Sunshine Matters

The Florida tourism industry is in the unique position of having attained so much success in recent years that we now face the challenge of determining how best to continue to build on our momentum.  To that end, nearly 200 Florida tourism industry leaders met this week at the annual VISIT FLORIDA Marketing Retreat to review research and hear from experts in order to provide input on the development of a strategic marketing plan for the years to come. Continue reading »

Florida Huddle 2014, held Jan. 14-16 in Palm Beach County, was a resounding success in its first year of being owned and operated by VISIT FLORIDA.  Three high scores for this travel trade show tell the story: more buyers, more time for appointments, more Florida travel business transactions.  Hosted by Discover Palm Beach County, the show was sold out, filling four local hotels and reflecting the tourism industry’s revitalized interest in the re-engineered show. Continue reading »

Following a preview during today’s Board of Directors meeting in Palm Beach, VISIT FLORIDA announced the launch of our winter brand campaign inviting visitors to head to “the warmer side of winter.”  Every major destination competes for visitation this time of year as cold consumers look for a change of pace and environment.  VISIT FLORIDA’s new campaign reminds potential travelers that Florida is the place to be this time of year, with a television spot featuring visitors literally flying over a host of the Sunshine State’s warm weather settings. Continue reading »

VISIT FLORIDA was just recognized as one of the top 50 marketing teams in all of travel by Skift, a leading travel news and information company.  While my name and picture were used, this award is clearly a result of the collective efforts of the whole VISIT FLORIDA family.  I am incredibly proud of this amazing honor acknowledging the great work by our entire team. Continue reading »

I am proud to share that last night travel industry veteran Randy Garfield of The Walt Disney Company was honored as a 2013 inductee into the U.S. Travel Hall of Leaders. Garfield, and fellow honoree Mike Gallagher of CityPASS, were recognized during a dinner attended by more than 100 travel industry leaders as part of the U.S. Travel fall board meeting at the Fairmont in Washington, D.C. Continue reading »