By JACQI LEYVA-HILL
Special to the PRESS
The City of South Padre Island’s Special Events Committee introduced its new tourism director and approved marketing funds for several upcoming events during its April 24 meeting at City Council Chambers.
Kelly de Schaun, executive director of Visit South Padre Island’s Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), made her first appearance before the committee, outlining her background and priorities for the island’s tourism strategy.
“When I started in Galveston, we had 900,000 visitors a year,” de Schaun said. “When I left, we had 8 million visitors a year.”
De Schaun told the committee she brings 20 years of experience in tourism, including work in the Caribbean, Latin America and Galveston, and said she aims to help South Padre Island balance seasonal tourism by strengthening event programming during slower periods.
She also said the CVB is working to implement geolocation cell phone data to better track visitation patterns, including identifying visitors traveling from outside a 50-mile radius and estimating overnight stays.
Committee Chair Christian Hasbun welcomed the new director and emphasized the value of her background and communication skills.
“I like that you have new ideas,” Hasbun said. “I absolutely love that you actually speak Spanish as well. That is a big plus, because that’s going to help you with our other markets.”
The committee approved marketing funds for several events expected to draw visitors in the coming months. The 35th Annual Memorial Day Beach Volleyball Tournament, scheduled for May 23–24, received $3,000 plus in-kind support including beach raking and a waived permit fee.
The Texas International Produce Association’s inaugural Hooked on Fresh fishing tournament, set for June 13 at Longboards, received $4,155. Organizers said the event will include participants from Texas, Mexico and Canada, with a room block already established at Margaritaville.
The South Padre Island Triathlon, scheduled for Sept. 27 at Jim’s Pier, received $5,000 in marketing funds. Organizers reported 223 athletes participated last year, with participants reporting more than 247 total nights stayed on the island.
The committee also approved $20,000 in marketing funds for the third annual Wine for Wishes by the Bay, a Make-A-Wish Rio Grande Valley fundraiser planned for Oct. 16–17 at The Shores, with expanded outreach targeting San Antonio and Corpus Christi.
An update on the Pickleball on Padre event indicated organizers were granted a 30-day extension to complete their post-event report after a key individual responsible for the data was temporarily out of the country, though staff confirmed the group remained in communication.
De Schaun also announced plans for a mid-May workshop with the CVB board to review funding processes, protocols and priorities for special events.
No date was set for the next meeting as the committee continues awaiting pending post-event reports and upcoming funding items before scheduling its next session.
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