St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Florida, has always been known for its great beaches. But the (relatively) new guy in charge of promoting the destination says there are many other reasons Canadian agents can book their clients on trips to the region.
Visit St. Pete/Clearwater rolled into Toronto this week to meet with the trade and talk about what’s new and great in the area. Open Jaw caught up with VSPC President and CEO Brian Lowack at a Toronto Blue Jays-Tampa Bay Rays game (don’t ask about the result) on 23JUL for a one-on-one chat.
Q. Great to meet you, Brian. You started fairly recently, right?
A. Well, actually, it was about a year ago. I was in my office the other day and one of the staff came running in. “You gotta come,” they said. I was figuring there was some big problem, so I followed them down the hall, and they had a big cake for me. “Happy one-year anniversary,” they said. I had no idea it had been a year. (Laughs).
Q. That’s really nice. VSPC has been a favourite Canadian destination for years. How do you work with Canadian advisors?
A. Rosemarie Payne (Director of Leisure Travel) and her team work closely with Canadian agents to educate them about the destination. We offer online training programs, and, of course, we love to bring agents down to show them the destination. And it’s such an exciting time. We’re really in a period of evolution, so no matter what price point you’re looking at we have something to offer. Rose and her team do a great job.”
Q. I’ve read about some new properties on offer. Can you tell me more about those?
A. There’s a new JW Marriott at Clearwater Beach. Opal Sands is opening Opal Sol right across the street from their existing property. So that’s going to be a great resort, with a ton of meeting space and high-end rooms. You can go back and forth between them, and they all have waterfront views. The restaurant at JW Marriott, Latitude 28, is the talk of the town.
Q. You’ve always had luxury products to offer, including the Don Cesar and Renaissance Vinoy in St. Pete, but there seem to be more high-end hotels of late, and those are good for advisors to sell. Is that right?
A. Absolutely. Down at Sirata Beach Resort in St. Pete, they’re adding a JW Marriott. And the TradeWinds Resort, our largest property in St. Pete, is undergoing a huge renovation and expansion, with 600 added rooms. That’ll be another high-end luxury resort. We haven’t had too many of those before, but now we do.
Q. The Indy race is coming up?
A. We had that in March. We get about 250,000 people down for that, with 20,000 hotel rooms. That’s a good one. The golf tournaments are big, too. We have the PGA Tour event every year in spring at Innisbrook (north of Dunedin). That’s always a big one. We also have the Annika tournament on the LPGA Tour at the Pelican in Belleair. And this year we had the Aramco tournament, which is like the LIV Tour for female golfers, at Feather Sound Country Club in Clearwater. So that’s three big golf tournaments.
Q. VSPC also has a ton of cultural offerings, doesn’t it? Places like the Dali Museum.
A. The Dali Museum is the largest collection of Dali’s works outside of Spain. When I get back I’ll be taking a contract to our board to provide $25 million towards a $60 million expansion of the Dali Museum. It’s going to double in size. The Chihuly Collection wants to do a $30 million expansion. We have more museums coming online. The St. Petersburg arts and culture scene is bursting at the seams.
Q. I haven’t seen the new pier in St. Pete since it opened. What can you tell me about it?
A. The new pier is great. You can walk, you can fish. There’s a rooftop tiki bar, a beautiful restaurant with 360-degree views of the bay and downtown St. Petersburg, with glass from floor to ceiling. It’s my favourite spot to take folks from out of town for lunch. There’s beer and wine. There’s a splash pad. They activate with live music out there. They’ve got artwork, and we’re working to bring live concerts.
Q. There’s also talk of a new stadium for the Rays, isn’t there?
A. St. Pete city council approved it last week. Next Tuesday, the board of county commissioners hopes to finalize the deal. There’s $322 million in tourism bed tax dollars to fund that stadium. As our visitors come down, we invest that tax money into things that will bring more people to the region. It will have a fixed roof, but it’s going to be beautiful. It’s on the same site, but it’ll be built on the existing parking lot. It’s part of a $6.5 billion downtown redevelopment. It’s the largest development project Florida has seen. Tampa’s redevelopment was $2.5 billion. I’ve you’ve seen Tampa has done (LINK), it’s gorgeous. We’re going to do the same thing. We’re looking at some luxury brands, maybe some residences and hotels, meeting spaces, and concert spaces. It’s been hard for us to communicate the impact it will have. It’s an opportunity to bring high-end performers and events.
Q. What do you think would surprise people about VSPC?
A. When people think of us, they think of Clearwater Beach, and rightfully so. We’re America’s Best Beach. But I don’t think people know we have 24 distinct destinations, and 35 miles of beach, with 10 beach communities. You start at the north with Tarpon Springs, the largest concentration of Greek people outside Greece, with tremendous food. You’ve got Dunedin and Clearwater and Caladesi Island. And then you’ve got Belleair, Redington, and Madeira, where you can get an Air BnB or a condo and live like a local. It’s a more relaxed vibe. You’ve got Fort De Soto Park, which is my favourite spot in the country. Clearwater often has a lot of people, but you can go to Fort De Soto and have the whole beach to yourself.
Q. There are also fun places like Whimzeyland, that crazy art house in Safety Harbor, and downtown Dunedin.
A. Dunedin has the Pinellas Trail for cycling and walking. It goes through the entire country, and Dunedin really represents what that trail is supposed to be. You can get off and try all the restaurants and shops. You’ve got the breweries. We have 45 local breweries on what we call the Gulp Coast. People think we’re just America’s best beaches, but we also have culture and great restaurants. We’ve never been known as a restaurant destination, but now we have top chefs coming to the city. The success Tampa has had has really spilled over. I tell people all over that we’re really complimentary with Tampa. We have the beaches, they have a great downtown, the Riverwalk and Busch Gardens. I tell everyone that the Tampa Bay area can compete with anyone.
