Sunshine Matters

Thank you for following Sunshine Matters!  Here is today’s update regarding the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

At this time, there continues to be no impact to Florida’s 2,276 miles of tidal shoreline, 1,197 miles of coastline and 663 miles of beaches, and VISIT FLORIDA is continuing with all of our sales and marketing efforts to promote Florida as the #1 travel destination in the world.

However, as the news continues to raise the alarm about a potential impact from the spill, we have taken steps to enable consumers to get the facts and not react out of fear or misinformation.

If VISIT FLORIDA is going to be the trusted source for travel planning information after this potential crisis passes, we need to offer credible and transparent information before and during any potential crisis.

VISIT FLORIDA has put in place a communication platform to provide consumers with information from the most credible sources – official information from the State of Florida and information direct from local destinations. At present, these status updates communicate that our destinations are clear and open for business. The same platform will also provide the most current local information should the situation worsen.

VISIT FLORIDA is hosting a Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Update page on VISITFLORIDA.com which provides consumers with real-time information on the status of all Florida destinations. We have also added new map-based navigation to facilitate consumer interaction with the most up-to-date information coming from our Destination Marketing Organization Partners. We encourage you to visit the VISIT FLORIDA Travel Update page and select a city or region to see how this feature works.

In addition to putting in place consumer communication platforms to handle a potential crisis, we are working closely with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection on their messaging to visitors and providing updates on the situation to our industry. You can get the latest information via our corporate blog here at www.SunshineMatters.org. If you have not already, we encourage you to sign up for the RSS feed or e-mail alerts from the blog. We are also providing the industry with the most current information on both our industry Twitter Account www.twitter.com/FloridaTourism and our Corporate Facebook page www.facebook.com/FloridaTourism.

Please know that we will continue working to develop the most effective response to this evolving situation. If you have further questions or need assistance with a media request, contact Kathy Torian, VISIT FLORIDA Corporate Communications Manager, at kathyt@VISITFLORIDA.org or (850) 205-3865.