TOURISM TALK: Air Shows Highlight Exciting ‘Things To Do’ Lineup on the Space Coast This Spring
By Peter Cranis, Brevard Office of Tourism Executive Director // March 14, 2021
Cocoa Beach Air Show and the Melbourne Air Show will be coming this spring
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Well, Spring has Sprung! Daylight Savings, spring weather, and spring events are all here. And among those events are two that really deserve highlighting.
The Cocoa Beach Air Show and the Melbourne Air Show will be coming this April 17 – 18 and May 15 – 16, respectively.
The shows are going to be spectacular this year and they are going to feature the best airshow performers in the world.
The Cocoa Beach show will feature the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds that will be kicking off their season and it is rumored that they will be unveiling a brand new show for the first time in many years.
It will also have the F-22 Raptor Demo Team, a B-52, and a demonstration from the SOCOM Para-Commandos.
The Melbourne Show is going to feature the U.S. Navy Blue Angels that will be flying in the brand new FA-18 Super Hornet, the first time in 30 years they will have a new aircraft.
It will also feature an F-16 Viper Demo and the U.S. SOCOM Jump Team. For those airshow and military enthusiasts, this is, without doubt, the most exciting lineup that any destination has ever had.
And for tourism, the news is great. The Cocoa Beach Show is expected to draw over 40,000 people to the beach, with approximately half coming from outside the area.
That translates into hotel room nights and visitor spending (estimated at over $4.4 million).
For the Melbourne show, that is a gated show at the Melbourne Airport and they are limiting capacity to 20,000 for the weekend, also half of whom are estimated to be coming from outside the area.
Of course, many people line the streets in Melbourne to watch the show from outside the gated viewing area so that could generate additional visitors. So, two great shows a month apart and everyone wins – residents, tourists, and of course the business community!
Space Coast Office of Tourism Updates
Roadway Improvements
Roadway improvements are coming to the Space Coast. You can expect some traffic delays and lane closures between March 13 and March 30th.
Please see our Visitor Update Page for a detailed explanation of road and ramp closures, and a press release about the project.
Sales Action Team
The TDO held the first Sales Action Team meeting of the year on March 1. The event gathered 35 sales professionals from Space Coast hotels, attractions, restaurants, and service providers at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites/Cocoa Convention Center.
The agenda had TDO Staff covering a recap of tourism in 2020, an outlook for 2021, a Marketing Update highlighting the Spring Campaign, and a Trade Show Update.
Then a roundtable discussion involved the entire group focusing on the current status at local businesses, what visitors they are seeing, marketing suggestions, trade shows to attend, and more.
SAT will be meeting quarterly, so if you missed this one, mark June 7 on your calendar for the next meeting at the area’s newest property, the Hotel Melby in Downtown Melbourne.
If you have any questions about SAT, email tom.bartosek@
Space Coast Spring Campaign: Our spring campaign is in full swing, along with digital ads, our office has also deployed this video to TV and streaming services. Check out the commercial above.
Cycling Month
Join reThink Your Commute and the Space Coast Transportation Planning Organization on Tuesday, March 23, from 12:00-1:30 PM as they present: Cycling Savvy Lite, a free, virtual hour-long “mini-course” that focuses on laws, tactics, and techniques for effective traffic cycling.
■ Get a refresher on safe bicycling
■ Hear from the experts
■ Register for a chance to win door prizes!
HB 1429/SB 2008
Destinations Florida (the Florida Association of Destinations) recently put out this message to the tourism industry: HB 1429/SB 2008 would expand the permissible uses of TDTs to include flood mitigation projects.
A provision within the legislation would require local tourism promotion organizations to go to a referendum every five years which could affect local tourism promotion for destinations across the state.
The House Environment, Agriculture & Flooding Subcommittee is meeting Monday, March 15. Destination Florida has created pre-written Tweets and Contacts if you would like to have your opinion heard by committee members. You can access this information here.
– Peter Cranis, Brevard Office of Tourism Executive Director
