 | Welcome Center Traffic Up 10.5% in 2012 with New Billboard Campaign |
In order to provide personal travel planning assistance to our Sunshine State drive visitors, VISIT FLORIDA operates five Official Florida Welcome Centers located at strategic entry points along Interstate 10. During the first five months of 2012, visitation to the Welcome Centers has grown by 10.5 percent over the same period in 2011. This represents an increase of more than 90,000 visitors, bringing our five-month total visitation number to nearly 1 million. In speaking with our Welcome Center visitors, we attribute the increase in traffic to good weather, value pricing and lower gas prices. We are also certain that the expert customer service provided by our outstanding staff is a contributor to the uptick.
VISIT FLORIDA recently unveiled a new billboard campaign targeting our drive market and directing visitors into one of our Official Florida Welcome Centers. The campaign is designed to grab the drivers’ attention, inform them where to find the upcoming Florida Welcome Center and invite them to stop and come inside. There are 11 highway billboards located north and west of our facilities. The messaging on the billboards features a fun flamingo theme with tag lines of “Wet Your Beak” in reference to our world-famous Florida citrus juice that we share free of charge with our guests and “Stretch Your Legs” inviting the motorists to stop by our facilities and work out the stiffness after a long drive.
The Florida Welcome Centers are now open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. We are operating on extended hours during our busy summer months in order to serve more visitors coming for their Florida vacation. The extended hours began May 29th and will run through September 2nd. We invite you to learn more about our five Official Florida Welcome Centers or chat with our VISIT FLORIDA Welcome Center Insider. For additional information, please contact VISIT FLORIDA’s Visitor Services Coordinator, Annette Larson, at alarson@VISITFLORIDA.org.
David Dodd
Vice President, Visitor Services
Category: Uncategorized | Tags: Official Florida Welcome Center, Sunshine State, VISIT FLORIDA | Comment »
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