Sunshine Matters

With a little more than two months remaining in the calendar year, I am pleased to share the hard work and success of VISIT FLORIDA’s Industry Relations team.  VISIT FLORIDA’s Industry Relations team is responsible for recruiting and retaining Partners, and works hard to ensure that all of our Partners stay informed of marketing opportunities and program benefits.  Nearly 12,000 tourism industry businesses and organizations engage with VISIT FLORIDA on some level.

VISIT FLORIDA travels monthly to attend and present at Partner meetings, conferences and forums.  We attend these events to engage with the industry and make sure that they are aware of VISIT FLORIDA’s extensive Partner benefits and how to leverage them to attract visitors to their destinations.  The events are also a good opportunity for VISIT FLORIDA to network with the industry and build relationships.

This year, the Industry Relations team has attended more than 80 events across the state, from trade events such as the Florida Attractions Association Regional Forums, HSMAI luncheon and CFHLA Hob Nob, and FRLA Marketing & Operations Summit, to local events such as the Clay County Hospitality Meeting, Panama City Beach COC meeting and the Visit Jacksonville Destination Celebration.

The team was especially busy in May during National Travel & Tourism Week, where they attended more than 15 events to network, present and celebrate the contributions travel and tourism make to Florida’s economy.

In addition, VISIT FLORIDA attends the Original Florida Task Force monthly meetings to promote and drive tourism and visitation to Natural North Florida.  You can read more about our partnership here.

VISIT FLORIDA also went on the road during the summer to host our own events: Partner Roadshows.  In June and July, VISIT FLORIDA hosted Roadshows in Miami, Palm Beach, Tampa, Orlando and Gainesville, with more than 490 attendees representing 350 businesses.  The Roadshows are a great opportunity for us to go to the Partners’ counties and share what’s new at VISIT FLORIDA and how they can take advantage of their benefits.

This year, we worked closely with the DMOs from each Roadshow location to make the events even more successful. The Executive Director of each DMO kicked off the events by welcoming the attendees and introducing VISIT FLORIDA’s Chief Marketing Officer, Paul Phipps.  Each presentation provided Partners with information about our Marketing Partner core benefits, co-op program opportunities, how to participate in the new Online Hospitality Training program and simple ways for businesses to engage visitors.

In winter 2016, VISIT FLORIDA will take to the road again to host Roadshows in North Florida.  Please check visitflorida.org/roadshows for dates, locations and registration information.

For more information on the roadshows, or any aspect of VISIT FLORIDA’s Partner programs, please contact me at kchunka@visitflorida.org