Sunshine Matters

Last Friday, VISIT FLORIDA joined the Florida Association of Destination Marketing Organizations (FADMO) to prepare more than a thousand hygiene care packages for Hurricane Michael victims in Florida’s central Panhandle. More than 40 volunteers from tourism organizations throughout the state assembled items into hygiene kits at the Grand Marlin Restaurant and Oyster Bar in Pensacola Beach, Florida.

Ken Lawson, VISIT FLORIDA President and CEO, said, “While Hurricane Michael, made landfall more than a month ago, many of our neighbors are still feeling the devastating effects of the storm.  VISIT FLORIDA remains dedicated to ensuring everyone in our industry has the resources needed to recover and rebuild. Today, we are honored to have worked alongside partners from across the state to help members of our tourism family come back stronger than ever.”

Organized in conjunction with FADMO and Visit Pensacola, 1,500 hygiene kits were assembled during a two-hour outreach event held during this year’s FADMO Annual Meeting. The kits will be sent to local organizations in Gulf and Bay counties where they will be distributed to the communities severely impacted by the hurricane.

Steve Hayes, FADMO Chairman and Visit Pensacola President, said, “Following Hurricane Michael, we knew we had to do something to help our friends to the east. Destinations around the state are a community, and our annual FADMO meeting in Pensacola offered the perfect opportunity for the industry to come together and help those who were impacted.” 

The items for the hygiene kits were provided by Clean the World Foundation, a social enterprise that distributes recycled soap and hygiene products from more than 5,000 hotel and resort partners. The organization is working to gather and ship over 100,000 relief kits following Hurricane Michael.

Today’s announcement complements recovery assistance efforts already underway by VISIT FLORIDA such as coordinating hurricane shelter comfort and morale efforts with the State Emergency Operations Center, and a corporate donation drive that resulted in crucial items for those in impacted areas, including VISIT FLORIDA employees of the US-231 Official Florida Welcome Center.

Volunteers from tourism organizations throughout the state assembled items into hygiene kits for Hurricane Michael victims at the Grand Marlin Restaurant and Oyster Bar in Pensacola Beach, Florida.

In an effort to showcase Florida’s diverse destinations by bringing attention to the state’s less visited rural areas, VISIT FLORIDA began a travel trade show partnership in 2014 with the Original Florida Tourism Task Force, doing business as Visit Natural North Florida.  As a result, the task force, which represents 14 counties in North Central Florida, was able to show a 16 percent increase in tax revenues for the region between July 2015 and February 2016. Continue reading »

To demonstrate the value of partnership in promoting tourism throughout Florida, VISIT FLORIDA approached six Partner businesses to create videos about their experiences and involvement with our Partnership Program. Seven videos, one for each business and one compilation video, were produced by Cycle Here Media. Continue reading »

With a little more than two months remaining in the calendar year, I am pleased to share the hard work and success of VISIT FLORIDA’s Industry Relations team.  VISIT FLORIDA’s Industry Relations team is responsible for recruiting and retaining Partners, and works hard to ensure that all of our Partners stay informed of marketing opportunities and program benefits.  Nearly 12,000 tourism industry businesses and organizations engage with VISIT FLORIDA on some level. Continue reading »

VISIT FLORIDA, in partnership with the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association, is proud to announce the launch of our new Online Hospitality Training Program.  After months of development and testing, we are excited to roll the program out to the hospitality and tourism industry. Continue reading »