Sunshine Matters

This week in Portland, the U.S. Travel Association held its annual Educational Seminar for Tourism Organizations (ESTO) conference.  During the event, the winners of the National Council of State Tourism Directors (NCSTD) 2015 Mercury Awards were announced.  I am very proud to share that VISIT FLORIDA won Mercuries in two categories – the Social Media Campaign category for “Bragging Season” and the Branding and Integrated Marketing Campaign category for our “Florida Beach Finder.” Continue reading »

This summer, in correlation with our seasonal campaign, VISIT FLORIDA expanded our efforts to include visitors’ beloved dogs.  #DogsLoveFL was a fully integrated campaign designed to create a fresh way to highlight summer travel in Florida, including the creation of social conversations that allowed our Partners to showcase their product. Continue reading »

I am pleased to announce the roll out of VISIT FLORIDA’s Certified Tourism Information Centers (CTIC) Program.  CTIC certification brings VISIT FLORIDA recognition to welcome center facilities around the state, providing the institutions and their staff with benefits that enable successful promotion of travel to and throughout Florida. Continue reading »

I am pleased to share that today Governor Rick Scott announced during a press conference at the Miami International Airport that Florida has set another record in tourism by welcoming the highest amount of visitors of any six months in the state’s history with 54.1 million visitors.  This record amount of visitors represents a 5.8 increase over the same period last year.  In the second quarter of 2015 (April-June), 25.8 million visitors came to the state, an increase of 5.5 percent over the year.  The average number of direct travel-related jobs in quarter two of 2015 was also a record high, with 1,213,500 Floridians employed in the tourism industry – up 4.9 percent over the year. Continue reading »

In honor of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Florida Department of State and VISIT FLORIDA celebrated Victory Florida Week last week.  Victory Florida honors the heroes and heroines of World War II while educating Floridians about the important role Florida played in training for the battlefield and on the home front during the war. Continue reading »