Sunshine Matters

I am pleased to announce that during last evening’s awards gala in New York, Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) recognized VISIT FLORIDA with one Gold and three Silver Adrian Awards.  The awards were given for public relations and digital marketing excellence for VISIT FLORIDA’s winning entries in the 55th Annual Adrian Awards Competition, the world’s most recognized and prestigious advertising, public relations and digital marketing competition for the hospitality, travel and tourism industries. This year’s total of four awards marks VISIT FLORIDA’s largest number of winning Adrian entries ever received.

VISIT FLORIDA was selected by HSMAI to receive a Gold Adrian Award for its “Great VISIT FLORIDA Beach Walk” crisis recovery campaign and Silver Adrian Awards for its “Sunshine Moments” social media campaign, its “Florida Seafood Celebration” special event in Washington, D.C. and its “GO Magazine” feature placement in AirTran’s on-board publication. Continue reading »

VISIT FLORIDA and Visit Pensacola marked the one-year anniversary of the Gulf oil spill by joining together to announce the grand prize winner for the Great VISIT FLORIDA Beach Walk promotion.  The winner, Bridgette Price of Pensacola, was awarded a $5,000 American Express gift card and a Mazda Miata MX-5.  The Beach Walk on Nov. 6, 2010, turned out to be the world’s biggest one-day beach rally and photo fest ever held.

Today on the one-year anniversary, we have an amazing opportunity to close the loop on the oil spill by awarding the Beach Walk prize.  I remain awed by the tremendous outpouring of support we received from our fellow Floridians who wanted to get out and show the world the beauty of this paradise we all enjoy every day.  Continue reading »

Me and Ed Schroeder at Mile Marker 25 in Pensacola Beach

I am delighted to announce that more than 3,700 Florida volunteers in 34 coastal counties covered the Sunshine State’s 825 miles of beaches Saturday in a celebratory event documenting – in more than five thousand real-time photos – the great conditions of Florida’s sandy shores.

The Great VISIT FLORIDA Beach Walk may well have been the world’s biggest beach rally and photo fest. Volunteers from elementary school students to realtors and from dog-walkers to kayakers spent Saturday morning walking at least one beach mile and uploading real-time photos of what they saw. The 5,200+ images show beautiful beaches, glorious sunrises, healthy wildlife, and beach-lovers having a great time. Continue reading »

As we previewed at Governor’s Conference, VISIT FLORIDA will host the “Great VISIT FLORIDA Beach Walk” on November  6 to clear up any doubts about the status of Florida’s beaches in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The event will bring together thousands of residents and volunteers across the state to walk their favorite mile of Florida beach and take photos proving that every one of the Sunshine State’s beaches are as pristine as ever.  Continue reading »

As part of the 43rd Annual Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism, being held September 26-28 at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate, VISIT FLORIDA announced today the launch of several new features to the VISITFLORIDA.com website and a statewide special event being organized to show the world that Florida’s beaches are as beautiful as ever. Continue reading »