Sunshine Matters

Florida communities have been busy in the week since Hurricane Matthew rolled up our East coast.  Several counties reported very serious damage from the storm, many areas were very fortunate to receive minimal damage and all of the state was impacted by the dramatic media coverage of the first major hurricane to hit the U.S. in a decade.  This week, I joined Carol Dover and her team with the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association to tour some of the areas of our state most impacted by the storm and to offer the assistance of the Florida tourism industry in their recovery efforts.

Yesterday, we visited our industry Partners in Daytona, Flagler and St. Augustine and I can tell you first-hand that today those destinations don’t look anything like the devastating images you saw last weekend.

Our initial stop was Daytona Beach where we met with industry leaders and participated in the Biketoberfest kick-off press conference at Daytona International Speedway.  I am delighted to report that the area around the Speedway, as well as the beach where we stayed the night before, are looking good.  As Lori Campbell Baker from the Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau remarked, “Matthew is gone and Biketoberfest is on!” as bikers began rolling into town.

Next, we visited with Matt Dunn from Palm Coast and the Flagler Beaches.  With the beach and sections of A1A still closed, VISIT FLORIDA will be working closely with Matt and his team to highlight the old Florida charm of the community, which is as unique and vibrant as ever.  We had a great lunch at Vessel Sandwich Co., a casual, mom-and-pop restaurant on Flagler Beach, that, like most of the other businesses in the area, is back to normal operations.  We also visited Marineland, which reopened to the public Thursday.  While reporting some damage, they shared the good news that all of the animals, including a two-week-old baby dolphin, had weathered the storm just fine.

Finally, we met with Richard Goldman from the St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra and The Beaches Visitors & Convention Bureau and attended a press conference at the Pirate & Treasure Museum right across the street from the Castillo de San Marcos.  I am delighted to say the area is back to looking as picturesque and historic as ever.

One observation from the visit was the overwhelming presence of first responders, who all deserve a huge thank you for their efforts to get our communities powered up and ready to welcome visitors.  A second observation is the strength and resiliency of the Florida tourism industry.

While VISIT FLORIDA has launched an integrated marketing campaign to keep visitors coming to the Sunshine State, we need your help as well.  This weekend, please take some pictures of your favorite Florida locations and share the images on social media using #LoveFL.  Together, we will let the world know Florida is “open for business” and that we still have the best tourism product in the world.