The Pasco County Commission has approved spending $48,000 for an economic impact study related to tourism.
During the board’s Oct. 6 meeting, commissioners approved a consulting services agreement with Downs & St. Germain Research Inc. (DSG), to perform the analysis.
The company, a market research firm based in Tallahassee, specializes in developing marketing and strategic recommendations from survey results and focus groups through tourism studies such as visitor tracking, potential visitor research, branding research, event research, return on investment research and other methods, according to agenda backup materials.
The consulting company has substantial experience in Florida tourism market research.
Commissioners previously approved an agreement with the market research company, known as DSG, on Jan. 23, 2018, to conduct the county’s first Visitor Profile and Economic Impact Study of Tourism.
Since then, the research company has partnered with several events organizations, tourism attractions, venues, and short-term rental accommodations to run face-to-face, phone and online surveys to Pasco County visitors. As a result of these interviews, DSG has been able to profile visitors coming to our destination and quantify the economic impact that the tourism industry brings to Pasco County, according to the agenda item.
The market research company has provided visitor profile and economic impact studies, and the reports have provided insight on the demographics and geography of Florida’s Sports Coast visitors, activities while in the destination, trip planning behaviors, satisfaction with the destination, spending behaviors, the importance of vacation attributes, and the
best approach for attracting new visitors, agenda materials say.
The information has been used by the county’s Destination Management Organization (DMO) to develop marketing strategies and establish a blueprint for a marketing plan to increase visitation, visitor satisfaction, and marketing effectiveness.
The county’s DMO considers the tourism research work to be in the best interest of the Pasco tourism industry to keep annual track of our visitors and the economic impact that this industry is generating to the county in general, the agenda material adds.
In recommending approval of the agreement, county staff characterized the study as an important tool to “identify the right audience as well as when, how, and where to allocate marketing dollars to promote a destination.”
Published October 21, 2020
