Erin Duggan, President and CEO, Visit Sarasota

May 2026 — In an interview with Invest:, Erin Duggan, president and CEO of Visit Sarasota County,  emphasized the importance of prioritizing quality tourism and resident satisfaction to  sustain long-term regional growth. “We’d rather attract fewer tourists who spend more  money than large volumes of visitors who spend less,” said Duggan.

What changes have had the most impact on Visit Sarasota County in recent years?

One major development is the opening of the new Mote Science Education Aquarium (SEA). It’s  a $130 million plus project located right off the interstate, and the architecture is truly  remarkable. It doesn’t look like any aquarium you’ve seen before. It’s a huge investment for the  community, offering significant value not just to tourists but residents as well. What sets it apart  is that it’s primarily a research facility. Every exhibit is rooted in education, with dedicated  classrooms and ongoing research in areas like coral reef restoration, cancer studies, and  sustainable seafood. It’s truly a state-of-the-art facility. 

Also worth mentioning is the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. While it’s been open for over a  year, it remains the only net-positive botanical garden and restaurant in existence. The exhibits continually rotate, making each visit a new experience. They’ll be launching a 2nd phase of this  project soon, growing the excitement and their offerings, even more. Both Mote and Selby  represent substantial investments in our region and serve as exceptional community assets. 

How are you prioritizing visitor spending and visitor volume? 

Resident sentiment plays a critical role in what we do as a destination marketing organization.  It’s not just about increasing hotel stays; it’s about ensuring that our residents understand and  appreciate the value tourism brings to their daily lives. If residents are happy, they’re more likely  to welcome and engage positively with visitors. 

That’s why we focus on quality over quantity. We’d rather attract fewer tourists who spend more  money than large volumes of visitors who spend less. To track our progress, we rely heavily on  data and research. We analyze where our visitors are coming from and identify which markets  yield the highest spending. Based on those insights, we double down on the markets performing  well — what we often refer to as A/B testing. 

This work isn’t done in isolation. We collaborate with over 450 community partners, including  hotel sales teams and local chambers and alliances, to align our efforts. We target a diverse mix  of visitor types—sports events and training, association meetings, business travel, and more.  We even coordinate with our economic development partners to attract visitors whose industries  align with our region’s long-term goals. Visitation, after all, is often the front door to economic  development. 

How are you continuing to leverage arts, culture, and community identity to attract both  first-time and repeat visitors? 

That ties back again to our residents. We want them to feel proud to live along Florida’s Cultural  Coast. When they genuinely buy into that identity, it resonates more powerfully in our external  messaging. Arts and culture significantly contribute to residents’ mental health and quality of life,  which is why we aim to inspire that pride internally before promoting it externally. Sarasota County is home to a rich mix of both professional and amateur arts organizations.  Investment in the arts continues to grow.

For example, recently I attended a ceremony in  Venice, where the community theater is undergoing a major renovation. It’s been closed for a  couple of years due to storm damage, and the surrounding restaurants saw a 30-40% decline in  business as a result. It just goes to show how much the arts and hospitality sectors are  intertwined—people go out to dinner, have drinks or dessert, and then see a show. Everyone is  excited about the Venice Theatre reopening, and it’s a great reminder of how essential the arts  are to our local economy and identity. 

How are you working with local businesses, educational institutions, or regional partners  to attract and retain skilled workers to support all these incredible initiatives? Workforce development is one of the biggest challenges we face, both locally and statewide. In  tourism, we know we have a responsibility to help address it. 

One way we contribute is by targeting a specific audience segment — people who might visit  Sarasota County with the intent of eventually relocating for work. It’s not a huge segment, but  it’s part of our strategic approach. Our website includes dedicated content under “Work Where You Want to Live,” which highlights our A+ healthcare and school systems, as well as the  unique characteristics of various neighborhoods across the county. 

We’re also committed to educating local youth about career opportunities in hospitality. There’s  a common misconception that hospitality jobs are low-wage, which isn’t necessarily true.  Whether you’re a GM at a luxury hotel, a restaurant manager, or a hospitality accountant,  there’s a wide range of well-paying career paths. Every fall, we partner with the State College of  Florida and Sarasota County Public Schools to host a Hospitality Day.

Hundreds of high school  students meet professionals across the industry to learn about the many possibilities. Even if these students don’t stay in Sarasota after graduation, we see it as a win if they enter  the hospitality industry anywhere. Other communities are doing the same, and we all benefit  from a more informed, mobile workforce. 

What trends are currently shaping Sarasota’s tourism market, and how are you adapting  to meet evolving visitor preferences? 

One noticeable shift is that trends don’t last as long as they used to. In the past, a trend might  have defined the year. Now, we see trends come and go in just three months. That volatility  means we have to constantly monitor and analyze data. You can’t just “set it and forget it.” We’ve adopted advanced platforms that give us real-time insight into visitor behavior. One  example is heat maps that help us identify day-trippers, overnight in-state visitors, and out-of state guests. We can link that data back to spending patterns and adjust our strategies  accordingly. 

So, what we’ve learned is that trends are short-lived, and success requires being nimble and  data-driven. 

What tools are you using to track data, such as heat maps and visitor analytics? One of our most effective tools is a platform called Zartico. We’ve been using it for about two  years now, thanks to forward-thinking support from our county commission. What’s great about Zartico is that it eliminates guesswork. We’re able to analyze real-time, real life data, which is critical because our county is geographically large and diverse. What’s  happening in one area of our County may be completely different 40 miles away on the other  end of our County. 

Our website is also adaptive. It responds to user behavior and browsing history, which helps us  show people the content that interests them most. So someone interested in arts and culture  might see very different homepage content than someone who prefers outdoor recreation. It’s  all about personalization and relevance. 

What are your main goals and strategic priorities for the next five years?

Last year, we had just completed a strategic plan that takes us through 2030. We’re already  deep into executing that plan, which was built with input from our community and local  businesses. 

Our key priorities begin with maintaining positive resident sentiment toward tourism. We never  want to take local support for granted. Tourism helps keep restaurants open, arts venues  funded, and facilities like our new aquarium operational. Without it, we wouldn’t have the infrastructure that attracts top-tier doctors, teachers, and other professionals to live here. It’s all  interconnected. 

Another major priority is emergency preparedness. Of course, we respond to storms, but we  also monitor local events and conditions to ensure that what we communicate on Visit Sarasota County’s website, VisitSarasota.com, is accurate and transparent. Authenticity is everything. If  we’re promoting sunny skies on social media, but it’s storming, that’s a credibility issue. We also  monitor what’s happening in the markets where we advertise and will pause paid media if  necessary. 

Lastly, collaboration is essential. We stay closely aligned with our tourism partners and business  community to ensure we’re complementing their efforts and helping them succeed. That’s how  we move the needle together. 

At the core of all this is marketing, whether through PR, social media, sales, or website content.  We tailor these efforts to serve various audience segments, including arts and culture  enthusiasts, outdoor lovers, sports travelers, meeting planners, and potential new residents.  That’s the work we’re committed to every single day.