Americans for the Arts

Laura Bruney

This piece by Laura Bruney of the Arts & Business Council of Miami was originally published May 30, 2014 on their blog, www.artsbizmiami.org/ArtsBizBlog.

The reality of a "divide" between the arts and direct and profitable partnerships with business and specific industries is certainly not a new topic. What is new, however, are ways that arts and businesses are utilizing their unique resources to bridge that separation and move towards a collaborative economic model. It’s about connecting resources to facilitate spontaneous and dynamic alliances.

The Annual Breakfast with the Arts & Hospitality Industry, a program of the Arts & Business Council of Miami.

Cultural Tourism is exploding here in a Miami—in a good way according to Bruce Turkel, CEO of TURKEL, a travel and tourism marketing firm in Miami.

“It makes sense that when you have people coming from all around the world there are so many advantages,” says Turkel referring to the increase of cultural tourism here in Miami. “When they come originally, they come specifically for our core offerings which are weather, water, and dolphins. But after a while, they start looking for additional things and then those things are created.”

On Thursday, April 5, Mr. Turkel electrified a group of 120 attendees all representing either the tourism and hospitality industry or the arts at the Annual Breakfast with the Arts & Hospitality Industry, a program of the Arts & Business Council of Miami. The topic: Partnerships between the arts and tourism.

“When you have people from other locales in the community, they start to want to contribute these things [cultural offerings] and all of a sudden, we can take a place in the world economy,” says Turkel.

The conversation is a fairly fresh one here in Miami. We’ve seen overwhelming successes of art shows like Basel Miami and its satellite fairs. The Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau’s (GMCVB) signature programs spawned by George Neary including Miami Museum Month, Miami Music Month, Miami Attractions Month, and Miami Spa Month have all had a tremendous impact on reinforcing the bond between tourism and the arts.