Sunshine Matters

From decadent desserts dipped in chocolate to wild airboat rides on the St. Johns River, Florida is truly a destination that offers something for everyone.  This is what VISIT FLORIDA, along with three of our Industry Partners: Visit Orlando, Daytona Beach Area CVB and Florida’s Space Coast, set out to prove with three journalists from India.

Recently, Emirates Airlines announced that, starting in September, they will commence daily flights from Dubai to Orlando, which will make the Sunshine State more accessible than ever for the Middle East and Southeast Asian markets.  With a population of 1.2 billion, India is an emerging international market for Florida.  Top leisure activities for the Indian traveler include shopping, theme parks, museums and sightseeing – all activities Florida offers in abundance.

To give Indian visitors a feel for what they can experience while on a Florida vacation, VISIT FLORIDA arranged for the writers to road trip across Central Florida and along the Atlantic coast on a 10-day familiarization tour.  In addition to providing content for stories they plan to write once returning home, each of the writers were posting to Twitter, Instagram and Facebook throughout the trip.

In Orlando, the media got in touch with their inner child while exploring Walt Disney World.  The next stop was Winter Park, where this walkable community turned out to be the perfect place to spend an afternoon.

To experience some all-American fun, we headed to Daytona Beach to catch a baseball game at the Jackie Robinson Ball Park.  A tour of Angell & Phelps Chocolate Factory was next on the agenda.  To burn off the calories, a hike to the top of the state’s tallest lighthouse was in order.

The last stop on the road trip was Florida’s Space Coast.  At the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, the media tested out the center’s high-tech simulators to get an idea of what it felt like to be launched into space.  Then, it was off to lunch with an astronaut.  Of course, one can’t come to Florida and miss out on an alligator sighting, so our final stop was the Lone Cabbage Fish Camp.

Many thanks to all our Partners who helped make the India media FAM so unique and authentically Florida.  For more information about India FAM trips and other PR programs, please contact Lucille Spann, Public Relations Representative, at lspann@VISITFLORIDA.org.