Sarasota aims to lasso back lost business

The departure of John Deere, which held its annual dealer conference in the Sarasota-Bradenton region for more than a decade, was a sizable setback for the local tourism industry.

But Virginia Haley, president of Visit Sarasota County, isn't going to let the forest and agriculture equipment firm go silently. In fact, Haley and some other Visit Sarasota officials met with John Deere executives in Orlando earlier this month. The topic of conversation: How Sarasota can win back the company's business.

“We went up there to chat with them,” Haley tells Coffee Talk, “and let them know we are still here.”

John Deere held the conference in Sarasota every October for at least 10 years, through 2011. The three-week conference was a collection of product displays, seminars and live demonstrations that brought at least 3,000 visitors to town. It was the single largest piece of travel business for Sarasota, and extended to east Manatee County.

But in 2011, Moline, Ill.-based John Deere, a $34 billion business, decided to move its conference to suburban Orlando for at least 2012-2014. Part of the reason for the departure, Visit Sarasota officials learned, was the company sought more proximity to a large state park for vehicle demonstrations.

Visit Sarasota executives have also heard, unofficially, that some dealers miss coming to Sarasota-Bradenton. That could be an opening to woo the company back.

One possible issue for a future bid, however, is John Deere now holds some of its conference in January — highpoint for the local tourist season. That could bring a serious hotel-room squeeze. Haley says Visit Sarasota will nonetheless likely make a strong bid for the company's conference when it comes up next year.