The Future of Columbia County Tourism with Cody Gray

In today's episode of The Gateway Connection Podcast, Joey O'Hern is joined by Cody Gray, Executive Director of Columbia County Tourist Development Council. Listen in as they discuss the effects of tourism on our local economy, and how they will shape the future of Lake City.

Thank you for listening today, and thank you to Security Safe for their support of the Gateway Connection Podcast! For more ways to connect with us, visit lnk.bio/gatewaychamber.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

A lot of times people don't realize what's off that 75 corridor. And so it's marketing to that pass-through visitor to say, hey, you know, stop here on your way down, spend a couple of days, or on your way back, spend a couple of days, extend your trip. It's us being very strategic and us being very targeted toward these visitors and letting them know and educating them on Lake City. Sure, you know it as your pass-through destination, but let me tell you the other side of Lake City that you don't know about.

SPEAKER_01 0:23

Welcome to the Gateway Connection Podcast, where we connect you with the movers, shakers, and leaders shaping our region. I'm Joey O'Hearn, Executive Director of the Chamber, and your host. Let's get started. We're joined today by Cody Gray, a Lake City native who's made a big impact in the tourism world and is now back home making that impact locally. Cody most recently served as president and CEO of Louisiana's Cajun Bayou Tourism, where he spent nearly six years leading the destination through major growth while also navigating challenges like COVID-19 and Hurricane Ida. During his time there, he oversaw the development of a state-of-the-art visitor center, launched strategic marketing campaigns, and helped position the region for long-term success. His work hasn't gone unnoticed, earning honors like Rising Star of the Year and CVB of the Year from the Wheatziana Travel Association, along with the Pelican of Distinction Award. Cody continues to stay active in the industry, serving as treasurer of the Southeast Tourism Society and contributing to Destinations International Small Destination Marketing Organization Task Force. And with more than a decade of experience, he actually got his start right here in Columbia County. And now he's back bringing that experience full circle. Cody, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_00 1:35

Thank you for having me. Happy to be here.

SPEAKER_01 1:37

We're excited to have you. I know you've been here a few months at that side. Yeah, it's been it's been a couple of months now. Yes. Settling in. So for those of you out there who are listening who may not know, Cody, tell them exactly what a tourism development director do in a community like ours.

SPEAKER_00 1:49

Sure. So that is, you know, it's a very broad stroke question. I'm going to condense this down into some bite-sized pieces. So essentially, you know, our mission at the Columbia County Tourist Development Council, or as we're branded, Visit Lake City, is very short and sweet. And our mission is to position Columbia County as a year-round regional, national, and international tourism destination. And how we do that is through quality marketing programs such as our digital and print marketing efforts, our public relations, sales, sports tourism, education, advocacy, and outreach are all ways that our staff works to position Columbia County as a leader in Florida and in the southeastern United States as a destination where people love to live, work, play, and visit.

SPEAKER_01 2:31

For sure. What's one thing about tourism in Columbia County that would surprise people? Because I think people either think it's just sports, it's just the springs, but what do you think is the thing that surprises people when it comes to tourism in Columbia County as a whole?

SPEAKER_00 2:43

So I think, you know, in talking with a lot of our tourism partners in the county and speaking with a lot of just residents, a lot of times you don't see the visitor, right? You don't realize that those are visitors that are coming through here. And so when you say, you know, when you say we have a lot of tourism, people kind of look at you and go, people visit here, people come through here. And it's crazy because so many, and I talk about this a lot, is that so many businesses thrive on tourism. And in fact, most of the restaurants and the festivals and events that we all love and enjoy would not happen if it were not for visitation. Absolutely. There's not enough local business to sustain those entities. I'll use the Gateway Art Gallery as a prime example for that. Did you know 40% of their business there is from visitors? Without tourism and without that visitation, 40% of their business would go away and they'd have to shut their doors. I mean, that's just the real stats that people don't get to see a lot of because you you're, you know, a lot of times you're going and coming. You may see an out-of-town license plate at a hotel and go, oh, yeah, they're passing through. And we do. We get a lot of people passing through to Disney and Orlando and Universal, but we also have a lot of people that do come here for these wonderful natural resources that we do have. And we are still an authentic natural part of Florida that drives people here. So I think people would be surprised at the amount of visitation that drives business here in our county.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

For sure. I mean, I know that I have friends throughout the state who their kids are athletes, and the amount of text that I get being the chamber guy, who are like, we're playing ball in Lake City this weekend. Where should we go? A lot of people don't realize those people are spending numerous nights in our community. Oh, yes. Spending a lot of money outside of the ball field and hotel rooms here in our community. And there's a significant financial impact. Most people think Florida tourism is going to see the big mouse down south. But that is tourism, and that financial impact is huge here in our community.

SPEAKER_00 4:23

That's right. No, and that's the reason why your local tourist development and local CVB is so important is because you know you do have those major players like Orlando and Miami and Fort Lauderdale and Tampa. And yeah, you've got the mouse, you've got universal, you've got all the great theme parks and the beaches and all of that. But where your local tourist development and where your local CVB really steps in is giving your local businesses a voice. Without us being able to tell the story of Columbia County and Lake City, without us being able to tell the story of why you should visit here, why you should work here, why you may want to raise a family here, why this area of Florida is so important and such a great place to visit and to work and to live without your local TDC and CVB telling that story, that story goes away. And you have no competition on that big stage when it comes to competing with those Orlando's and Tampas of the world.

SPEAKER_01 5:08

Who obviously have much larger, more significant budgets too. I mean, I think I saw it one time, I think Visa Orlando was dropping like hundreds and millions of dollars. Oh, yeah. All just pushing people to Orlando. Yes. What are the biggest drivers bringing people into Columbia County right now? Is that sports, outdoor recreation, events? What's the largest driver for this season?

SPEAKER_00 5:27

So sure. I mean, so right, no surprise, we have a lot of sports visitation here. Sports tourism is a major, major market, not just in Florida, but in the entire country and really globally. Sports tourism is a trend, you know, the U.S. Travel Association and Destinations International and other organizations have really highlighted as one of the top, you know, trends in tourism. And it has sustained that way, even in a post-COVID world. You know, most of our audiences and everything kind of changed post-COVID. People started really looking at authentic experiences. Where can I, not the touristy places, not the places I hear about all the time. Yeah. Where can I go and connect with a destination? Where can I see myself becoming a local for the next two, three, four days? And I think that's where we're really able to shine, is that we do have a lot of great sports tourism that comes here. We have a lot of great outdoor recreation with our rivers and our springs. We have a lot of people that come in for agritourism as well. I mean, people may not think of it, but driving these country roads and seeing the wildflowers on the side of the road, people drive here just to see that. People do come here to see because from where a lot of these visitors are coming from, they don't have that. They don't see that on a regular basis. But back to the drivers here, those are all main drivers, but it is in a post-COVID world those authentic and meaningful experiences. And that's, you know, why we certainly don't have the budgets of an Orlando, right? We are able to capitalize, though, on those unique, down home, natural Florida, original Florida type of experiences here.

SPEAKER_01 6:49

I know at the chamber, the amount of walking traffic we get is substantial. And we thought it would be her off post-COVID. It has not. But it is a lot of people who come and say that we're spending a couple of days in the area, that they don't want the chain restaurant, the typical, you know, mall they want through the locally owned restaurants, what are the best parks, et cetera? So yeah, it's all very true.

SPEAKER_00 7:09

Yeah, and then and too, even our pass-through market. So, of course, like I said earlier, we do have a lot of people passing through on I-10 and I-75. And it's us marketing to them to say, hey, do you realize what's off the I-75 corridor? Like I know you see the hotels and the restaurants there a lot, but do you realize we have an incredible downtown? Do you realize we have all these great springs, these great rivers you can get on hike and kike? We have recreation just like at places like Alligator Park. We have phenomenal county parks that are that are well maintained, great places to fish. We have the Osceola National Forest. I mean, a lot of times people don't realize what's off that 75 corridor. And so it's marketing to that pass-through visitor to say, hey, you know, stop here on your way down, spend a couple of days, or on your way back, spend a couple of days, extend your trip. Those types of travelers are just as important.

SPEAKER_01 7:50

And that's actually one of my questions. How do we convert those pass-through visitors to overnight stays?

SPEAKER_00 7:54

And there you go. Uh, you know, that's a lot of what we market to do through a lot of our public relations, through a lot of our digital marketing. We do a lot of target marketing, a lot of geo marketing to visitors on I-75, I-10 that says, you know, here's all of these great things to do here. Here's itineraries, here's trip ideas, here are all of the great things that are going on downtown. Here's our festivals and events. People love festivals and events. It's one of the top drivers that do bring people here to our destination. And so, you know, working with our tourism partners at the city of Lake City and at, you know, even our county government and other organizations in Columbia County that put on festivals and events, working with them to help them promote and amplify their voice. You know, because a lot of times most of these events have their budget set on putting on this event. It takes a lot, as you know, a lot of manpower and money to put on a festival and event. So we're really able to help either that through our sponsorship funding or through our marketing and outreach, we're able to really help amplify those voices. So it's us being very strategic and us being very targeted toward these visitors and letting them know and educating them on Lake City. Sure, you know it as your pass-through destination, but let me tell you the other side of Lake City that you don't know about.

SPEAKER_01 9:00

And specifically the other side of Lake City that a lot of just local residents don't know about. Yeah. That it is, like you say, you don't necessarily know who the visitor is. That's right. It's interesting talking to a lot of our chair members who are either hoteliers or restaurants, and they're like, this week we had this. I mean, I just talked to a hotelier who was talking about this episode record now and we'll air later, who they're preparing for like the spillover of those who are attending a Morgan Wallen concert in Gainesville. Yes. Absolutely. And that is tourism, and that obviously plays into our local economy. That's right. So for a small business owner listening, how can they better position themselves to benefit from local tourism traffic?

SPEAKER_00 9:34

Sure. So I think, you know, you hear it all the time, and I, you know, this is I'm gonna preach a little bit and then I'm gonna I'll get further into it, is that, you know, really working your own media channels, such as your social media accounts, your website, and so forth, we know it. We hear it all the time, right? Any conference you go to or any educational class you go to is really, you know, saying work your own own media channels. You know, and I think a lot of times a lot of the residents and a lot of business owners, to your point, and that's something that is is gonna be a major goal of ours in fiscal year 27 for us, is educating our local residents about what the tourist development does. And I think a lot of times we have had several that stopped in in the last couple of weeks that said, I didn't even realize we have a small visitor center here. And we do. If you know where the supervisor of elections office is on that 90 side right there, there's an awning. We're putting in some new signs out front to really showcase where we are, but we have a small visitor center there for people to come in and learn about it.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

It's very well done.

SPEAKER_00 10:23

It's a beautiful little space. And so, but to the point of the tourist development, a lot of people do not understand what we do. We we levy a 5% occupancy tax here inside Columbia County on all Hotel Moto stays. We don't get paid by the local taxpayer. We don't levy a tax locally at all. In fact, it is the visitor that we get here that funds our organization. And we invest that money back into our marketing, our outreach, our public relations, our festivals and events, and all of the great product that we're able to create here in Columbia County that benefits the resident, right? Quality of life as much as it benefits the visitor. Right. And so I always love to tell people that, you know, we're not funded by you, the visitor. The more visitors we get, the more money we're able to reinvest. And in fact, it saves each household in Columbia County $300 a year in taxes. Right. Tourism goes away, you now have to pay $300 more to you in taxes. And so I think that is something that I really want to really hammer home to Columbia County, the importance of tourism and really highlight the role that the tourist development plays. But I think that is one way that you can position your business is working with your local TDC and making sure that you're listed on our website, you're included in our marketing materials. We know about your events or things that you have going on so that we're able, when we're talking to journalists or we're talking to members of the public or we're talking to visitors, we're able to share your information. We're able to put it out there in ways that you may not be able to do.

SPEAKER_01 11:45

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SPEAKER_00 12:28

Sure. So I think in my mind, a couple of points. One, education, right? I want a better standing in the community to know what the tourist development does and the important role that it plays in our community. I think that, of course, we want to enhance and expand our sports tourism opportunities. We have a great recreation complex at the Southside Sports Complex. The South Columbia Complex at Fort White is another great location that's done a lot of improvement there. One of our major capital projects that I hope to see done in the next three to five years is going to be the regional sports park, which we are currently finishing up some of the engineering for now. So hopefully very soon you'll see some announcements and progress moving forward on that regional 500-acre park. Very nice. Would love to see that developed and finished here in the next three to five years. And of course, you know, we've been very fortunate to have some really great, and you mentioned them earlier, some really great hoteliers here with Lake City Hotels and Morpheus Group and some other privately independently owned operations as well. And they do a phenomenal job. And I think further expansion of our hotel market is going to be needed to support these new infrastructure projects that we have going on. The city and the county both have expanded. We have more festivals and events now than we've ever had before. We have more attractions now than we've ever had before. I mean, look at the shops and things that are coming in to your downtown area and even to just Lake City as a whole. And so I think as the county and city grow responsibly, I think that that is a priority for us to grow our TDC to match those efforts as well as being able to fund and support these other major growth and expansion projects that I hope to see over the next three to five years. So our marketing, our outreach all needs to grow. Our operations will grow and our capital projects. I look forward to seeing those completed over the next three to five years as well.

SPEAKER_01 13:59

Absolutely. So where can people go to learn more or stay connected with what he's got going on?

SPEAKER_00 14:04

Sure. So that's pretty easy. We have an incredible website. Michelle Moore, who is our marketing manager, has done an incredible job in overhauling our website. It's new, it's fresh, it's very engaging. You can go to lakesityfl.com and that is going to give you all of the area information, things to see and do. Our weekly events are on there, signature events are on there, restaurant listings, places to stay. If you've got a group coming in, weddings coming in, there's information. It's a great resource for that. We do welcome bags and stuff for any of your family reunions and people that are coming in. I think that's a good resource to know. And then follow along on our social media. We do have Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Do follow along. Of course, that is Visit Lake City. So if you type in Visit Lake City, you can find any of our social media handles there. We update regularly, we post regularly. Always happy to have some new followers.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

And last question we ask all of our guests this as we wrap up the episode. What is one business or leadership tip you live by or learned the hard way?

SPEAKER_00 14:59

Communication. And I know that sounds probably communication. Communication. I know it sounds kind of generic, right? But I will tell you from working in some of the environments I've worked in, living through some major crises when your home, your visitor center, your offices are completely destroyed, and you you're left with a team and an organization that is now homeless. You're homeless. What do you do? And I think that in everything that I've faced or have gone through, it is I'm going to probably throw another one in here too. And you asked me only for one, I'm going to throw a second one in here too at the end of this. Because they say, because they segue. Is communication is absolutely key in everything, whether it's crisis communication, whether it is just as simple as reaching out to someone to say hello, keeping a relationship going, keeping that interest going. For sure. Communication and never never just assuming. I've always found that no matter what it is, overcommunicate. I'd rather have too much information than not enough. And having a team that supports you and and and you, vice versa, supporting them. Absolutely. The people that work with you and the people you work with are vital. And you are one individual. I'm fortunate enough to be the head. I have an incredible team that does the work. And they are the ones that truly need to be recognized. And I think at the end of the day, you always have to give credit back to where credit is due. And that is to the team that you build and to the team that supports you because you want to be surrounded by people who are smarter than you. Absolutely. And, you know, I think that that's something that anybody in any role should always keep in mind is that you're only as great as who you surround yourself with.

SPEAKER_01 16:34

For sure. Well, Cody, thank you so much for being here. And of course, we always appreciate you, your insight and wisdom. And hey, listen, if you're looking to learn more about all the great things you do in Columbia County, Cody told you how you can get involved in that way and find out more information.

SPEAKER_00 16:47

Thanks again, Cody. Thanks so much for having me. We look forward to it.

SPEAKER_01 16:51

Thank you again to Security Safe for their support of the Gateway Connection podcast. And until next time, don't forget to subscribe, leave us a review, and share it with a friend. For ways to stay connected, be sure to visit the links in the show notes, and we'll catch you here next time on the Gateway Connection Podcast.