Sunshine Matters

VISIT FLORIDA and more than a dozen industry Partners recently hosted two media receptions in Canada themed “SUNsets and Surprises: Expect the Unexpected.”  One event was held at The Windsor Arms in Toronto with over 70 media in attendance and the other in Calgary at Hotel le Germain with nearly 30 media guests.

The format for both events was a cocktail reception, complete with a signature “Kiss of Sunshine” beverage and a Q&A session conducted by a local celebrity.  Partner representatives from Florida were interviewed in Toronto by Dave Lapsley, who has spent the last two years traveling the world hosting Live Here Buy This on HGTV Canada, and in Calgary by Randy Sharman, a well-known local radio host.

As part of the evening, media were given updates on “What’s New” in Florida for 2014 and offered a host of unique story ideas on travel to the Sunshine State.  Here’s a great example of the media coverage stemming from the events that appeared in Travel Industry Today.

In-country opportunities for VISIT FLORIDA and our Partners to meet face-to-face with Canadian travel media allow us to provide personalized information on Florida destinations that the writers could not gather otherwise.  Reaching Canadian travel media is especially important as VISIT FLORIDA works to grow the record 3.7 million visitors who came to Florida from Canada in 2013.

Many thanks to our industry Partners who helped host these two events, as well as VISIT FLORIDA’s Canadian PR agency of record LMA Communications.  And congratulations to Larry Mogelonsky, LMA President, who was named to HSMAI’s Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales & Marketing list for 2013 during the Adrian Awards gala in New York a few weeks ago.

To learn more about VISIT FLORIDA’s international marketing efforts, check out our online Marketing Planner or contact me at letemadi@visitflorida.org.