Everyone loves a day at the visitor center. Scratch that — everyone loves a day at the beach.
Corpus Christi is blessed with more than 100 miles of beaches, which are the heart and soul of the South Texas destination. However, the beaches' popularity convinced the Visit Corpus Christi team that it needed to reimagine the very concept of what a visitor center could be.
Along with revamping its physical visitor information center and turning it into a revenue-generating operation, Visit Corpus Christi expanded its reach by creating the Gulf Coasters program — a unique way to go to the visitors as opposed to waiting for visitors to seek out a visitor center. With its branded golf carts and an energetic team known as the “beach hype squad,” the Gulf Coasters drive right on the beach to engage with visitors. In addition to sharing ideas for off-beach activities, the team collects valuable information through surveys to learn more about visitor behavior and sentiment.
We asked Brett Oetting, president and CEO of Visit Corpus Christi, to speak about the innovative Gulf Coasters program and share what’s made it so successful.
