Visit Sarasota County app launched this week
“In an effort to promote the diversity of beaches around Sarasota County,” Visit Sarasota County (VSC), the county’s tourism office, has announced that it has developed a new feature on its app called the Sarasota Beach Pass.
“The program allows app users to browse, learn about and explore 20 of the area’s beaches,” a news release explains. “Once at a beach on the list, users can check in to unlock the three various levels and exclusive prizes,” the release continues. The Beach Pass is free to use via the Visit Sarasota app, which can be downloaded from the Apple Store or Google Play, the release adds.
“Originally guided by [its] 2020-2025 Destination Strategic Plan, VSC began developing the Beach Pass gamification aspect of its app in October 2020,” the release explains. “It took a little more than a year to gather information and images, build out the app feature and website aspects, build a marketing plan, create marketing assets, troubleshoot, etc.,” the release adds. The Beach Pass launched on Feb. 1.
“While the Beach Pass was concepted prior to COVID-19 to promote the diversity of our beaches, the timing of this guide could not be better,” said Virginia Haley, president of VSC, in the release. “Beach goers are especially interested in less crowded spaces and the message to ‘discover secret beaches’ will be well-received. Our hope is both visitors and locals use the Beach Pass to find a new favorite beach and win the fun prizes,” she added in the release.
“The Beach Pass is essentially a guide to Sarasota County beaches,” which span more than 35 miles of coastline “and offer a variety of qualities and amenities, fit for each personality,” the release points out. “Enjoy the water by swimming, boating, or something more adventurous like parasailing, and dig your toes into the different types of sand to activate vacation (or staycation) mode!” the release invites the public.
After downloading the Visit Sarasota app, the release explains, “Tap to select the Beach Pass along the bottom of the app. You will be prompted to create a login if you do not have one already. This will be your email address (and you will have to determine a password).”
The Beach Pass list contains 20 beaches located throughout Sarasota County. “The Pass will sort by proximity,” the release adds. “Tap the name of a beach to learn more about it and get directions.
“If you want to earn prizes,” the release continues, “‘Check In’ to beaches on the Beach Pass list. (To Check In, click ‘Beach Check In.’ The app will refer to your GPS location to check in. You must be within a mile of the address listed for each beach in order to check in to that beach.)”
Check in for one beach to reach the first prize level, the release says. Check in to five beaches to reach the second level, it adds, and check in at 10 beaches to reach the third and final level.
For more information, visit the VSC website at https://www.visitsarasota.com/earn-prizes-using-beach-pass-visit-sarasota-app.
Perhaps someone could suggest that public transportation might be included in an actual Beach Pass which would help solve parking problems on the 10 beaches that can be accessed by private vehicles, walking or biking.