Sunshine Matters

VISIT FLORIDA and Natural North Florida have teamed up to promote the unique nature-based qualities of the North Central Florida region. Through a partnership that began in January and just concluded this week, Natural North Florida representatives were able to help create awareness for the area’s unique boating, camping and adventure vacation spots through participation in seven domestic and international consumer trade shows.

Natural North Florida is a regional destination marketing organization, staffed by the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council, that represents Baker, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Levy, Madison, Putnam, Suwanee, Taylor and Union counties.  The 14-county area has been designated a Rural Area of Opportunity by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity due to its need for economic assistance.

As part of the partnership program with VISIT FLORIDA, Natural North Florida representatives were able to have booth displays and meet one-on-one with attendees at domestic travel trade shows including the Atlanta Boat Show, New York Times Travel Show, Chicago RV & Camping Show, Philadelphia Travel Expo, Washington D.C. Travel Expo and Caneocopia in Madison, WI.  They also had the opportunity to participate alongside VISIT FLORIDA in one of the world’s leading travel trade shows, ITB Berlin, which boasts more than 175,000 attendees and marketers from 186 countries.

Providing assistance to DMOs such as Natural North Florida is a reflection of VISIT FLORIDA’s core objective to provide our industry partners with co-op marketing programs that maximize the impact of their individual resources.  By expanding the reach of Natural North Florida’s marketing efforts, together we are able to help grow economic activity by encouraging visitation to this grouping of geographically diverse destinations and participation in a broader range of activities that increases the impact of the shared Florida brand.