Sunshine Matters

VISIT FLORIDA recently participated in the Brand USA India mission, which took place in Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi.  With 30 participating U.S. delegates, the mission attracted more than 700 travel agents.  The event included B2B meetings and networking dinners in each of the three cities.   Continue reading »

I am pleased to share that Brand USA has been re-authorized through 2020 as part of the omnibus spending package that was passed by the U.S. House and Senate over the weekend.   This legislative victory follows months of intense lobbying by U.S. Travel and the exceptional leadership of Florida Rep. Gus Bilirakis and Rep. Peter Welch of Vermont who were the bill’s lead sponsors. Continue reading »

Our International Team has been busy in our emerging markets within the past few months.  Emerging markets are countries that represent a small percentage of Florida’s current international visitors, but have the potential to be much stronger feeder markets in the future.  At present, these markets represent 9 percent of Florida’s international visitors.  Florida’s emerging markets include: Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and Russia. Continue reading »

I am pleased to announce that yesterday evening the U.S. House of Representatives resoundingly voted to reauthorize Brand USA by passing H.R. 4450, the Travel Promotion, Enhancement, and Modernization Act of 2014.  Clearing the House is a major step toward achieving renewal of this vital travel promotion program.

“This victory would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of our travel community who engaged in a wide range of activities including hosting round table meetings and tours in local markets, lobbying on Capitol Hill, sending emails and letters, recording video testimonials and utilizing social media to urge elected federal representatives to support re-authorization of Brand USA,” said Roger Dow, President & CEO of the U.S. Travel Association.  “We also could not have won the House vote without the leadership of Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Peter Welch (D-VT), who introduced the Brand USA re-authorization measure in April and shepherded the bill through the chamber’s process.” Continue reading »

VISIT FLORIDA and a host of our Industry Partners recently completed several successful travel trade events in key Latin American markets, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Uruguay.  Some current stats point out the importance of these growth countries to VISIT FLORIDA’s overall marketing strategy – Brazil ranks second only to Canada in international visitation and visitor spending in Florida; Argentina ranks fourth with a 17 percent increase in visitation to Florida; Mexico ranks sixth with a 7 percent increase in visitation and Chile has become the first Latin American country approved for the visa waiver program. Continue reading »