Greetings from the Gulf Coast Capital!

Another year is officially in the books. Corpus Christi tourism was a roller coaster this year while still trying to come out of the pandemic. The fall and winter saw some slight declines in overall overnight occupancy versus the prior year from spring through June pacing ahead of the rest of the state. The summer was slightly down vs last year, but hotel occupancy tax collections for the city’s fiscal year saw another record for the third year in a row. Those overnight visitors didn’t just sit in their hotel rooms, either. The USS Lexington Museum experienced their highest attendance in the last 26 years and surpassed the 9 million visitor mark over Memorial Day weekend while their neighbor next door, the Texas State Aquarium, also experienced record days and weekends. Make sure to read our monthly data report in the link below. It has great insight directly from the hotels and the top tourism economist in the country. 

Now,  we will focus on the next year where we have another highly detailed strategy to bring record visitation to your businesses. We are excited to introduce our new two-year business plan. Please take a look and familiarize yourselves with our plan and find ways to get involved. We work for you and want to ensure we are maximizing our relationships to get more visitors and dollars through your doors. Our two newest initiatives, the Corpus Christi Sports Commission and Film & Music Commission are at full strength with great volunteer leadership on the advisory councils. Our primary mission going into this new year is to attract and find tourist, sports, and convention events, along with festivals and film opportunities that will come from September to March. We will continue to tell the world about our great beaches and experiences during the summer, but the real growth opportunities are to fill hotel rooms, restaurants, experiences, and more during the non-traditional times of year when you need it the most. 

Finally, I invite you to come along side of us through partnership and collaboration, starting at this year's State of Tourism Gala and Awards Ceremony on November 16th, 2023! Together, we can achieve even more in the year to come.  

Breaking Waves: Dive into the Top 3 Tourism Tidbits for Corpus Christi! 🏝

• Monthly Data Snapshot: Don't miss out on the latest tourism insights! Check out Visit Corpus Christi's monthly tourism data snapshot now and ensure your business decisions are well-informed and backed up by the data.  
• FY24 Business Plan: The Visit Corpus Christi team hits the ground running with an unveiling of a new business plan to begin implementation. Check out the bold and exciting initiatives that the team has committed to pursuing and achieving in the next two years here.
• 2023 Annular Eclipse: Visit Corpus Christi along with the City of Corpus Christi and other key partners and stakeholders are gearing up for the Annular Eclipse on October 14th. Learn about the events, safety, and where you can catch a glimpse of the celestial phenomenon here, in the Gulf Coast Capital. 

Organizational & Operations

• Ending the fiscal year on a high note, President and CEO of Visit Corpus Christi, Brett Oetting had the opportunity to meet with U.S. elected officials to advocate for various growth opportunities in Corpus Christi as a part of an annual legislative trip in Washington D.C.
• Part of Visit Corpus Christi's community advocacy focuses on further educating special interest groups on the power of travel and the hospitality industry in Corpus Christi. This month, Brett had the opportunity to present to a group of realtors in order to give them further insight on what is coming down the pipeline for the Gulf Coast Capital and it's leading tourism organization! 

Marketing & Communications 

• The Visit Corpus Christi PR team's concluded the last media mission for the fiscal year, conducting it virtually with a group of six journalists representing both regional and national publications like Southern Living, Texas Highways, and more. Despite the digital format, the event promises to deliver an insightful experience, showcasing the brand's remarkable stories.
• Visit Corpus Christi achieved peer recognition by winning the TACVB award in the specific budget category for the outstanding marketing campaign at this year's TACVB award ceremony. This is a regional award highlighting the marketing team's excellent tourism marketing efforts. 
• Visit Corpus Christi, in partnership with Travel Texas is participating in the Spring/Summer 2023 co-op leisure campaign, targeting Texas key markets and surrounding out-of-state markets from June to September 30th. The previous campaign yielded 4.1 million impressions through a digital media mix of programmatic stories, banner ads and online video. 
• Congratulation are in order for our Marketing Manager, Savannah Garza for being recognized as an industry professional and presenting at this year's Crowdriff’s SEE National Conference on travel wellness and sustainability. Savannah highlighted the organization's efforts through the incorporation of content that allures to our destination's sustainable efforts and furthermore, showcasing the how and why to other professionals from around the country. 
• America Segura, was set to make waves at the SATW Annual Conference as she orchestrated an impressive lineup of 20 meetings with journalists from various influential media outlets such as National Geographic, AFAR, Fodor's, Shondaland, and other top publications, showcasing Visit Corpus Christi's prowess in shaping impactful travel narratives and connections within the industry.

Convention Sales & Services

• The Sales team represented Visit Corpus Christi at the Texas Society of Association Executives' New Ideas Annual Conference in Fort Worth, TX, where Visit Corpus Christi sponsored an attendee activation in the Experience Hall. This three-day conference convenes association professionals and suppliers for concurrent breakout sessions, keynotes, and networking opportunities, fostering discussions on various industry topics.

• Travis represented Visit Corpus Christi at the HPN Annual Partner Conference in Tampa, FL. The conference hosted over 600 attendees and consisted of a reverse buyer style partner fair where the team met with HPN planners appointments that resulted in verbal interest in Corpus Christi. HPN associates represent over 7,500 clients and send more than 13,000 RFPs annually with a client mix of 55% Corporate, 25% Association, and 20% SMERF.

Experience & Visitor Services

• Visit Corpus Christi's Experience team is thrilled to announce the debut of their captivating new fall retail line, capturing the essence of coastal charm with a seasonal twist. From cozy coastal-themed sweaters to unique beach-inspired accessories, visitors can now take a piece of Corpus Christi's vibrant culture home with them this autumn. [Shop here]
• Taking part in community events is extremely important to fostering a collaborative workforce. At last month's YOU!Choose Expo, the team enthusiastically showcased the PATH workforce initiative, inspiring attendees to get involved in tourism and hospitality early on, while also successfully recruiting a wave of new volunteer Gulf Coasters. 

Sports Commission

• In September, Sports Sales Manager, Bre Martinez embarked on a journey to South Bend, Indiana, with the primary purpose of participating in the S.P.O.R.T.S Relationship Conference. During this event, she was scheduled to engage in meetings with 12 distinct sports planners. Furthermore, she seized the valuable opportunity to foster connections and expand her professional network by interacting with approximately 40 to 50 additional industry peers and stakeholders throughout the duration of the conference.
• The Corpus Christi Sports Commission teamed up with the Corpus Christi United Chamber of Commerce for the Conquer the Coast event. The commission provided value by providing volunteers during packet pick-up for around 900 participants and in addition, spearheaded collaboration within our in-house marketing and communication team to provide promotional support to really amped up the event's visibility! 
• The 2023 Schlotzsky's Islander Classic, hosted by Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, was a major event as the Corpus Christi Sports Commission was glad to be a part of it in an aim to further develop the relationship with Islander Athletics. One of the services provided included over 100 CCTX swag bags being distributed to all participating teams. These bags were filled with CCTX gear and a handy visitor guide to entice a longer stay for the athletes and their families. The involvement aimed to go beyond just sports – and into truly showcasing the communities support and involvement.