KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Kissimmee’s tourism industry, the largest employer in Osceola County, continues to play a vital role in supporting local families and businesses.
“Tourism is the number one employer in Osceola County. So, we have a lot of families that are dependent on tourism to pay their bills and put food on the table. So, it’s a very, very important industry for the area,” President and CEO of Experience Kissimmee DT Minich said.
During its annual meeting happening today, Experience Kissimmee, the city’s tourism marketing arm, will share where things stand right now in the city.
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
“The summer was really good,” Minich said. “There’s been national reports about Las Vegas being down 6%, that they’re kind of having a soft year. We’re actually up 6% year over year from last year. And we had a super good summer. We have really had really strong tax collections and occupancy and average daily rates.”
The meeting will also bring forth a new strategic plan for Experience Kissimmee.
“We redo our strategic plan every three years. So, the, the new one, we spent about nine months working with the board, with the county commissioners, with industry partners to get input. We launched the new strategic three-year plan in Oct. 1,” Minich explained. “It’s really not that much different from the past three years in terms of our sales and marketing and our target markets and things like that, but we wanted to give them an updated version of where we’re going and we’re envisioning for the next three years.”
Experience Kissimmee is also gaining influence on the state level. Minich was appointed to the Visit Florida board last summer, becoming the first member from Experience Kissimmee to serve on the board.
“I think that it’s great that Osceola County is going to have a voice at the table with Visit Florida,” Minich said. “It’s a great opportunity for me and it’s a great opportunity for the destination.”
Additionally, Experience Kissimmee will announce a new charitable partnership with a local charity they support year-round, extending their impact beyond tourism.
“We have a committee that that goes through applications, and we choose one charity each year that we make contributions to with our golf tournament and some other of our other fundraising activities,” Minich explained.
For more information on Experience Kissimmee, click here.