Sarasota County is once again the talk of the town. By now, you’ve probably heard that CNN Travel has crowned our destination as the Best Town to Visit in 2026—and at last, the rest of America is catching on to why many of us decided to move, raise our families, and invest in our livelihoods here.

If you haven’t come across the feature yet, CNN highlights what locals have long known. Sarasotais where arts and culture, award-winning beaches, exceptional dining, outdoor adventure, and circus heritage come together to create our identity as Florida's Cultural Coast®…and yes, a compelling itinerary for visitors and residents alike.

The news we’ve had to be tight-lipped about for weeks is finally circulating widely in the sunshine and on social feeds far beyond our region. And yet, for as many impressions as this feature has already generated, there’s another story to be told. After all, national attention from powerhouse publishers like CNN do not just fall into our laps, no matter how much Sarasota County has to write home about. Sustained, strategic marketing and outreach beats resting on our laurels any day.

Like any good secret, though, it’s only matter of time before word gets out. And we’d like to make sure Tourist Development Tax—that 6% surcharge that only tourists pay yet funds so many quality-of-life amenities for residents—receives the credit. Here’s why.

For years, our tourism team and agencies at Visit Sarasota County have taken an active yet behind-the-scenes approach to securing and stewarding these accolades. As a public-private partnership, our bureau is heavily powered by Tourist Development Tax, especially our public relations efforts. Earned features and best-of lists are after all one of the strongest nudges to convince a visitor to click that “book” button, whose stay ultimately has positive ripple effects, like keeping businesses open and residents employed, for our local economy.

Earlier this year, as part of our ongoing communications with CNN Travel, our domestic PR firm, Lou Hammond Group (LHG), proactively pitched Sarasota for consideration. Over the following months, our Marketing team alongside LHG worked closely with freelance travel journalist Terry Ward to coordinate a May visit, helping facilitate interviews and experiences with local businesses. Perspectives from the Arts & Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County, The Ringling, Circus Arts Conservatory, Discover Sarasota Tours, MOTE, and Ocean Properties, among many others, then helped bring this feature to life.

Visit Sarasota County worked in partnership with the local tourism industry to secure support for the writer’s hotel accommodations while she was in destination. Tourist Development Tax, powering our efforts, funded her transportation, dining expenses, and itinerary development, yet also the efforts that led to earning her attention. If not for this tax, especially the 13% of the tourist development tax allocated to tourism marketing, there likely would have been no pitch, no hosted visit, no story, and quite possibly no No. 1 ranking.

We’re grateful just this week the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved our 2027 budget and scope, so we can continue fostering relationships with journalists like Terry and others whose pieces move the needle on bookings and, in turn, economic impact.

That investment allows us to combine specialized public relations partners with in-house expertise to deliver the right message, to the right audience, through the most effective voice. Whereas LHG oversees domestic media, Gosh PR pitches Sarasota County globally to the U.K. and German markets and Knight Strategic Communications amplifies awareness of sporting events among regional and trade publications. We even have an internal PR agency of sorts, our Community Relations team, who helps communicate the value of our bureau locally by building trust, proof of partnership, and positive resident sentiment toward tourism.

These efforts aren't measured in headlines alone. Already, this accolade arrives on the heels of strong May tourism data showing increases in both the number of visitors and how much they spent during their trip, an encouraging indicator as we head into the final leg of the summer travel season.

Sarasota County may be the talk of the town today, but stories like this begin long before the headlines. Behind every national accolade celebrating Sarasota County is years of relationship-building, strategic investment, and collaboration between the public and private sectors.

Even though no single story drives visitation on its own, we'll celebrate being No. 1 today. Tomorrow, we'll get back to the work that got us there.

Erin Duggan is the President and CEO of Visit Sarasota County.

To learn more, visit