Rotary Club of Clearwater Meets With Director of Visit St. Pete/Clearwater
Pinellas County Commissioner Neil Brickfield, Clearwater Rotary President Ann Kerr, and D.T. Minich, Executive Director of Visit St. Pete/Clearwater. Recently, Pinellas County Commissioner Neil Brickfield hosted D.T. Minich, Executive Director of Visit St. Pete/Clearwater. Minich shared insight into the objectives and current happenings of the local tourism board. The primary objective of Visit St. Pete/Clearwater is to get people outside of the area to visit here. Visit St. Pete/Clearwater advertises worldwide. The organization has worldwide offices, including: Frankfurt, Germany; London, England; and Sao Paulo, Brazil. In keeping with the current economic climate and worldwide misconceptions regarding the BP oil spill, our local tourism board has introduced the "Staycation." The Staycation markets to those that live within driving distance, including advertisements in the St. Pete Times, Tampa Tribune, and local radio. Exciting current happenings include the filming of the movie about Winter the Dolphin of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. The film, starring Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick Jr., and Ashley Judd, was in grave danger of being filmed in Georgia. Thanks to the efforts of Visit St.Pete/Clearwater and others in matching incentive packages for filming, the film will rightfully take place at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. The 3D film is expected to be released as a Thanksgiving or Christmas movie in 2011. Visit St. Pete/Clearwater was also instrumental in writing and winning the bid for the GOP national convention in 2012. Winning this bid is already having an economic impact on the area, as full time staff already moved in as part of preparations. The estimated economic impact is $170 million. Sporting events are also often solicited by our tourism board including: lacrosse, volleyball and, paddleboard. Visit St. Pete/Clearwater is also excited about the prospect of a World Series in St. Pete this year.
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