FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Public/Media Relations Manager
228-388-2993
media@coastalmississippi.com
Visit Mississippi Gulf Coast: Key Performance Indicators
MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST (May 7, 2018) – As we celebrate National Travel and Tourism Week, and with the first half of Fiscal Year 2018 behind us, Visit Mississippi Gulf Coast (VMGC) would like to share some key performance indicators from Q1 and Q2 of FY18, compared to those from Q1 and Q2 of FY17:
Occupancy increased to 67.7% and the Average Daily Rate increased to $76.81, which generated a 9% increase in occupancy tax collection. These numbers clearly reflect the growth of the tourism industry on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and its unequivocal importance to the region.
VMGC’s sales efforts have produced 86 definite group bookings in the past six months, totaling 25,758 room nights, which will be bringing a total of 21,329 future attendees to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. This will produce an estimated economic impact of $7.7million. Recent large events include: Travel South Showcase (770 attendees, 1543 room nights), the Southeastern Association of Hosing Officers (475 attendees, 1015 room nights), and the Mississippi Junior BETA Club (5500 attendees, 2400 room nights). These three events alone produced an economic impact of $1.5 million.
VMGC is dedicated to maintaining and updating its online presence and activity on social media platforms. Traffic to gulfcoast.org website is up to 900k, which is a 27% increase. This increase is thanks to the growing number of travel decisions made based on information found online, and VMGC’s advertising efforts directing potential visitors to www.gulfcoast.org for information on all three Coastal counties.
“The travel and tourism industry is extremely important to the region as a whole, having brought $2.41 billion in visitor spending, and 32,400 leisure and hospitality jobs to the tri-county area in 2017. Visit Mississippi Gulf Coast will continue to prioritize the distribution of such information to the community, stakeholders and elected officials on a regular basis,” said Milton Segarra, CEO of Visit Mississippi Gulf Coast. “Working together is the key to bringing more visitors to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and we look forward to a future of increased visitation, deepened partnerships and broadened horizons,” said Segarra.
With summer around the corner, the next six months look to be very promising for the region’s tourism industry, with numbers predicted to surpass those of FY17. Visit Mississippi Gulf Coast will continue in its endeavors to promote our beautiful Mississippi Gulf Coast and looks forward to welcoming many more visitors looking to discover the #MSCoastLife.
Visit Mississippi Gulf Coast is an organization charged with promoting South Mississippi as a tourism and convention destination worldwide. Its mission centers on attracting ever-increasing numbers of leisure, convention, sports and business visitors to the area. It is dedicated to maximizing the travel and tourism industry for South Mississippi. Visit gulfcoast.org to learn more.
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