Tourism official believes the long-term planning for tourism is paying off

The foresight of the St Johns County Board of County Commissioners who decided to continue tourism funding during the darker days of the COVID-19 pandemic, is paying dividends, according to Historic City News sources.  Visitors & Convention Bureau President Richard Goldman says, “Money spent maintaining awareness has led to providing continued long-term hiring to meet local demand.”

Throughout the area, Goldman recently reported that a wide variety of positions are available for hire, including managers, assistant managers, housekeepers, engineers, maintenance, food servers and bartenders. For those with such talents, Goldman says there are even jobs for actors.

“The U.S. Travel Association reports that 40% of workers whose first job was in travel, are now earning more than $100,000 each year,” Goldman said, also suggesting there is a future for first time tourism hires in St Augustine and St Johns County.

A job fair was hosted on March 27 and sponsored by the Visitors & Convention Bureau. Goldman says look for more organized efforts by area employers to find talent — especially those who may have been working in their field, only to find themselves out of work during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Old Town Trolley Tours go to: HTAJOBS.com (select St Augustine)

• Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa contact: Cameron.Bradley@Marriott.com

• The Columbia Restaurant contact: colsaug@columbiarestaurant.com

• Embassy Suites Hilton Oceanfront: Careers.HVMG.com (click on St Augustine)

As a result of increased consumer confidence in the new vaccines, as well as increased pent-up travel demand, the St Augustine and Ponte Vedra Beach hospitality industry is now in an aggressive hiring mode for full-time as well as part-time employees.