SWFL: The Next Vacation Hotspot

AFTER 0 HURRICANES MADE LANDFALL LAST YEAR. THE RAMIFICATIONS ARE BEING FELT DURING THE 2026 SPRING TOURISM SEASON. PLACES LIKELY COUNTY SAW A ROBUST GROWTH IN THEIR TOURISM WITH MANY VISITORS TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ENHANCED BEACH INFRASTRUCTURE AND PRISTINE WEATHER CONDITIONS. WGCUS TEDDY BYRNE HAS MORE ON HOW POTENTIAL TRAVELERS ARE FOCUSING IN ON SOUTHWEST FLORIDA AS THEIR PREFERRED VACATION DESTINATION >> SO EVEN THOUGH FOR US HERE IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA, THE SNOWBIRD SEASON HAS COME TO AN END. OUR AREA STILL RELIES ON TOURISM THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER MONTHS. THE STATE ECONOMICALLY VIABLE. AS YOU SEE TRAVELERS TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE INTERNET FOR THE BEST DEALS THEY CAN FIND WHEN IT COMES TO MAKING A TRIP TO SOUTHWEST FLORIDA. AND THEY'RE LOOKING FOR NEW TOOLS TO HELP THEM FIND THE BEST DEALS. AND ONE OF THE 4 LEADING EXPERTS IN HOW THIS HAPPENS IS JENNIFER JONES. JENNIFER, A GOOGLE SEARCH EXPERT, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US. IT'S NOT GOING TO BE HERE. SO BEFORE WE GET GOING INTO THE ECONOMICS, I THINK EVERYONE WILL HEAR. IT'S A A GOOGLE SEARCH EXPERT WILL ON THAT. BUT YOU ARE THE PROFESSIONAL WHEN IT COMES INTO THIS. SO HOW DID YOU GET INTO THAT POSITION? >> THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. I STUDIED REALLY HARD. NO KIDDING. ANYBODY CAN BE A GOOGLE SEARCH EXPERT. AS YOU NOTED. BUT IT IS PART OF MY MY JOB. AND WHAT I DO IS I ANALYZE THE ANONYMOUS AND AGGREGATE DATA THAT WE SIGNED ON A WEBSITE IS ACTUALLY AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE. AND THAT GOOGLE DOT COM SLASH TRENDS. YOU CAN GO LOOK AND SEE WHAT IS TRENDING IN YOUR AREA IN REAL TIME AND PART OF WHAT I DO IS TO STUDY THAT A LOT. >> ALSO DOWN IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA, IT'S NOT JUST THE DESTINATION OR PEOPLE IN THE U.S. AND IN OUR TOURISM INDUSTRY. WE BENEFIT FROM TRAVELERS ACROSS THE GLOBE TO FIND THEIR WAY HERE. SO WHAT ARE SOME OF THE TRENDS YOU'RE SEEING FOR OUR AREA IN YOUR POSITION? >> YEAH, I LOVE LOOKING UP CITIES AND TOWNS DATA. IT'S SUPER FUN. IT'S GREAT TO SEE THE TRENDS ACROSS. THEN. SO NO TRAVEL IS A REALLY BIG TREND INTERNATIONALLY RIGHT NOW WITH FOLKS LOOKING TO DO HEAD OUT WITH OR WITHOUT SOMEONE WITH THEM. SO SO TRAVEL IS A BIG TO KILL WOMEN. SELLO TRAVEL IS A BIG DEAL AND ACTUALLY IN FORT MYERS, THE BEST PLACE TO TRAVEL SOLO. THAT IS UP BY FOR 1000%. THAT IS NOT A TYPO. THAT IS LITERALLY 4 NUMBERS. 4,000% MONTH-OVER-MONTH FORT MYERS IS ONE OF THE BEST PLACES TO TRAVEL SOLO. >> NOW, DO WE HAVE ANY IDEA FOR REASONS FOR THAT? I WOULD ASSUME THAT MAYBE THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE A HURRICANE LAST YEAR. SO THAT COULD HELP. BUT ARE REALLY HAVING ANY IDEA OF WHAT IS LEADING TO THAT MASSIVE SURGE IN JUST SEARCHES AND PEOPLE INTERESTED IN COMING TO OUR AREA. >> YEAH, I MEAN, IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, I DON'T HAVE ANY DATA ON EXACTLY WHAT THAT MIGHT BE. ONE MIGHT ASSUME THAT IT'S JUST THE GENERAL BITE THAT IT'S THE GREATNESS OF YOUR CITY. AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, LITTLE TIME IN THE SUNSHINE NEVER HURTS. >> SO NOW WE'VE SEEN SOME EGGS INFLOWS WHEN IT COMES TO PRICES OF AIR TRAVEL, WHETHER IT'S FUEL PRICES, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS IS SO FROM YOUR ROLE, WHAT CAN WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEADING INTO SUMMER OF 2026. >> YEAH, EVERYBODY RIGHT NOW I THINK WANTS TO SAVE MONEY IT'S A LITTLE MORE EXPENSIVE OUT THERE TO TRAVEL RIGHT NOW. SO WE'VE ALWAYS HAD GOOGLE FLIGHTS. IT'S A WONDERFUL TOOL THAT YOU CAN USE TO TRACK YOUR PLANT. YOUR YOUR UP PRICES ON YOUR FLIGHTS. I MODE AND SEARCH CAN HELP YOU PLAN FOR YOUR TRIPS. IT'S BASICALLY TAKING THE BEST OF AN AI CHATBOTS AND THE GOOGLE SEARCH AND YOU CAN HAVE ALL KINDS OF QUESTIONS AT US AND ALL KINDS OF QUESTIONS. IT'S A GREAT TRIP PLANNING TOOL THAT TAKES ALL OF YOUR SCATTERED, YOU KNOW, RESEARCH ACROSS DIFFERENT DIFFERENCE. I SEE NO RECOMMENDATIONS FROM A FRIEND AND IT PUTS IT TOGETHER INTO A CUSTOM ITINERARY WITH LOTS OF OPTIONS THAT CAN CERTAINLY SAVE YOU MONEY. >> AND THEN IN YOUR SUMMARY, HOW'S IT LOOKING FOR YOUR PERSPECTIVE FOR PEOPLE COMING TO SOUTHWEST FLORIDA AS THE TOP STORIES OF THE SEASON PICKS BACK UP AGAIN TO YOU. SEE THIS AS A CONTINUING TREND OF MORE PEOPLE INTERESTED IN OUR AREA OR IS THIS OUT? IT'S KIND OF PEEKING. >> I LOVE THAT. YOU'RE ASKING THIS SO WE DO HAVE A LIST TO SHARE OF DOMESTIC DOMESTIC DESTINATIONS RIGHT NOW AND SOME OF THE BIGGEST YEAR-OVER-YEAR INCREASES COMPARED TO SUMMER 2025. DEFINITELY HAS SOUTHWEST FLORIDA ON THERE. SO IN A NUMBER TO SARASOTA NUMBER 2 DOMESTIC SEARCH RIGHT NOW AND THEN IN THE TOP 10, WE ALSO HAVE FORT MYERS, FLORIDA AND PANAMA CITY. SO, YOU KNOW, IT. I'M NOT TOTALLY SURE. BUT I DO FEEL LIKE THIS IS TRENDING TO THE WEST OF FLORIDA AND MIAMI OVER THERE ON THE EAST. BETTER WATCH OUT. >> AND THEN FOR ANYONE THAT'S GETTING READY TO BOOK THOSE TRIPS FOR THEIR SUMMER BREAKS THERE, DO YOU HAVE ANY FINAL TIPS OR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PEOPLE AS THEY'RE HOPPING ONLINE, GETTING READY TO GO. WHERE SHOULD PEOPLE GO TO AND WHAT SHOULD THEY LOOK FOR SPECIFICALLY WHEN TRYING TO FIND THAT PERFECT, YOU KNOW, DESTINATION FOR A NICE VACATION. >> YEAH, YOU KNOW, ED TRIP PLANNING IS THE NEW WAY TO DO THINGS IT. GOOGLE MAKES IT SUPER I MODE IN GOOGLE SEARCH AND THROUGH OUR USE OF GEMINI AND THEN CERTAINLY THE HOTEL PRICE TRACKING AND FLIGHT TRACKING THE REALLY GREAT WAYS TO SAVE THE MONEY AND TO BE ABLE TO JUST MOVE FORWARD AND THAT PLANNING AND GETTING A WIN ON YOUR DESTINATION AND ALL THE CITY TALES. >> PERFECT. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO TALK WITH US. AND HOPEFULLY A LOT OF PEOPLE LEARNED WHEN THEY GET READY TO BOOK THEIR NEXT TRIP.