Sunshine Matters

VISIT FLORIDA’s Visitor Services Department rolled out the Certified Travel Information Centers (CTIC) Program at the beginning of the fiscal year.  CTIC certification brings VISIT FLORIDA recognition to welcome center facilities around the state, providing the institutions and their staff with benefits that enable successful promotion of travel to and throughout Florida. Continue reading »

Recently, thirteen VISIT FLORIDA Visitor Services staff members from the five Official Florida Welcome Centers and the Tallahassee corporate office were invited to participate in a familiarization (FAM) tour of the Pensacola area.  These semi-annual tours allow Welcome Center staff to visit regions of the state so that they can relate first-hand knowledge to newly arrived Florida visitors.  As part of the five-day event, staff experienced many of the wonderful attractions, accommodations and restaurants in the Pensacola area courtesy of our Partners at Visit Pensacola. Continue reading »

Visitation to VISIT FLORIDA’s five Florida Welcome Centers reached 2.5 million travelers in 2013, reflecting a 3.9% increase over the previous year.  In addition to offering detailed travel planning advice to these millions of drive visitors each year, the centers also help promote Florida tourism businesses and organizations.

As a fun way to engage Florida Welcome Center visitors, and showcase all there is to see and do in the Sunshine State, each of the four highway welcome centers set up special displays that allow travelers to learn more about what’s happening in Florida at certain times of the year.  The “Own a Welcome Center” program allows VISIT FLORIDA’s Industry Partners to create a highly visual theme that takes over the interior of the facility for a limited period of time. Continue reading »

October marked “Florida Camping Month” in the Sunshine State.  To celebrate, the I-10, I-75, I-95 and US-231 Official Florida Welcome Centers all took a creative and interactive approach to making Camping Month a huge success.

Each October, the Official Florida Welcome Centers – managed and operated by VISIT FLORIDA – promote “Florida Camping Month” by setting up displays in their facilities and providing activities for visitors.  This year, each center set up a campsite display in their lobby area, where visitors could “camp out,” as well as gather information to help plan their next camping trip or outdoor adventure in the Sunshine State.  Throughout October, nearly 170,000 visitors to the four Interstate Welcome Centers had a chance to experience our Camping Month activities. Continue reading »