The business of tourism remains one of the top industries in Sarasota. It’s no surprise then that many of the people walking through the doors of The Greater Sarasota of Commerce come looking for information on attractions. Now, the main Visitor’s Center for the region sits inside the Chamber for the first time in decades, streamlining the process of helping tourists find their way and possibly creating the possibility for synergy between two of the area’s most important trade groups.

Virginia Haley, president of Visit Sarasota County, says the regional tourism bureau had maintained its welcome center in Downtown Sarasota but longed for a different locale when the subject of co-locating with the Chamber arose. “If you’ve made it to Main Street, you’ve already figured out where Downtown Sarasota is,” Haley says. “So we really need to be on a main artery.” The Chamber sits on Fruitville Road near U.S. 301, so many people first wandering into Sarasota pass right by it. And from the Chamber building, Visit Sarasota staff can easily direct people not just to the downtown a couple blocks away but toward the beach, airport or interstate.

Kevin Cooper, president and CEO for the Sarasota Chamber, notes Visit Sarasota’s work first started as a chamber function, and many visitors see the building and expect it to have the type of information a hospitality center usually provides. “We have a substantial lobby and are used to entertaining visitors looking for referrals and for things in the area,” Cooper says. “Now we are able to help those people and do it with a much greater level of expertise.” Those looking for tourist info simply get referred to Visit Sarasota volunteers. Similarly, Haley says, business partners coming to Visit Sarasota County can also be referred to the Chamber for any type of assistance on the commerce and policy end.

Cooper, who previously worked as executive director of the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce, says that the smaller chambers in the area continue to focus energy on attracting people to their respective coverage areas, so the partnership makes a lot of sense.

And Haley says Visit Sarasota continues to work with those smaller chambers as well, maintaining a special kiosks at the Venice Chamber of Commerce, Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce and Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce. The organization also keeps a station at The Mall at University Town Center, and the organization has been in talks with opening a location at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. 

And while the executive offices for Visit Sarasota County remain in a downtown Sun Trust building, Haley and Cooper say they continue to speak frequently about ways the organization can further one another’s overlapping missions of advancing tourism and commerce in Sarasota County.