Advertising Authorities Agree to Add Airport Funding

Volusia County’s three tourism advertising and marketing entities are back on their budgetary tracks after agreeing to allocate money to create a marketing and promotional fund for Daytona Beach International Airport.

Budget agreements for the three organizations – the Halifax Area Advertising Authority, the Southeast Volusia Advertising Authority and the West Volusia Advertising Authority – were tabled by the Volusia County Council in August after Councilmember David Santiago raised concerns about airport funding.

“We are here to say we heard you and we heard your request,” said Lori Campbell Baker, executive director of the Halifax Area Advertising Authority, at the County Council’s Sept. 17 meeting. “We have moved a quarter of a million dollars from our fund balance into the airlift support line item. That is now $400,000.” The Southeast Volusia and West Volusia agencies also added additional dollars to the fund, bringing the total to $520,000.

Before council members voted to approve the advertising authorities’ budgets, Santiago offered an amendment to the budget resolution requiring the ad authorities to allocate the additional funds.

“It’s following a model we currently have with the Ocean Center,” he said. “The Ocean Center does marketing and then they send invoices over to the authorities.”

Santiago said the reason he pushed for the tourism marketing agencies to contribute more funds to promoting the airport is the county’s recent successes in attracting new carriers and routes to the airport.

“There is one person to blame for this change and that’s Cyrus because he hit a home run,” he said, referring to Cyrus Callum, the county’s director of aviation and economic resources.

Santiago said the recent announcements by Avelo Airlines and Breeze Airways to offer flights to Daytona Beach represent an opportunity to grow the airport, which requires more marketing and promotional funding.

“We needed to make sure all hands were on deck,” he said. “We needed to have our tourism authorities pony up some more money to ensure those destinations were successful.”

Council member Don Dempsey, who opposed the county’s offer of monetary guarantees to Avelo as part of the airline’s decision to come to Daytona Beach, said he supported Santiago’s amendment.

“I want to attract more airlines but I don’t want the taxpayers to subsidize a failed airline,” he said.

Santiago said the additional money for marketing and promotion gives the county more leverage in attracting new carriers to the airport.

“For us to show that we have kind of, sort of directed these allocated funds sends a message that (Callum) can talk about when he goes after other routes,” he said. “It’s a win-win.”