October 4, 2024 • 7 mins
A week after Hurricane Helene, Pinellas beaches are open but cleanup is continuing and most hotels and businesses are closed. How does the tourist agency that markets what it calls "America's Best Beaches" talk to visitors when the beaches are closed? We speak with Visit St Pete - Clearwater President and CEO Brian Lowack.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Gordon Bird here Beyond the News. Obviously you know about
Hurricane Helene, and you know about the impact in Panellas County,
in the whole Tampa Bay area, but particularly on the
beaches of Panelas County, and that's a particular concern for
a lot of folks who live there and also for
the county's tourism industry and getting that message out to
visitors as far as when they'll be able to visit again.
(00:23):
We have Brian Loac with us, the president and CEO
of Visit Saint Pete Clearwater, which is Panella's County's tourism
promotion agency. Brian Loac, welcome to Beyond the News.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Thanks for having me, Gordon, pleasure to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Well, we know that the beaches are not in a
condition for tourism right now. What is the message you're
communicating about hotels and other facilities on the beach and
what visitors should be doing and if they're already booked here,
what alternatives are out there?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeah? Thanks, great question, Gordon.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
You know, obviously right now is not the time to
be visiting the beach with the recent storm. The folks
that are on the beach, both residents, business, owners, just
just the Barrier Islands in general. They're focused on recovery
and cleaning up and dealing with the situation at hand.
(01:14):
So the best thing that visitors can do right now
is to not not not be on the beach.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
We're we're working with our business community out there on
the Barrier Islands as well as the residents to make
sure that they have the resources and really the space
they need to get back up and rebuild to a
point they need to be. But one of the things
that makes our destination as a whole so great and
why people love it, We're not just the beaches. People
(01:44):
know that we're America's best beach, but what makes us
America's best beaches is that we have such a diverse
community and so well. The Barrier Islands are recovering right now,
and now's not the time to be there. You look
downtown Saint Pete and that is one of the hot
destinations in the country, and we've seen that and it's become.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Such a popular spot.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
They weren't as they weren't impacted certainly as severely as
as some of the beach communities and in many in
many cases, they weren't impacted and they're up and running.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
And it's business as usual.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
So we want to make sure that folks know they
can still come to the destination and maybe this is
a good opportunity for them to experience it from a
different perspective. And you know, it's not just the the beaches,
it's also the bay. So we're we're telling people, we're
pointing them in the right direction to go to areas
of the destination that weren't that that aren't on the
(02:39):
Barrier Islands for right now, and I'm confident that they're
going to be able to do that.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
They're going to have a great time. They're going to.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Explore downtown Saint Pete and the local shops. You think
about who needs help the most right now, it's the
local small businesses. So between the arts, the culture, the restaurants,
just that whole scene down there right now is a
great opportunity to experience.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
It's that and of course, the sun shines in downtown
Saint Petersburg every bit as much as it does on
Saint Pete Beach. Now, what are the plans at this point,
And I realize it's all preliminary right now, but what
are the plans at this point for getting out the
messaging once the beaches are back up into once they're
functional again and the hotels are up and running and
(03:21):
they're able to take in visitors, what's the strategy for
getting visitors, getting the word out to visitors that you're
open for business again.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Yeah, and that's certainly gonna be a paramount task for us. However,
that's not front of mine right now. In the background,
we are putting plans in place to determine our media
plans and what markets we're going to be and so
we'll be ready at the appropriate time to get back
(03:51):
out and make sure everyone knows that that Saint Pete
Clearwater is still shining.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
And in addition to that, we do.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Still have our our sales teams are our group's business team,
our sports teams, our film teams, our leisure teams. They're
still out in the market and they're still making sure
that they are messaging to the industry, to the trade
that at the appropriate time, when the beaches are ready,
that we're going to be here to welcome them and
they're going to get the experience that they've come to love.
(04:21):
And they're also letting them know that again. You know,
maybe you had a trip planned to a Barrier Island
and you still want to come down. We're steering in
the right direction to go to a different location here
in the destination where you can enjoy yourself. So we're
booking business out in the future, and we're working with
event organizers, with hoteliers, and with meeting planners to make
(04:45):
sure when the time is right, they'll know and we'll
get them back here and it'll be better than ever.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
And also wanted to ask you, obviously a lot of
people in the hospitality industry are very much affected by this,
by the hotels not being open for business. Uh. How
how are people in in that industry doing right now?
And what's what's out there if there are resources out
there to help them.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Folks are in the process of taking care of their homes.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
And and you.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
Know, obviously hospitality tourism industries are number one industry here
in Penalas County. So those folks that rely on those
businesses being up and running, they're they're they're taking care
of themselves, they're taking care of their homes, and we're
working closely to make sure we're pushing out messaging in
coordination with our Chambers of Commerce UH and employers that
(05:38):
they know where to get the assistance that's available to them.
So partnering with Economic Development here at Penelas County and
the chambers they're out there on the Barrier Islands, they've
set up a few different locations where they can go.
Folks can apply for whether it's individual assistants or business assistants,
(05:59):
all the recent sources out there. We've got one stop
shops so that that folks know if they're out of
work right now looking to see what assistance is available
and what's next, they can go there and they can
get the support and the help that they need.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
And quickly before you go, I want to acknowledge you
have a hashtag out that you're pushing out to social media,
that that hashtag is still shining and kind of give
us the nutshell of of of what that messaging is
to the folks who come and visit into the trade
and do everyone who likes Saint Pete clear Water in
the beaches.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
Yeah, I think it's an important message both to the
industry as well as the rest of the world, but
even more show our local businesses and residents in a
time like this, you know, they some folks have a
little bit of an uphill. It's a stressful time, so
we want to make sure that everyone knows that while
(06:55):
we're dealing with the impacts of this storm, Saint Pete
Clearwater is still shining and don't lose sight of that.
And we want to make sure that we're messaging that
inspiring the locals here, but also making sure that the
industry knows that we're not going anywhere and we're getting
to give us a little time and we'll be back
up to America's best beaches and the Saint Pete Clearwater
(07:17):
experience that everyone has become known to love.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Brian Lillwack as President and CEO of Visit Saint Pete Clearwater,
the tourism agency for Penelas County. Best of luck and
success to you and the community as recovery continues. And
thank you for joining us on Beyond the News.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Thanks for having me, Gordon, It's been a pleasure.
Gordon Bird here Beyond the News. Obviously you know about
Hurricane Helene, and you know about the impact in Panellas County,
in the whole Tampa Bay area, but particularly on the
beaches of Panelas County, and that's a particular concern for
a lot of folks who live there and also for
the county's tourism industry and getting that message out to
visitors as far as when they'll be able to visit again.
(00:23):
We have Brian Loac with us, the president and CEO
of Visit Saint Pete Clearwater, which is Panella's County's tourism
promotion agency. Brian Loac, welcome to Beyond the News.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Thanks for having me, Gordon, pleasure to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Well, we know that the beaches are not in a
condition for tourism right now. What is the message you're
communicating about hotels and other facilities on the beach and
what visitors should be doing and if they're already booked here,
what alternatives are out there?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeah? Thanks, great question, Gordon.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
You know, obviously right now is not the time to
be visiting the beach with the recent storm. The folks
that are on the beach, both residents, business, owners, just
just the Barrier Islands in general. They're focused on recovery
and cleaning up and dealing with the situation at hand.
(01:14):
So the best thing that visitors can do right now
is to not not not be on the beach.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
We're we're working with our business community out there on
the Barrier Islands as well as the residents to make
sure that they have the resources and really the space
they need to get back up and rebuild to a
point they need to be. But one of the things
that makes our destination as a whole so great and
why people love it, We're not just the beaches. People
(01:44):
know that we're America's best beach, but what makes us
America's best beaches is that we have such a diverse
community and so well. The Barrier Islands are recovering right now,
and now's not the time to be there. You look
downtown Saint Pete and that is one of the hot
destinations in the country, and we've seen that and it's become.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Such a popular spot.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
They weren't as they weren't impacted certainly as severely as
as some of the beach communities and in many in
many cases, they weren't impacted and they're up and running.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
And it's business as usual.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
So we want to make sure that folks know they
can still come to the destination and maybe this is
a good opportunity for them to experience it from a
different perspective. And you know, it's not just the the beaches,
it's also the bay. So we're we're telling people, we're
pointing them in the right direction to go to areas
of the destination that weren't that that aren't on the
(02:39):
Barrier Islands for right now, and I'm confident that they're
going to be able to do that.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
They're going to have a great time. They're going to.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Explore downtown Saint Pete and the local shops. You think
about who needs help the most right now, it's the
local small businesses. So between the arts, the culture, the restaurants,
just that whole scene down there right now is a
great opportunity to experience.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
It's that and of course, the sun shines in downtown
Saint Petersburg every bit as much as it does on
Saint Pete Beach. Now, what are the plans at this point,
And I realize it's all preliminary right now, but what
are the plans at this point for getting out the
messaging once the beaches are back up into once they're
functional again and the hotels are up and running and
(03:21):
they're able to take in visitors, what's the strategy for
getting visitors, getting the word out to visitors that you're
open for business again.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Yeah, and that's certainly gonna be a paramount task for us. However,
that's not front of mine right now. In the background,
we are putting plans in place to determine our media
plans and what markets we're going to be and so
we'll be ready at the appropriate time to get back
(03:51):
out and make sure everyone knows that that Saint Pete
Clearwater is still shining.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
And in addition to that, we do.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Still have our our sales teams are our group's business team,
our sports teams, our film teams, our leisure teams. They're
still out in the market and they're still making sure
that they are messaging to the industry, to the trade
that at the appropriate time, when the beaches are ready,
that we're going to be here to welcome them and
they're going to get the experience that they've come to love.
(04:21):
And they're also letting them know that again. You know,
maybe you had a trip planned to a Barrier Island
and you still want to come down. We're steering in
the right direction to go to a different location here
in the destination where you can enjoy yourself. So we're
booking business out in the future, and we're working with
event organizers, with hoteliers, and with meeting planners to make
(04:45):
sure when the time is right, they'll know and we'll
get them back here and it'll be better than ever.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
And also wanted to ask you, obviously a lot of
people in the hospitality industry are very much affected by this,
by the hotels not being open for business. Uh. How
how are people in in that industry doing right now?
And what's what's out there if there are resources out
there to help them.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Folks are in the process of taking care of their homes.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
And and you.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
Know, obviously hospitality tourism industries are number one industry here
in Penalas County. So those folks that rely on those
businesses being up and running, they're they're they're taking care
of themselves, they're taking care of their homes, and we're
working closely to make sure we're pushing out messaging in
coordination with our Chambers of Commerce UH and employers that
(05:38):
they know where to get the assistance that's available to them.
So partnering with Economic Development here at Penelas County and
the chambers they're out there on the Barrier Islands, they've
set up a few different locations where they can go.
Folks can apply for whether it's individual assistants or business assistants,
(05:59):
all the recent sources out there. We've got one stop
shops so that that folks know if they're out of
work right now looking to see what assistance is available
and what's next, they can go there and they can
get the support and the help that they need.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
And quickly before you go, I want to acknowledge you
have a hashtag out that you're pushing out to social media,
that that hashtag is still shining and kind of give
us the nutshell of of of what that messaging is
to the folks who come and visit into the trade
and do everyone who likes Saint Pete clear Water in
the beaches.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
Yeah, I think it's an important message both to the
industry as well as the rest of the world, but
even more show our local businesses and residents in a
time like this, you know, they some folks have a
little bit of an uphill. It's a stressful time, so
we want to make sure that everyone knows that while
(06:55):
we're dealing with the impacts of this storm, Saint Pete
Clearwater is still shining and don't lose sight of that.
And we want to make sure that we're messaging that
inspiring the locals here, but also making sure that the
industry knows that we're not going anywhere and we're getting
to give us a little time and we'll be back
up to America's best beaches and the Saint Pete Clearwater
(07:17):
experience that everyone has become known to love.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Brian Lillwack as President and CEO of Visit Saint Pete Clearwater,
the tourism agency for Penelas County. Best of luck and
success to you and the community as recovery continues. And
thank you for joining us on Beyond the News.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Thanks for having me, Gordon, It's been a pleasure.
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