eminence Cup (DanceSport), Sunshine State Games, indoor pickleball, and more.

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Concentration is primarily on short-term business to avoid the Food & Beverage minimum, which excludes most amateur sports events.

MOTORSPORTS IN THE PALM BEACHES Palm Beach County has been a motorsports destination since 1964 and gained notoriety in 1981 after an acquisition that led to the renamed Moroso Motorsports Park. Today, this motorsports facility is named the Palm Beach International Raceway (PBIR) and boasts a 10-turn, 2.2-mile road course, world-recordsetting 1/4-mile drag strip, autocross track, and a mud bog for off-road vehicles. Illustrious motorsports circuits, such as the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA), National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), Monster Truckz Mayhem Tour, and the Florida Motorcycle Road Racing Association, have hosted their events at PBIR. Hundreds of events and thousands of participants and spectators attend PBIR annually. However, PBIR presents the consideration for retaining a sport, events, and an identity.

PBIR is likely to be sold, which could mean the end to motorsports in The Palm Beaches. Intelligence reveals that such a sale would lead to a complete repurposing of the land that is now built for motorsports.

This would be a heartbreaking loss of an iconic sports venue for Palm Beach County. A sports tourism

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asset would be eliminated. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission is evaluating options for advocacy regarding the preservation of PBIR and a motorsports presence in the United States. This certainly will be a major sports tourism retention discussion that will take place in FY 22.

EVENTS CREATED AND OWNED BY THE SPORTS COMMISSION The creation and ownership of events by sports commissions was a major theme in the State of the Industry report from Sports ETA, with 37% of sports commissions now owning their own events. This strategy provides alternative revenue streams and significant marketing and media exposure. Below summarizes the Palm Beach County Sports Commission’s event ownership: •

Holiday Basketball Classic of The Palm Beaches - The Palm Beach County Sports Commission created the Holiday Basketball Classic of the Palm Beaches in 2016 to be an annual high school basketball national invitational. This event generates hotel impact while embracing our local community.

•

Lou Groza Collegiate Place-kicker Award - This December will mark the 30th Anniversary of this nationally recognized award, owned by our Sports Commission. The Lou Groza Collegiate PlaceKicker Award is a prestigious college football award. Extensive publicity brings national exposure to Palm Beach County on an annual basis. This award is presented on the Home Depot ESPN College Football Award show, which is televised live on ESPN, attracting nearly 1 million viewers.

•

Kid’s Fitness Festival - The Kid’s Fitness Festival of The Palm Beaches is the only multi-sport event that takes place annually in Palm Beach County. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission partners with over 40 different sports organizations, event owners, and national governing bodies to present interactive sports clinics to over 5,000 youth from across Palm Beach County. In 2021, the event the attendance was significantly reduced due to COVID-19.

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SPORTS MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIES BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE Marketing Research: The Palm Beach County Sports Commission along with a top national research firm developed and deployed a sports destination business intelligence survey targeted at event rights holders, promoters, and national governing bodies. This research survey examined the demographics and psychographics of our customers and their decision-making processes. The survey asked respondents to rate our destination against a competitive set. This insight has been extremely valuable in informing marketing efforts as we work to recruit events from many of these same rights holders.

Event Owner Demographics

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KEY FINDINGS OF MARKETING RESEARCH Search Engine Optimization: Search engine optimization and an effectively designed website are critical to promote and sell our destination. Over 26% of event owners indicated that they are more likely to use the website of a sports commission when researching destinations. As Our sports commission can increase the quantity and quality of traffic through organic search engine results, this, in turn, gives us more opportunities to convert qualified prospects into customers. Our website is an integral marketing tool that showcases and informs our sports event partners, potential clients, sports tourist, and the local sports community on facilities, sporting events, membership, attractions, hotels, and other Palm Beach County assets. Using this data, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission debuted a redesigned website to enhance the brand and provide the best service possible for all visitors. In FY 22, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission will continue to integrate multi-media galleries with videos and photos into the website that showcase our many offerings in the county.

Digital Social Media Promotion: The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will continue to integrate social media into its marketing strategies. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will utilize this medium to promote brand awareness, provide additional support to event owners, and be a tool to engage and promote partners. Social media strategies will include using social media influencers, specialized advertising campaigns to grow a targeted audience, increasing live streaming capabilities at events, and special promotions delivered on our social media vehicles to increase audience engagement.

Trade Shows: When selecting a destination, the majority of survey respondents (68.8%) who had not previously hosted an event in Palm Beach County before said they use tradeshows to get ideas for destinations in which to host their events. Additionally, when asked how they prefer to be solicited by Sports Commissions this group is much more likely to say they prefer contact at tradeshows and exhibitions.

The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will attend the sports travel industry’s most effective conferences, conventions, and tradeshows staged throughout the United States to further its networking, relationship building, and sales efforts.

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In FY 22, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission will attend the following trade shows: •

Connect Sports Marketplace

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Destination International

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Sports ETA (Events and Tourism Association) Symposium

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ACES (Association of Chief Executives for Sport) Conference

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TEAMS (Travel, Events and Management, & Sports) Conference & Expo

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Sunshine Sports Council Summit

•

Florida Sports Summit

Familiarization Tours: When moving prospective event clients through the sales process, site visits or familiarization tours are one of the most beneficial event development strategies. Site visits allow for an event owner to explore potential sports venues while experiencing Palm Beach County’s tourism assets, such as hotels, restaurants, and attractions. In FY 22, our Sports Commission will continue to pursue this winning strategy while creating several new group FAM’s by sport discipline for key event rights holders and event promoters. Through our market research, we found that 81% of event owners will not select a destination unless they tour the location in person first.

High-Quality Service: 98% of event owners, rights holders, and governing bodies surveyed indicated that they were satisfied by the level of service provided by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission believes that our commitment to event servicing separates us from the competition. Our belief is that event servicing is the primary initiative that results in the repeat event business. Our event management support includes managing an event in its entirety assisting with various operational requirements, such as venue support, hotel, and housing solutions, logistical needs, event supplies, sourcing event equipment and service providers, transportation, volunteer recruitment, permitting, event layouts, and marketing and public relation strategies.

MARKETING STRATEGY Marketing Campaigns: The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will continue to develop marketing campaigns to increase brand awareness and promote Palm Beach County as a premier sports destination.

The Palm Beach County Sports Commission’s marketing and communication efforts focus on promoting Palm Beach County’s sports assets and capabilities. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will utilize

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specialty print and digital mediums in leading industry trade publications to promote our message of “Just Bring Your Game.”

The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will continue to promote The Palm Beaches as a premier sports destination through digital and print mediums in leading trade publications, such as Sports Travel Magazine, Sports Destination Magazine, SportsEvents Magazine, the Sports Business Journal, and Sports Planning Guide & Directory.

Advertising campaigns will also be planned to coincide with industry trade shows and national conventions. This provides an additional instrument and brand awareness during meetings with prospective event clients that occur during the trade shows.

Content Marketing: The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will enhance its digital presence with rich media, such as images, videos, and virtual tours. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission is committed to capturing rich media through impactful photography and videos that demonstrate the capabilities of Palm Beach County’s sports venues and the range of sports events that make the Palm Beaches their home.

Award-Winning Facility Guide: The Palm Beach County Sports Commission has created an award-winning Sports Facility Guide to The Palm Beaches. This sixty-four-page full-color guide promotes a variety of sports venues/facilities in The Palm Beaches. This Sports Facility Guide to The Palm Beaches will be used as a marketing tool to showcase the world-class facilities and venues Palm Beach County has to offer. This guide will be used in direct mail campaigns to event owners, rights holders, and national governing bodies.

This is also a primary collateral piece at trade shows for highlighting the diversity and versatility of sports venues in The Palm Beaches.

Virtual Informational Venue Tours: In 2022, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission will create virtual informational venue tours. These informational tours will be narrated by a host and will include venue footage, video highlights from past events at each venue, and promotional video for key sports venues in The Palm Beaches.

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AIRLIFT INBOUND MARKETING SUPPORT The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will continue to promote the Palm Beach International Airport in FY 22. Commercials and print/digital ads for the airport will be included in assets as we engage in our marketing plan and position our sports commission in trade publications, digital assets, and collateral.

PERFECT WEEK OF SPORTS IN THE PALM BEACHES The Perfect Week of Sports, first held in 2020, is a marketing initiative of the Palm Beach County Sports Commission with an emphasis on promoting The Palm Beaches as a premier professional sports destination. The ‘Perfect Week’ is a collection of diverse professional sports events that take place with a calendar week in Palm Beach County.

The Perfect Week of Sports has shown great potential in its first iteration and, with an even stronger marketing push in 2022, can continue to take its position as a landmark of The Palm Beaches sports calendar. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will partner with the other TDC agencies to help promote this special tourism week.

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The FY 22 strategy for the Perfect Week of Sports will include earned media, with public relations and television coverage, owned media through social media, promotion collateral, and website campaigns, and paid media with video production and digital media ads.

Press Announcement: The Perfect Week of Sports will be announced with a press event featuring representatives from each event or sports and national sports journalists. This year’s press event can draw an even larger audience. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission plans to include influencers and professional athletes in the announcement. Having the presence of one or more current athletes would help to create interest and a stronger buzz around the Perfect Week of Sports.

Social Influencers: An effort to include social media influencers will elevate the event and destination’s profile. Last ‘Perfect Week,’ two Instagram influencers were brought in to share content regarding each of the events, in partnership with Discover The Palm Beaches. The influencers’ audience skewed much younger than the typical viewing audiences of the sports involved in the ‘Perfect Week.’ The influencers allowed our destination and sports commission to be exposed to entirely new audiences. Further incorporating influencers into our marketing strategy will help the event become a stronger brand.

Social media: social media, both paid and organic, will be a large portion of the marketing regarding the Perfect Week of Sports. The best way to approach social media for this event will be a multi-faceted approach: •

Extensive posts from the Palm Beach County Sports Commission, which events involved in the Perfect Week will be encouraged to share

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Creating content that the events themselves can share. The content will be branded with the destination and can help our destination reach new audiences

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Use of influencers and professional athletes

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Daily press releases from The Palm Beach County Sports Commission that should generate more content for us to share throughout the week

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Creating content at each event and posting immediately will keep the content fun and fresh

Videos: A promotional video will be created prior to the Perfect Week of Sports to help promote this unique experience in The Palm Beaches. The video will be shared nationally and internationally through paid and organic social and through the channels of our partners.

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TESTIMONIALS 68.9% of survey respondents said that they rely on word of mouth to select a destination to host sports events. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will increase the use of testimonials videos. People look for social proof in all areas of life, including how we behave and the purchasing decisions we make online. In return, these testimonials will add weight to our sales message when trying to engage with potential customers on other mediums, such as print material and email.

FILM & TV The Palm Beach County Sports Commission is committed to partnering with our sister agencies to produce content for the Palm Beaches TV. These partnerships leverage each agency's resources so that we may provide as much new content as possible, which then provides our constituents the best possible viewing experience. The Palm Beaches TV platform gives each agency a unique avenue to provide direct messaging to the consumer with a global audience. The programming that is being produced runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will continue to enhance its brand and customer service initiatives through this platform by developing and distributing unique fresh content highlighting sports event tourism in The Palm Beaches.

SOCIAL MEDIA The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will utilize several key social media strategies in FY22.

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Maintain the Palm Beach County Sports Commission’s status as the most followed sports commission on Facebook in the state of Florida. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission has more followers on social media than any of our competitive set of sports commissions.

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Lead the way into new and emerging platforms; being first and at the forefront of new social media platforms and trends will help further establish The Palm Beaches and the Palm Beach County Sports Commission as a central source for the best sports tourism content.

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Palm Beach County Sports Commission’s social media content will be designed specifically to target event owners and potential business partners.

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This targeted audience will be reached through the following actionable steps: o Targeted ads placed directly in the news feed of event owners and similar individuals. Our sports commission has an extensive database of event owners that can be targeted by Facebook and Instagram’s advertising platforms which will serve relevant ads to the right people at the right times.

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o Geofencing ads around industry trade shows will allow the sports commission to make a strong brand awareness push even if not physically in attendance. Geographically targeting sports events, trade shows, or other industry events will help us serve relevant ads to the desired audience. o Email blasts promoting content found on our social media (i.e., blog-style ‘listicle’ posts, virtual tour content, etc.) will create opportunities for our content to be shared. When content is shared by a user, the sports commission brand can spread to an entirely new audience. o Posting, commenting, and generally engaging with like-minded brands to make Palm Beach County Sports Commission social media more visible should be a key component of our social media strategy.

Engagement: •

The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will continue to create quality content that educates event owners on Palm Beach County’s venues, our sports commission’s services, and the region as a sports tourism destination while incorporating calls to action that lead event clients towards Fam Tours and booking events in The Palm Beaches. o

Quality content will come from virtual tours, professional videos of events, staffgenerated videos with in-house equipment, blog posts, news stories, and more.

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Our best content will demonstrate the breadth and depth of venues and events in The Palm Beaches, ultimately engaging a wide range of event owners.

Social Media Outlook: •

There are several steps that the Palm Beach County Sports Commission will take to continue growing and maintaining a sizable social media audience: o

Creating branded content such as professional videos and in-house generated content clips. The ability to create content quickly will help create additional attention surrounding our social media channels.

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Lead the expansion onto new and emerging platforms such as TikTok. Building on trends of social media and posting relevant content will be key in creating larger audiences for destination content.

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PUBLIC RELATIONS In FY 22, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission will continue to strategically incorporate public relations to communicate with its target audience. Strategies utilized will include: •

Continuing to grow its network and relationships with national and international media.

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Regularly securing placements in national news outlets for professional and amateur sporting events that take place in Palm Beach County.

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Tracking the earned media value of media placements through Critical Mention software.

Understanding and utilizing this data will help bolster future media strategy. o

Using Critical Mention’s media database, we will be able to maintain an extensive and upto-date media contact database. The software tracks reporters covering sports in Palm Beach County.

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Media database will continue to receive relevant press releases and story pitches from us on a regular basis. This will ensure that we remain top-of-mind when they are crafting stories.

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Distributing a monthly sports event calendar to relevant national media members will help the media stay aware of happenings in Palm Beach County. Building brand trust between our sports commission and reports should be of high importance.

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Build relationships with key media representatives and influencers to keep The Palm Beaches top of mind through proactive pitching and hosting within the destination.

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Media ‘Fam’ tours will be created to grow media coverage and expose national sports journalists to the breadth and versatility of sports venues and experiences in The Palm Beaches.

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SUPER 8 MARKETS With international travel limited for much of 2020, domestic visitors were more important to Florida’s tourism economy than at any time in recent history. According to Visit Florida, over 94% of Florida’s 86.7 million out-of-state visitors came from U.S. origin markets.

Although the Palm Beach County Sports Commission does not target leisure travelers, consideration is given to Florida’s “Super Eight Markets” and secondary markets when recruiting sports events. Visitors from these DMAs are regularly looking for a reason or seeking inspiration to book a trip to Florida. For example, sports such as lacrosse, field hockey, soccer, baseball, and basketball have high populations of travel teams from the Super 8 markets. Pursuing events that consist of athletes and teams originating from the “Super Eight Markets,” should generate greater attendance and participation numbers in a Florida destination.

Super 8 Markets:

1. New York

5. Philadelphia

2. Chicago

6. Washington D.C.

3. Atlanta

7. Boston

4. Birmingham

8. Minneapolis St Paul

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CHAMPION DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION Diversity is Palm Beach County’s greatest characteristic, and sports are one of the most diverse tourism products that exist. People from different races, nationalities, cultures, and beliefs come together to form teams acting as a single unit and competing for a common goal.

In order to position Palm Beach County as a premier destination for sports, being a champion of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is imperative and the most pivotal pillar towards being a leader in sports tourism.

Our Sports Commission must nurture an environment that celebrates diversity and demonstrates that people of every race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, age, and capability are embraced.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Training: Diversity in the workplace is a benefit to any organization and is crucial to professional success. In the sports and tourism industries, diversity is a direct reflection of the customers we serve and is vital for success. Our Sports Commission has contracted with an EDI expert consultant and Barry University to help advise and improve our processes, procedures, and practices to ensure their alignment with DEI best practices. In addition, Barry University provided training sessions in the area of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for all Sports Commission staff. This effort underscores the value and benefits of working in an environment enriched by diversity and encourages essential skills to improve cooperation and maximize a diverse workplace's values.

Marketing Audit: A recent marketing audit, specifically to measure diversity and inclusion within the PBCSC marketing and media campaigns and materials, revealed that there has been a strong diversity representation in photos and other depictions used when promoting the organization, destination, and its events. This was true of both digital and print materials. PBCSC currently uses a variety of advertising sources that reach a wide range of diverse populations. PBCSC has an ongoing diversity outreach strategy, where it targets organizations with diversity-specific events.

Recognizing Local Sports Organizations for Champion of Equity & Diversity: The Palm Beach County Sports Commission created a new award, to be distributed at its annual Palm Beach Sports Hall of Fame Celebration. “The Champion of Equity & Diversity in Sports” is presented to organizations or individuals that have a profound impact on our community through creating an equitable and inclusive environment in sports. The African American Golfers Hall of Fame received the inaugural award. The Palm Beach County 55

Sports Commission will create additional recognitions for those local organizations that advance diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Urban League: This past year, the Sports Commission partnered with the Urban League of Palm Beach County Foundation to support a local sports team for minority boys and girls to allow the team an opportunity to compete in national events. This partnership will carry over in FY 2022. The Urban League will identify a local sports team looking to compete or participate in sports. Our Sports Commission will source funding through private sponsorship to accomplish this initiative.

Business Connect: Business Inclusion & Diversity Connect is the Palm Beach County Sports Commission special event supplier diversity and inclusion program which will be launched in 2022. The Business Connect program works proactively to create opportunities for experienced, qualified, and certified businesses from local and diverse communities to compete for supply opportunities with Palm Beach County Sports Commission hosted events. This program provides a resource and encourages events to source products and services from these previously underused and well-qualified suppliers. The goal is to curate a robust list of 50+ event-ready Palm Beach County minority-owned businesses in 12 business lines to work with event producers hosting events in Palm Beach County. These businesses will be designated ‘approved’ vendors and will be added to the Business Inclusion & Diversity Connect Resource Guide of certified businesses ready to compete for opportunities. The Business Inclusion & Diversity Connect program also offers networking, educational, and business development opportunities to encourage greater business success for each participant.

Event Development: The Sports Commission will implement an aggressive inclusion strategy to attract specific sports events that celebrate diversity. Our Sports Commission has a lengthy list of targeted organizations events, which specifically commemorates diversity, equity, and inclusion. Below are some of the event targets: •

Asian Basketball Championships of North America

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USSSA Black American Softball Word Tour

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USSSA Hispanic Slowpitch Softball Tour

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Black Collegiate Gaming Association (esports events)

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American Tennis Association (Oldest African American Sports Organization)

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North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (softball) 56

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International Gay & Lesbian Football Association (Soccer)

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National Beep Baseball Association World Series (visually impaired athletes – PBCSC hosted in 2017)

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United States Tennis Association - Wheelchair Tennis Championships

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American Tennis Association (Oldest African American Sports Organization)

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International Gay Bowling Association

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National Gay Flag Football League

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Bill Dickey Golf Invitational

The sports events marketplace has multi-cultural organizations that offer events tailored and marketed specifically to different communities, races, or ethnic groups. The PBCSC will vigorously pursue these sports organizations and their events.

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