Space Coast Office of Tourism

Last updated
Space Coast Office of Tourism
Type GO
PurposeTourism
Headquarters Cocoa Beach, Florida
Region served
Space Coast
Executive Director
Peter Cranis
Website https://www.visitspacecoast.com/

The Space Coast Office of Tourism is the body responsible for the marketing of tourism operations in Brevard County, Florida. The office is funded through the Tourist Development Tax, which is then used to provide advertising and marketing and other projects for the region and to develop tourism-related programs.

Contents

Background

The Space Coast Office of Tourism covers Brevard County, which extends 72 miles (116 km) along the coast of Florida, an area which is considered the Space Coast. Funding for the office comes from a 5% Tourist Development Tax, which is collected from hotels and other tourist accommodations. [1]

The region has traditionally had a strong focus on tourism through the space industry, and the industry accounted for as much as 15% of the tourism in the region, but with a reduction in shuttle launches this dropped to under 5% by 2005. [2] Accordingly, the office had to move their focus to alternative tourism operations, selling "beaches, cruise ships and nature tourism", [2] . Although the Discovery's launch in 2005 did see a return of astronaut imagery, the region's dependency on the space industry was much reduced, and by 2011, when the final Space Shuttle mission took place, the Space Coast Office of Tourism argued that the reduced dependency on the industry would allow the region to cope with the expected economic downfall. [2] [3] Now, in the 2020s, space launches are back in a big way and the Space Coast Office of Tourism heavily promotes all the things they did before like beaches, cruises and nature, along with a heavy mix of imagery showing launches. A return to human space flight in the United States originates from the Space Coast and astronauts are regularly launched to the International Space Station from Kennedy Space Center. There are also many private companies launching rockets to deploy satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Projects

The office is responsible for spending the Tourist Development Tax on advertising and marketing, as well as projects that support tourism such as beach renourishment, grants for events happening in the Space Coast, and capital projects like parks and attractions. The office has traditionally focused on consumer markets. This has included advertising on billboards, digital advertising, TV advertising using cable and streaming services, and radio streaming. They promote themselves in Florida and in parts of northeastern and southeastern United States). In 1992, the office had a budget of $2.5 million, of which $1 million was directed to consumer advertising. [4] By 1998, that figure had changed to $4 million over two years. [5] In 2021, the marketing budget had increased to over $7 million with a total revenue budget of $16.9 million. For FY 2025, the marketing budget is $13.4 million with a total revenue budget of $27 million.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kennedy Space Center</span> United States space launch site in Florida

The John F. Kennedy Space Center, located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968, KSC has been NASA's primary launch center of American spaceflight, research, and technology. Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC. Located on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS). The management of the two entities work very closely together, share resources, and operate facilities on each other's property.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space tourism</span> Human space travel for recreation

Space tourism is human space travel for recreational purposes. There are several different types of space tourism, including orbital, suborbital and lunar space tourism. Tourists are motivated by the possibility of viewing Earth from space, feeling weightlessness, experiencing extremely high speed and something unusual, and contributing to science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brevard County, Florida</span> County in Florida, United States

Brevard County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. It is on the Atlantic coast of eastern Central Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 606,612, making it the 10th-most populated county in Florida. The official county seat is located in Titusville. A secondary center of county administration, including a circuit courthouse, was built in 1989 in the planned community of Viera, Florida, the geographic center of the county.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Canaveral, Florida</span> Small city in Florida, US

Cape Canaveral is a city in Brevard County, Florida. It is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 9,912 at the 2020 US census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cocoa, Florida</span> City in Florida, US

Cocoa is a city in Brevard County, Florida. The population was 19,041 at the 2020 United States Census, up from 17,140 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cocoa Beach, Florida</span> City in Florida

Cocoa Beach is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 11,354 at the 2020 United States Census, up from 11,231 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titusville, Florida</span> City in Florida, United States

Titusville is a city in and the county seat of Brevard County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 48,789, up from 43,761 at the 2010 census. Titusville is located along the Indian River, west of Merritt Island and the Kennedy Space Center, and south-southwest of the Canaveral National Seashore. It is a principal city of the Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space Coast</span> Region in Florida

The Space Coast is a region in the U.S. state of Florida around the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It is one of several "themed" coasts around Florida. All orbital launches from American soil carrying NASA astronauts have departed from either KSC or Cape Canaveral. The Space Force Station has also launched unmanned military and civilian rockets. Cities in the area include Port St. John, Titusville, Cocoa, Rockledge, Cape Canaveral, Merritt Island (unincorporated), Cocoa Beach, Melbourne, Satellite Beach, Indian Harbour Beach, Indialantic, Melbourne Beach, Palm Bay, and Viera (unincorporated). Most of the area lies within Brevard County. It is bounded on the south by the Treasure Coast, on the west by Central Florida including Orlando, on the north by Volusia County, and on the east by the Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curtis Brown</span> American astronaut (born 1956)

Curtis Lee "Curt" Brown Jr. is a former NASA astronaut and retired United States Air Force colonel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tourism in the United States</span>

In the United States, tourism is a large industry that serves millions of international and domestic tourists yearly. Foreigners visit the U.S. to see natural wonders, cities, historic landmarks, and entertainment venues. Americans seek similar attractions, as well as recreation and vacation areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Florida</span> Region in Florida, United States

Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay area and the Greater Orlando area, though in recent times the Tampa Bay area has often been described as its own region, with "Central Florida" becoming more synonymous with the Orlando area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater Orlando</span> Metropolitan statistical area in Florida, United States

The Orlando metropolitan area is an inland metropolitan area in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. Its principal cities are Orlando, Kissimmee and Sanford. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget defines it as consisting of the counties of Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USSSA Space Coast Complex</span>

USSSA Space Coast Complex is a baseball stadium and 13 diamond multi-sports facility in Viera, Florida, owned by Brevard County, Florida. Under its original name, Space Coast Stadium, it served as the spring training facility for the Florida Marlins (1994–2002), Montreal Expos (2003–2004), and Washington Nationals (2005–2016) and as the home field of the Brevard County Manatees (1994–2016). After a full year of renovations, it officially reopened in 2017 with its new name as a baseball/softball venue – part of a new multi-sport complex operated by the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA). Since 2017, it has been the home field of the USSSA Pride women's professional fast-pitch softball team.

Brevard Public Schools is a school district serving Brevard County, Florida, and based in Viera, Florida.

Visit Florida is Florida's official tourism marketing corporation, serving as Florida's official source for travel planning to visitors across the globe. Visit Florida operates as a nonprofit corporation, it was created as a public/private partnership by the Florida Legislature in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space Florida</span> Aerospace economic development agency of the state of Florida

Space Florida is the aerospace economic development agency of the State of Florida. Founded in 2006, it works with commercial space companies, other governmental agencies, and academic institutions to develop space-related infrastructure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Florida</span>

The economy of the state of Florida is the fourth-largest in the United States, with a $1.647 trillion gross state product (GSP) as of 2024. If Florida were a sovereign nation (2024), it would rank as the world's 15th-largest economy by nominal GDP according to the International Monetary Fund, ahead of Spain and behind South Korea. Agriculture, tourism, industry, construction, international banking, biomedical and life sciences, healthcare research, simulation training, aerospace and defense, and commercial space travel contribute to the state's economy.

Brevard County has a county government, municipal governments, and various Florida state and U.S. federal agencies.

The Utah Office of Tourism is a government agency which aims to increase tourism to the state of Utah. This increase would provide revenue to Utah, easing the burden on taxpayers.

Cocoa station is a future Brightline inter-city rail infill station in Cocoa, Florida, United States. The station would be located just south of the Cocoa Curve, where Brightline's Orlando Line along State Road 528 merges with the Florida East Coast Railway main line. The station will be located on property already owned by Brightline, on the south side of the interchange between U.S. Route 1 and State Road 528. A timeline for construction or opening has not yet been established.

References

  1. ↑ "Tourism Development Office". Florida Today. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 Schneider, Mike (July 11, 2005). "Shuttle may provide boost for Space Coast; NASA tourism had declined even before Columbia tragedy". The Columbian . Vancouver, Washington. p. E1.
  3. ↑ Shauk, Zain (July 11, 2005). "The Final Mission: Space Coast determined to keep smiling – Many remain optimistic despite predictions of economic demise". Houston Chronicle . Houston, Texas. p. 29.
  4. ↑ Strother, Susan G. (July 22, 1991). "Beyond Metro Orlando Name Recognition is the Focus for Smaller Cities Like Kissimmee". Orlando Sentinel . Orlando, Florida. p. 15.
  5. ↑ Osterman, Jim (August 24, 1998). "At the Brevard County line". Adweek (19, number 34): 8.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.