Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel vacation-planning tool debuts at RSW in time for holidays

People flying into Southwest Florida International Airport this holiday weekend can take advantage of a new vacation planning tool.

Local tourism promoters have dubbed it the “Sand Bucket List” interactive kiosk.

Visitor Information booths on the passenger terminal’s second floor and the international area on the first floor have the kiosks –  touch screen-equipped monitors from which they can quickly get suggestions for excursions and events that match their preferences.

It’s a project recently completed by Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau to promote services and activities associated with the Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel tourism brand.

Volunteer Tourism Ambassadors still staff the booths during the airport’s busiest hours. And, copies of Lonely Planet’s pocket-sized Discover the Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel guide book are there for the taking.

“A lot of people love the visitor guide, but other people want the technology,” said Judi Durant, bureau director of visitor services.

And, as Southwest Florida moves closer to its winter tourism high season, “it’s important to have more and more information for visitors,” Durant said.

Sharing more information in a variety of visitor-friendly ways is crucial to tourism and hospitality lifeblood industries that account for one in five jobs in Lee County alone.

When airport passengers ask tourism ambassadors for information, those knowledgeable volunteers can use the touch-screens as an extra tool.

But these touch screens stay on  24/7, allowing visitors to use them when the volunteers aren’t present.

Lee County charges a 5 percent bed tax on short-term lodgings rentals. This new tourist information delivery system cost roughly $50,000 in bed tax funds. 

That covers various costs including the touch-screen monitors and 55-inch flat screens that show videos, weather information and other visitor information. 

The Sand Bucket List program is directly linked to the bureau’s fortmyers-sanibel.com consumer travel website, tapping into that wealth of knowledge.

Kiosk users supply an email address and dates for their stay. Durant emphasized the emails are not kept long-term, but used only to fulfill that information request.

Then, with a few touches on the screen, the travelers indicate their general preferences in the areas of outdoor recreation, events and the like.

They also can opt for information on accommodations or skip that.

In about an hour or less, ideas targeting their specific interests should appear in their email feeds.

For example, a visitor expressing an interest in events and the arts likely would get information about the SoCo Second Saturday Art Crawl at Royal Palm Square shopping center near Colonial and McGregor boulevards, in Fort Myers.

The document the bureau emails to the touch screen users is titled “your personalized plan.”

However, this isn’t a conventional itinerary or list. Rather, it’s a series of web pages that translate travelers’ general preferences into specific suggestions that are doable during their stay.

And the plan comes with this advice:

“Enjoy your visit, and don't make too many plans. A full day starts with a wide-open schedule.”

Connect with reporter Laura Ruane on Twitter @Alvascribe.