Sunshine Matters

VISIT FLORIDA recently hosted the 2015 Florida Tourism Leadership Summit, an evolution of our annual Marketing Retreat, at the beautiful Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort.  Our goal for the event was to provide thought leadership that elevates the ability of tourism industry leaders to drive change and better serve Florida visitors.

The Summit was an invitation-only event for leaders within the Florida tourism industry.  The more than 200 attendees included members of VISIT FLORIDA’s Board of Directors and governing committees which are made up of high-level staff at major attractions, hotels and CVBs across the state, as well as presidents and CEOs of city-level destination marketing organizations.  The format for the two-day event included presentations, TED-style talks, panel discussions and interviews led by executives from such organizations as the Ford Motor Company, Mastercard Advisors, Facebook, NetSeer and Brand New Matter.

This year’s Summit focused on “Disruption and the Future of Travel.”  VISIT FLORIDA created a working-session format intended to drive participant thinking about how the industry will shift as new technology emerges and consumer behavior changes.  We introduced a variety of turning point topics, things that are “disruptors” or provide the impetus for change, and sought the attendees feedback in order to provide direction for VISIT FLORIDA and to chart out our path to the future together. 

Here are five takeaways from the Summit:

Consumers are changing and so are their values
People are collecting experiences, not material things.  Travelers are seeking out what is unique and authentic. They are compromising standardization for one-of-a kind experiences they can claim as their own.

China is still important, but the timing has shifted
We will likely not see an influx of Chinese visitors immediately, but they are still coming.  The extended timeline gives us a longer runway to focus on building a foundation that both supports Florida’s marketing efforts to those potential visitors and hosting them when they are here.

Mobile-Mobile-Mobile
Mobile is the most important thing marketers should be thinking about.  The majority of people start their travel planning on their mobile phones.  Consumers jump seamlessly from device to device and use several devices at the same time.  It’s a mobile first world and we need to build our technology products to optimize for it.

One size fits none  
We must understand the needs and desires of individual consumers.  Whether that means being culturally sensitive or acting on the information they have shared with us to serve them better.  No one wants a generic experience.  So, in order to make our interactions with people personalized, we have to start investing in technology platforms that help us deliver on that desire.

Disruption happens
First, embrace that it will happen.  Second, have a plan that works for both extremes of the spectrum.  Third, seek ways to partner with organizations that are disrupting our industry.

VISIT FLORIDA’s unique public-private partnership model has proven successful because of the industry’s active involvement in the development and implementation of our marketing efforts and this year’s Leadership Summit was no exception.  Many thanks to all the Partners and other industry leadership whose thought-provoking contributions to the discussions are sure to have a significant impact on our ability to make Florida the No. 1 travel destination in the world.

I welcome any feedback on the Summit and would appreciate any additional thoughts, ideas or suggestions on how VISIT FLORIDA can work with the industry to build innovative and impactful marketing programs that add value to your existing efforts.

Thanks again to everyone who attended – and especially to our event sponsors at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort, Destination 360, Amelia Island CVB, AAA Living, ADARA, Madden Media and Meredith Travel Group.