In years gone by, areas which relied almost entirely on tourism for their economic wellbeing generally relied on a bit of advertising and some good weather to maximise visitor numbers. Market research was pretty rudimentary and amounted to the sort of simple maxim which Mayor Vaughn of the fictional Amity Island resort might have used in the movie Jaws. A dead killer shark meant the visitors would come. A live killer shark meant that they wouldn’t.

How times have changed. Today, even relatively small tourist boards retain some of the best market research resources available and adopt a thoroughly professional approach to promoting their resort areas.

We were amazed to see the detailed information produced by just one such entrepreneurial organisation covering the Bradenton area of West Florida. The resort is located just south of Tampa Bay and fronts directly on to the Gulf of Mexico. There are two island resorts which are connected to the mainland by bridges and the bureau was able, for example, to identify the importance of the Internet and Social Media in directing visitors to both islands.

So far in 2012, 57.2 % of those making reservations did so online while a massive 89.1 % had researched information about the area on the net. The data also listed in order of preference each factor which appealed to those visitors in the first place – beautiful beaches; good food and restaurants; clear, blue water; complete relaxation; safe destination; and reasonably priced quality vacation rental properties. If that wasn’t enough detail for the clients who pay for all this information – presumably people like restaurateurs and rental property owners – we are also told to the nearest cent how much the average budget was for each visitor.

Since as many as 97 % of visitors were satisfied with their vacation, it is not surprising that two thirds of them had enjoyed a vacation there before.

What is particularly encouraging for the wider Bradenton area is that, despite the lacklustre economic situation, tourism increased by no less than 11.6 % in May compared with the same month in 2011. The market research firm who assemble all this data had somehow determined that 251,400 visitors stayed between January and May 2012 compared with 228,000 in the same period in 2011.

Maybe this success isn’t such a coincidence. If the local business people are smart enough to engage in this amount of data capture and analysis, they are probably equally professional when it comes to playing host to all their guests from home and abroad.

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You can find out more about Bradenton Beach vacation rentals on Anna Maria Island FL by visiting this link: http://www.annamaria.com

Author Bio: You can find out more about Bradenton Beach vacation rentals on Anna Maria Island FL by visiting this link:www.annamaria.com

Category: Travel
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