Sunshine Matters

Brazil is one of Florida’s key global markets, ranked third for international visitation to Florida. Last week, to ensure the Sunshine State remains top of mind with Brazilian travelers, VISIT FLORIDA’s International Marketing and Public Relations teams participated in World Travel Market Latin America 2018.

Now in its sixth year, WTM Latin America was held April 3-5 at the Expo Center Norte in São Paulo, Brazil. As the world’s leading event for the travel industry in Latin America, the three-day show attracted 6,000 travel professionals and 598 exhibiting companies.

At this year’s convention, VISIT FLORIDA was joined by attendees from Industry Partners including Strategic Alliance Partners, DMOs and CVBs. In addition to coordinating the Florida Stand, VISIT FLORIDA held 25 trade show meetings, 21 media appointments, and hosted a media reception attended by 22 journalists and influencers.

Margarita Castaneda, Director of Marketing, Latin America and Caribbean, for the Hertz Corporation, said, “Our partnership with VISIT FLORIDA is extremely valuable and offers Hertz the opportunity to introduce our new brands to the Latin American market. Florida is the number one destination for Brazilians, so we were thrilled to be a part of the VISIT FLORIDA presence at WTM Latin America.”

Jack Wert, Executive Director of the Naples, Marco Island and Everglades CVB, said, “We would not be able to attend WTM Latin America without our partnership with VISIT FLORIDA. Having a presence in international markets is extremely important to our growth and being at this event with VISIT FLORIDA provides an opportunity to show Brazilian tour operators, travel agents and media that there is more to Florida than they know.”

VISIT FLORIDA could not have had such success at WTM Latin America without our Industry Partners, the Beaches of Ft. Myers & Sanibel, the Greater Ft. Lauderdale CVB, the Hertz Corporation, Naples, Marco Island, Everglades CVB, Simon Shopping Destinations and Visit St. Pete/Clearwater.

To learn more about VISIT FLORIDA’s international marketing efforts, visit VISITFLORIDA.org and check out our online Marketing Planner.

The VISIT FLORIDA team, including President & CEO Ken Lawson, stands with Industry Partners at WTM Latin America

VISIT FLORIDA and Industry Partners network with travel professionals at WTM Latin America.