Sarasota receives promotion

Visit Sarasota County’s partnership with the Baltimore Orioles has increased tourism interest from the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, said VSC President Virginia Haley during a Tourism Development Council meeting yesterday.

The promotional contract is only for the regular season, however, but Haley said Orioles staff approached the former Convention and Visitors Bureau about what baseball analysts considered unlikely in March. The team’s turnaround after 14 consecutive losing seasons means Sarasota County will get more marketing as the team moves into the postseason — for free.

Regular season advertisement included banners bearing the organization’s name behind home plate, and a special day when fans got Sarasota-themed swag. The contract is just one aspect of Visit Sarasota County’s strategy in the 2013 fiscal year, in which its budget grew about 10% to $4.6 million.

For more about Visit Sarasota County’s strategy pick up a copy of the Oct. 4 issue of the Pelican Press.