Sunshine Matters

VISIT FLORIDA has recently received the results of two surveys – a special survey of Conde Nast Traveler subscribers and one of Florida residents.

The survey of Conde Nast Traveler subscribers was conducted via e-mail and was fielded July 13-21.  The results of the survey showed that only 15 percent of respondents said their travel plans were affected by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Of those, 40 percent were planning to travel to Gulf Coast destinations in the summer and 35 percent were planning to travel in the winter.  The majority of respondents (60 percent) would consider traveling to the Gulf Coast area in the next six months, with South Florida being the most popular destination for future travel plans considered.

Given that Conde Nast Traveler readers are very knowledgeable travelers, it was disheartening to see a number of them believe there is oil on the beaches where there is not.  Between 16-18 percent thought there was oil on a number of Florida’s Gulf Coast beaches that are not in the Northwest Florida area, and another 5-8 percent thought there was oil on various east coast Florida beaches.  While the majority seemed to think oil had hit all the Northwest Florida beaches, between 5-18 percent thought oil was on the shores of a range of other areas in Florida where no oil has even been close.  Despite these statistics, many respondents expressed a desire to visit these areas to be part of the clean-up and support the local economies.

Courtesy of the Florida Department of Agriculture, VISIT FLORIDA was able to conduct a phone survey of 400 Florida residents in mid-July.  Among residents surveyed, it was nearly unanimous that tourism is very important to Florida’s economy and there was strong agreement that a respondent could impact positively on Florida’s economy through their own travel and the traveling of friends and family in the state of Florida.

When residents were asked who they trusted most to give them accurate and unbiased information about the condition of Florida’s beaches, 41 percent indicated the local media covering the area.  This highlights the importance of VISIT FLORIDA’s continuing efforts to proactively work with the media to ensure our message – that visitors can find accurate, real-time local information through Florida Live at VISITFLORIDA.com – is reaching consumers.

When asked about their vacation intentions, nearly half (48 percent) of Floridians said they were going to take a vacation in Florida this year.  Of those planning to take a trip, 39 percent said they were planning to go within the next three months, and that number climbed to 57 percent among those with children.

Only twelve percent of residents who had been planning to take a trip within Florida, said their plans had changed due to the oil spill.  Residents were asked which places in the state they were more or less likely to visit due to the oil spill.  Northwest Florida beaches had the highest responses, with 23-27 percent saying they are less likely to visit due to the oil spill.