Tough Times Don't Stop Tourists

Suya Davenport stepped into the executive director’s position at the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau last June in a challenging tourism environment. The past few years have brought water-quality and beach problems in Southwest Florida that made national news. In addition, heightened security measures reportedly are chilling international travelers’ desires to visit the United States, and a softening economy is expected to affect Americans’ vacation plans.

But Davenport, who began her career in hospitality nearly 20 years ago with the Lee County VCB before moving on to senior management positions with The Ritz-Carlton Hotels and LXR Luxury Resorts, is undaunted in her optimism.

We asked her about some of those challenges and how the VCB is taking them on.

What trends do you see emerging in local tourism?
Going green. That’s been a very big push. When meeting planners are looking at hosting meetings in different areas, they want to know that things are recycled and that water conservation is going on. Even for [state-level] governmental meetings, they want to look at hotels with green certifications first for conferences and meetings.

How are we meeting that in Lee County?
[Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa in Estero, the Bridgewater Inn in Matlacha and the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Fort Myers] are certified with our Florida lodging program for green certification. Several of our hotel partners are looking into going green. We’re really trying to encourage that.

There have been issues with visas and security for international visitors. Is that still a concern, and have those travelers come back?
We’re always perceived as a friendly country once you’re here, but there still seems to be a perception that upon arrival, the new security rules have made it a little tougher for visitors.