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Clearwater Dolphins Find New Home at Florida Welcome Centers

By on April 11th, 2013 — 11:19am

As a way to showcase all there is to see and do in the Sunshine State, VISIT FLORIDA operates the five Official Florida Welcome Centers – four of which are located at strategic points along I-10 and the fifth is housed within the State Capitol in Tallahassee.  With more than 2.5 million visitors stopping into the Welcome Centers each year, they represent a tremendous opportunity for VISIT FLORIDA’s tourism industry Partners to share their messaging with a significant portion of the state’s driving travelers.

I am very pleased to announce that this week a groundbreaking new art exhibit featuring the Clearwater Dolphins has opened at each of the four highway Welcome Centers.  These displays represent the first time the Florida Department of Transportation, which maintains the property around the Welcome Centers, has agreed to allow VISIT FLORIDA to place tourism-related items on the exterior of the buildings.  In partnership with DOT, the Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce and the City of Clearwater, Florida’s Official Welcome Centers are now the new home to four of the 6’ fiberglass dolphins for the next year.

The Clearwater Dolphins public art exhibit came to life just prior to the Republican National Convention held in the Tampa Bay area in August 2012.  It served as an opportunity to spotlight local artists, the area’s waterfront, and dolphins – which the region has become synonymous with thanks to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and a little movie called Dolphin Tale.

The project began with the recruitment of sponsors and artists who were originally tasked with creating 25 dolphin statues.  The order quickly increased to over 100 and the talented artists burst into creative mode, designing individually themed and decorated dolphins utilizing a myriad of mediums including fabric, glass, decoupage and paint.  The completed statues, which were on display at Clearwater Beach’s Pier 60 Park for a month leading up to the RNC, caused an immediate media frenzy that led to thousands of enthusiastic visitors thronging to the park to snap photos with the dolphins.

To meet the demands of so many who were unable to see them before the exhibit dispersed, Clearwater’s Dolphins Trail was born.  Sponsors were encouraged to display their dolphins in public viewing areas, with many of them being shown in hotel lobbies, restaurants, shops and offices throughout the Tampa Bay region. Visitors may locate other dolphins on the Trail by checking out VisitClearwaterFlorida.com/DolphinTrail.

Research tells us that visitors who come through the Florida Welcome Centers stay longer and spend more money.  As VISIT FLORIDA begins designing our Welcome Centers of the Future, we are focusing on providing our visitors with a true “Florida Experience.”  With visitors already taking hundreds of photos with the dolphins and sharing them on social media, it’s apparent that the Clearwater Dolphins are a great marketing fit for our new program.

To learn more about VISIT FLORIDA’s Welcome Centers of the Future, please contact Annette Larson at alarson@VISITFLORIDA.org.


David Dodd
Vice President, Visitor Services
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