Sunshine Matters

I am proud to share that during a press conference at the Naples Zoo on Tuesday, March 20, Governor Rick Scott announced that Florida set another tourism record in 2017 by welcoming the highest number of visitors in any year in the state’s history with 116.5 million visitors, according to VISIT FLORIDA. This represents a 3.6 percent increase over the 112.4 million visitors in 2016.

Governor Scott said, “Today, I am proud to announce that Florida has continued our record-breaking success by welcoming more than 116 million visitors in 2017. Because of VISIT FLORIDA’s aggressive marketing efforts to make sure families across the world knew that Florida was open to visitors following Hurricane Irma, we are able to celebrate another record-breaking year for tourism. This is especially great news for the 1.4 million jobs that rely on our growing tourism industry. We will continue to market our state as the number one global destination for tourism.”

VISIT FLORIDA estimates that a record 116.5 million visitors traveled to Florida in 2017, an increase of 3.6 percent over last year. This number breaks down to 102.3 million domestic visitors, 10.7 million overseas visitors and 3.5 million Canadian visitors coming to the Sunshine State. Total enplanements at Florida’s 18 major airports in 2017 increased 4.1 percent over the same period the previous year, with 87.2 million passengers. The number of hotel rooms sold in Florida during 2017 grew by 4.6 percent compared to quarter four 2016. During the same period, Florida’s average daily room rate (ADR) increased by 2.6 percent and occupancy by 3.2 percent.

Ken Lawson, President and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA, said, “Florida welcomed a record 116.5 million visitors in 2017, which is great news for our state. Because of the cutting-edge marketing programs at VISIT FLORIDA, particularly following Hurricane Irma, we were able to increase total visitation by 3.6 percent over last year, resulting in billions of dollars in revenue for the state. We are continuing to aggressively market the Sunshine State to the rest of the country and the rest of the world.”

Carol Dover, President and CEO of Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA), said, “Given all the Sunshine State has to offer as a vacation destination, it comes as no surprise that each year, Florida continues to attract visitors in record numbers, however this welcomed outcome is incredible considering the tough year our state has faced in the wake of Hurricane Irma and validates the state’s sound investment in tourism marketing. FRLA salutes the diligent efforts of VISIT FLORIDA, as well as our hospitality industry partners, who work in concert to ensure Florida remains competitive as a leading global destination. Visitors are not only enjoying our hotels and restaurants, they’re simultaneously boosting state and local revenues, and supporting 1.4 million industry jobs across the state.”

Florida set another record despite losing 1.8 million visitors due to Hurricane Irma, according to a recent report commissioned by VISIT FLORIDA. The impact report of Hurricane Irma shows that it cost the state 1.8 million visitors. An estimated 34.9 million out-of-state visitors came to Florida in the final four months of 2017. In the “no hurricane” model, Florida would have hosted 36.7 million visitors during that same time period. Additionally, Irma resulted in a loss of $1.5 billion in visitor spending, with $1.1 billion attributable to domestic visitors and $400 million for international visitors. Visitation was hit hardest in September, with visitation falling 13.5 percent relative to anticipated growth. However, losses were drastically reduced by October, and even more so in the following months. VISIT FLORIDA’s Post-Irma Marketing Campaign helped curb the effects of Irma on visitation, with an estimated 358 million impressions in the month following Irma.

VISIT FLORIDA estimates that a record 28.5 million visitors traveled to Florida in the fourth quarter of 2017, an increase of 5.5 percent over the same period last year. This Q4 number breaks down to 25.0 million domestic visitors, 2.8 million overseas visitors and 705,000 Canadian visitors coming to the Sunshine State. Total enplanements at Florida’s 18 major airports in Q4 2017 increased 6.7 percent over the same period the previous year, with 21.7 million passengers. The number of hotel rooms sold in Florida during quarter four of 2017 grew by 8.1 percent compared to quarter four 2016. During the same period, Florida’s average daily room rate (ADR) increased by 5.4 percent and occupancy by 7.0 percent.

To view the full Hurricane Irma Impact Report, click HERE.

To view additional Florida visitor data, click HERE.

*Preliminary estimates are issued 45 days after the end of each calendar quarter. Final estimates are released when final data are received for all estimates in the report.

Last week, VISIT FLORIDA’s International team attended ITB Berlin, the world’s leading travel tradeshow. ITB Berlin, held March 7-11 in Berlin, Germany, hosted approximately 10,000 exhibitors and organizations from 186 countries eager to promote their destinations to more than 170,000 convention attendees.

At this year’s convention, VISIT FLORIDA’s pavilion included 68 Florida attendees from 22 Industry Partners including DMOs, hotels and attractions.

Miles Saunders, Media and Content Manager at Discover Crystal River, said, “This has been our most successful ITB ever, and we could not have done it without VISIT FLORIDA. The German market is our most important international market and the connections we have made are phenomenal. As a smaller destination, we rely heavily on VISIT FLORIDA and were proud to be a part of their presence.”

The first three days of the travel show are dedicated to trade professionals only, while the latter two are designed to spotlight destinations to consumers. VISIT FLORIDA staff had a full schedule of nearly 50 appointments with tour operators and travel brands and met with 60 key journalists and bloggers on the trade show floor. In addition, VISIT FLORIDA staff members participated in the Speed Blogger Event and the Visit USA Media Breakfast which offered even more one-on-one time with some of ITB Berlin’s 5,500+ accredited journalists and bloggers representing approximately 100 countries.

For the sixth year in a row, VISIT FLORIDA hosted a signature travel trade and media event, providing our Partners the opportunity to network with 180 European travel trade representatives and journalists in a unique atmosphere. This year’s event, sponsored by The Beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel as well as Eurowings, was held in the Pan Am Lounge at House Eden, the luxurious apartment building used in the 60’s and 70’s to house flight crew from the famous Pan American Airways.

Tamara Pigott, Executive Director of The Beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel, said, “ITB is an incredibly important tradeshow for The Beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel. Because of our Partnership with VISIT FLORIDA, we were able to cohost this year’s Pan Am Lounge event with Eurowings and promote the six weekly Eurowings flights from Germany to Fort Myers starting in May.”

Also during ITB Berlin, VISIT FLORIDA sponsored the LGBT ITB Party by TomOnTour at The Reed Club. This party, which is by special invitation only, reinforces VISIT FLORIDA’s commitment to serving the LGBT travel community on a global scale, and helps promote the Sunshine State as one of the world’s premier gay and lesbian destinations.

Suya Davenport, Corporate Director of Leisure Sales at Benchmark, a global hospitality company, said, “ITB Berlin is a great show that offers Benchmark the opportunity to develop new relationships with the German market and build on our relationships with the Florida destination Partners who attend. “We have hotels throughout the state, so our partnership with VISIT FLORIDA is very important to our company. This tradeshow is just one of the many reasons our company is a VISIT FLORIDA Partner.”

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

Earlier this week, VISIT FLORIDA concluded another successful Florida Huddle trade show in in Ft. Lauderdale. Florida Huddle is the premier appointment-based tradeshow showcasing all the Sunshine State has to offer for domestic and international tour operators and wholesalers. As one of VISIT FLORIDA’s signature events, Florida Huddle brings together domestic and international tour operators and wholesaler buyers with Florida destinations, attractions, properties and service companies selling their products all under one roof. Collectively, tour operators and wholesalers send millions of visitors to Florida annually, so creating more opportunities like Huddle for Florida companies to showcase their version of sunshine is so important.

Florida Huddle 2018 by the numbers:

• Total attendees: 603
• Buyers: 224
  • From # countries: 14
• Total Buyer Companies: 157
• Appointment taking Suppliers: 202
• Total Supplier Companies: 208
• Total appointments made: 6,770
• Total Media: 34

Stacy Ritter, President & CEO of Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, said “Aside from the significant economic impact of hosting this prestigious conference in Greater Fort Lauderdale, we are pleased to be able to highlight our world class LEED certified convention center, unique meeting venues and culinary scene to travel trade and media.  It is also a wonderful opportunity for us to showcase our diverse, warm and welcoming destination around the world.”

Maureen Maheu, Director, USA & Cruise Division of Sunwing Travel Group and 25-Year Attendee, said “Florida Huddle is one of the shows I wouldn’t miss. It is always beneficial to meet with new suppliers and current contacts. We have added three new hotels to our product offering as the result of the meetings on the first day.”

James Killick, Destination Manager at Virgin Holidays and 17-Year Attendee, said “Florida is an important event in our calendar each year. Florida is such an important destination for both Virgin Holidays and Virgin Atlantic, so it’s imperative that we attend. Florida Huddle serves as a spring board for catching up with our existing Partners and forming new relationships. It allows us to review how the year ahead is looking and plan for the following year.

David Towbridge, President of Resort Inventory Group, and 10-Year Attendee, said “From the high caliber suppliers to the appointment scheduling style, Florida Huddle is a very efficient show that benefits our company year after year.”

Last week, Governor Scott and VISIT FLORIDA announced another record quarter for tourism, with Florida welcoming over 88 million visitors through the first nine months of the year.  This represents a 3.3 percent increase over last year, which is great news. Even with this success, we are continuing to aggressively market our state to finish the year.  We are doubling down on our success by launching our new 4th Quarter Blitz Campaign, which will encourage last-minute, impulse getaways for consumers during the holiday season.  The campaign will include digital advertising, radio promotions, Facebook Live broadcasts, and shopping mall takeovers targeted towards our largest markets on the East Coast, such as Atlanta, New York, Boston and Philadelphia.

The targeted digital advertising elements will include Google TrueView, Taboola, Adara, and Quantcast.  These elements use digital algorithms to help distribute Florida holiday-themed content to targeted consumers across a number of platforms.  The radio promotions will air in Detroit, Houston and Atlanta and be featured on nationally-syndicated shows such as Elvis Duran, Mario Lopez, Delilah and Bobby Bones.  These promotions will give listeners a chance to win a trip to Florida, but also keep Florida’s sunshine top of mind during the winter season.  The Facebook Live broadcasts will feature six Florida cities and focus on the warm weather at some of our state’s brightest attractions and destinations.  And finally, with our shopping mall takeovers, we’re placing fresh content on cutting-edge video boards and ad panels at some of the busiest, high-end malls on the East Coast, such as Lenox Square in Atlanta and King of Prussia in Philadelphia.

With these elements in place, our 4th Quarter Blitz will help last minute travelers and shoppers wrap up some sunshine this holiday season as we round out another successful year for tourism in our state.