Tourist Development Council - November 12, 2026

The Citrus County Tourist Development Council met on November 12, 2026. The main procurement action was approval, by a 4–1 vote, of $68,600 in special-project funding for the Visitors and Convention Bureau’s brand campaign production and event/outreach assets through Miles Partnership. The project includes a two-day photo and video shoot, with the shoot budgeted at $40,000, and updated trade-show and outreach materials. Members discussed the campaign’s “Feel / All Natural” creative direction, the need for authentic local imagery, and whether the concept had been tested broadly; one member opposed the funding motion. The Council also approved a welcome-center landscape renovation proposal, with costs to be split 40% by the county and 60% by the Chamber. Members asked staff to verify Florida-friendly/native plant selections and consider additions such as milkweed; no total project cost was stated.

The Council approved an additional $2,950 for two staff members to support Citrus County’s participation in the 2027 Florida Tourism Day Expo, including a booth fee of $750. It also approved the 2027 meeting dates. In other business, staff reported plans to work with the Clerk of Courts toward local collection and enforcement of tourist-development taxes in 2027, and to research the county’s potential 501(c)(3) structure and a tourism improvement district. No contracts or vendors were identified for the landscaping or expo items beyond the information noted above.