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Haley claimed such a plan would make Sarasota unknown to the rest of the world. Only her promotion efforts were the key to bringing more and more tourists to the Suncoast, she implied. She was aided by Commissioner Nora Patterson, who chairs the county's Tourist Development Council. Patterson and the other members of that council have long been indoctrinated by Haley with the "gospel of promotion," so Patterson's words of sup- port sounded as if they had been uttered by Haley herself. "I've been told Sarasota is pretty much a well- kept secret," Patterson stated, in defending Haley's request for more promotion dollars. Really? We suspect the locals who find nav- igating seasonal traffic a maddening affair would beg to differ. If Sarasota is such a well-kept secret, why are all of these people coming here? If anything, Sarasota is much better known than either Haley or Patterson would have us believe. The years-long ranking of Siesta Beach in the top five of Dr. Beach's list of best beaches in America — and its eventual claim to the No. 1 spot — did a great deal to raise awareness of our area. And promotion dollars spent by Visit Sarasota County did not influ- ence Dr. Beach in making his assessment of our nonpareil beach. Mother Nature did that. Yet, Haley and Visit Sarasota County crowed about the No. 1 beach designation as if it were the end of a longtime promotional campaign on their part. After the county added the last half-cent Tourist Development Tax increment in 2011, making the room tax a full 5 percent (and that half-cent was earmarked exclusively for "pro- motion"), total tourism tax revenues jumped by more than 21 percent, for a total in Fiscal Year 2012 of $13,976,000. So the $15 million cap that Barbetta proposes is a very reason- able one. Even at $15 million, the established allocation for promotion would be more than $5 million each year. The current revised budget of Visit Sarasota County is much larger — $6,360,718 — because of other statutory allocations that are administered by the CVB. In fairness, that cap should be adjusted upward each year by the amount of annual inflation. But tax revenue that exceeds that amount should be earmarked for tourism asset and infrastructure development. One would think that, with the opening of Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista in 1971, Orlando had all the tourism assets for which it could possibly hope. Yet, Disney has constantly upgraded and improved the theme park over the past four decades, knowing that newer and better experiences are what keep the crowds coming back. And the many companion theme parks that have sprung up in the area since Disney opened — Universal Studios and SeaWorld, to name just a couple — have further bur- nished the reputation of Greater Orlando as a destination of international renown. OPINION Sarasota News Leader May 2, 2014 Page 89