Sunshine Matters

Yesterday, the Partnership for Florida’s Tourism and five other statewide organizations hosted the industry’s annual Florida Tourism Day.   This all-day event at the Florida Capitol provided an excellent opportunity to showcase the state’s No. 1 industry to the legislature and to educate them on the rationale for tourism marketing public funding. Continue reading »

Today we celebrate Florida Tourism Day at the Capitol as the industry’s annual opportunity to ensure our legislators know just how important tourism is to the Sunshine State.  And coming off of two consecutive record years of tourism spending and visitation, Florida’s tourism industry has a great story to tell. Continue reading »

VISIT FLORIDA would like to congratulate Chris Thompson and Brand USA on their success in establishing a strong national destination marketing organization that is driving increased travel to the United States.  Their latest efforts to attract visitors from around the globe are spotlighted in a  recent article by the Washington Post. Continue reading »

I am pleased to share that today, during a meeting of the Florida Cabinet, Governor Rick Scott announced that according to preliminary estimates released by VISIT FLORIDA, visitors to the Sunshine State spent a record $71.8 billion, an increase of 6.8 percent over 2011.  This represents a record year of spending in 2012 by tourists in Florida, exceeding the previous highs of $67.2 billion in 2011 and $65.5 billion in 2007. Continue reading »

Today the Florida tourism industry mourns the passing of one of our Founding Fathers.  Tom Staed served as VISIT FLORIDA’s chairman of the board of directors in 1997-1998 and was inducted into the Florida Tourism Hall of Fame Founders Club in 2001 and the Florida Council of Tourism Leaders in 2012.  Tom, a longtime Daytona Beach hotel operator, was a vital figure in the establishment of Florida’s Tourist Development Tax, as well as the assignment of the state’s tourism marketing responsibility to the Florida Commission on Tourism and the creation of VISIT FLORIDA as its operating company. Continue reading »