Wear shorts, stay for a long time

Sarasota tourism officials responded to a pair of thumping setbacks suffered over the past year with a new, and aggressive, attack plan.

The strategy centers on a $500,000 advertising campaign and partnership between Visit Sarasota County and JetBlue Airways. The slogan is Sarasota in Shorts. It's a play on the idea that when the weather is cold up north, people can do anything, from Christmas shopping to sitting on the beach, in shorts while in Sarasota. JetBlue flies three direct flights into Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, two from New York and one from Boston.