Working Together to Keep Visitors Safe at the Beach. The Tourism Office continues to prioritize beach safety through a comprehensive public awareness campaign. Messaging is being shared across multiple platforms, including public service announcements on radio and on billboards, social media, visitor newsletters, the annual Vacation Planner, brochure distribution, and video displays at the Visitor Information Center.
Marketing Support Grant Application Open
The application window for the Brevard County Tourism Development Office (TDO) Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Marketing Support Program (MSP) is officially open. Designed to provide marketing assistance, facility cost reductions, and eligible expense reimbursements, the program has been allocated $640,000 to support local sports and cultural events and year-round cultural programming.
Please ensure all proposals are completed and submitted before the application window closes promptly at 9:00 AM EST on Monday, June 22, 2026, ahead of the Tourism Development Council (TDC) review in July. Contact Deborah Webster (Cultural Events/Year-round Programming) or Terry Parks (Sports) at 321-433-4470 for more details.
It was recently National Travel and Tourism Week, established by the U.S. Travel Association. It is certainly a good time to remind people of the positive impact of tourism across the Space Coast. In our most recent economic impact study, published in 2024, tourism had a $4.6 billion impact on our county. Further, it represented $2.95 million in visitor spending (including the taxes they pay while they are here) and 3 million room nights.
And maybe most importantly, it represents 46,000 jobs (direct and indirect), which keep food on people’s tables and businesses able to serve their customers. And finally, if tourism did not exist in our county, we would all have to pay an additional $1,840 each in taxes that would not get paid by the tourists. So, next time you get frustrated by traffic on 528 or A1A, remember tourists come, leave their money behind, and then go home – a great formula for economic growth in our area!
Michelin Recommends Koko Japanese Pub
Congratulations to Chef Daniel at Koko Japanese Pub for becoming the Space Coast’s first restaurant to earn Michelin recognition. The story of this incredible chef and his innovative restaurant can be found on Episode 3, Small Town, Big Dreams: Cocoa Beach Entrepreneurs, of the Cocoa Beach on Florida’s Space Coast Podcast.
Photofy with the Space Coast Economic Development Commission
The Space Coast Economic Development Commission is here to help your business succeed with the Photofy app. The Photofy app lets you customize your photos and curate content using Florida’s Space Coast Tomorrow Launches Here tagline and icon.
Theseready-to-use templates, logos, and graphics are designed to help you tell your story. Whether you’re a business, educator, student, or resident, you’re invited to use these free tools to proudly represent Florida’s Space Coast. Share your story with your audience today.
Working Together to Keep Visitors Safe at the Beach
The Tourism Office continues to prioritize beach safety through a comprehensive public awareness campaign. Messaging is being shared across multiple platforms, including public service announcements on radio and on billboards, social media, visitor newsletters, the annual Vacation Planner, brochure distribution, and video displays at the Visitor Information Center.
To further extend the reach of these important safety messages, the Tourism Office is providing complimentary beach safety brochures, posters, and signage to local tourism partners. The program has received strong support from the community, with 52 hotels, attractions, and businesses signed up to participate and share the materials with their guests and customers.
Making beach safety information easily accessible to visitors helps promote safer beach experiences across the destination, and we appreciate everyone working with us to make beach safety a shared community priority.
Beachgoers can also benefit from understanding shark attack trends across the U.S., as historical data shows that certain coastal regions, including Brevard County, have recorded more encounters than others.
Space Coast Sports Commission Updates
Terry Parks, Sports Commissioner for the Brevard County Tourism Development Office, will be attending the 2026 Florida Sports Foundation Summit from June 15–18 at The Legacy Hotel at IMG Academy in Bradenton. This premier industry event, hosted by Bradenton Area Sports, provides a valuable opportunity to connect directly with sports event organizers, collaborate with fellow tourism professionals, and participate in critical educational workshops and roundtables.
Representing the Space Coast, Parks will take part in strategic peer-to-peer networking sessions, industry presentations on maximizing partnerships, and panels outlining the future playbook of Florida’s sports tourism.
His participation underscores the TDO’s ongoing commitment to driving economic impact, securing high-profile athletic events, and solidifying Brevard County as a premier destination for sports tourism.
Space Coast Travel Trade Updates
Representing the Space Coast at IPW 2026
Tourism Development Office Director, Peter Cranis & Travel Trade Industry Coordinator, Tom Bartosek, recently attended US Travel Association’s IPW 2026 in Fort Lauderdale – the most impactful trade show for inbound U.S. travel. 5,000 delegates from over 60 countries around the globe were there, including over 1,000 international and domestic Tour Operator buyers. Over three days, we had a total of 37 15-minute appointments, including meetings with buyers from Canada, the UK, 10 EU countries, 5 Latin American countries, and one from Australia.
Many were already selling our destination and booking rooms at our hotels, but several were just learning about us and eager to add the Space Coast to their tour books. We spoke with reps from TUI-UK, which has been flying Brits into MLB since 2022, as well as Ocean Holidays, the largest B2C Florida specialist of its kind in Europe, which just added us this year.
There was a lot of interest in the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Rocket Launches, our Beaches, the Brevard Zoo, and Eco-Tourism activities. Attending events like this helps put the Space Coast on the world stage of travel and will provide increased visitation from international tourists in the future.
