While vacations are meant to end, as our locals know all too well, ours here in Sarasota County do not. Provided photo.

The sign of an unforgettable trip may not be your collection of photos or souvenirs but rather the Zillow search history you start when you board your plane. Travel sometimes inspires this dream of relocation, imagining a vacation without end and considering if home is calling from a new ZIP code.

At Visit Sarasota County, we hear repeatedly from visitors that why they continue to return to our region is because they feel like a local when they’re here. That sentiment, if carefully followed up by strategic marketing efforts, then shifts focus away from vacation to relocation or, for the lucky ones, retirement.

When we conducted our first survey on resident sentiments of tourism back in 2023, we found that nearly half of our respondents had moved to Sarasota County after a visit. In other words, they were tourists first—and after experiencing our warm weather, natural beauty, and relaxed atmosphere, and potentially a few return trips, they were entranced enough to exchange their suitcase for moving boxes. A story familiar to many of us—be it us, a neighbor or a friend.

Which is why one of our tourism bureau’s targeted audiences is potential future residents. We realize that chances are, people will visit a community before deciding to invest in it. This is true for those looking to work where they want to live and for those considering living where they want to play—enjoying all Florida’s Cultural Coast has to offer.

Visitors. Workforce. Retirees. Grabbing the attention of any one of these groups, especially in a state like ours where there are plenty of award-winning destinations competing with our own, requires teamwork.

This past month, that collaborative spirit was on full display as we joined our longtime partners at the Arts Alliance and Economic Development Corporation (EDC) for a joint workshop with the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners to share all the ways in which we collaborate, not duplicate, to strengthen our community.

We discussed how our partnership evolved from smaller-scale marketing initiatives with unified branding pre-pandemic to broader regional efforts to drive talent attraction, economic diversification, and enhanced quality of life. From these shifts came two campaigns: Work Where You Want To Live ® and Live Where You Want To Play.

The “Work Where You Want To Live” ® campaign promotes Sarasota as a place where individuals can build careers without compromising lifestyle. On this website, we provide an overview of local neighborhoods, schools, healthcare, business parks, and job resources, as well as highlights of the area’s world-class cultural and recreational offerings. In the last 12 months alone, this campaign has generated 31,000 views.

A newer campaign,“Live Where You Want To Play,” still being built out, is aimed at attracting retirees who want more than just a place to live—they want to engage and give back. The website showcases Sarasota’s neighborhoods, world-class arts and culture, excellent healthcare, and opportunities to volunteer and support local philanthropy. It invites newcomers to be active, valued members of the community.

From our local Visitor Centers, we track relocation interest, send promising leads to the EDC if someone indicates they want to move their business, and mail out relocation packets that include co-branded collateral. In the last year, we’ve mailed out 770 such packets—adding to the thousands we’ve sent over the decades.

When visitors do decide to make the leap, AVA—our “Area Visitor Assistant,” or mobile visitor center—may greet them at sporting events, farmers markets, career fairs, college orientations, and beyond to educate on all there is to see and do in Sarasota County. Because becoming a resident doesn’t mean you can’t also be a tourist in your own backyard.

While vacations are meant to end, as our locals know all too well, ours here in Sarasota County do not. And with tourism helping fuel our unmatched quality of life, we intend to keep it that way—for our residents of today and tomorrow alike.

Erin Duggan is President & CEO of Visit Sarasota County.

While vacations are meant to end, as our locals know all too well, ours here in Sarasota County do not. Provided photo.

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