Sunshine Matters

Yesterday, VISIT FLORIDA and nine other statewide organizations hosted the industry’s annual Florida Tourism Day at the Capitol.  This all-day event provided an excellent opportunity to showcase the state’s No. 1 industry to the legislature. Continue reading »

As part of Florida Tourism Day at the Capitol, a group of former Florida Tourism Hall of Fame inductees, VISIT FLORIDA Board members and Florida Council of Tourism Leaders was on hand for the official unveiling of the new Florida Tourism Hall of Fame display at the Florida Capitol.  The event, which was held at the Official Capitol Welcome Center, marked the culmination of a project by the Florida Council of Tourism Leaders to relocate the Hall of Fame from VISIT FLORIDA’s headquarters to a more widely-accessible display in the Capitol building. Continue reading »

I am pleased to announce that during last evening’s awards gala in New York City, Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) recognized Susannah Costello, VISIT FLORIDA’s Vice President of Global Brand, as one of its “Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales & Marketing.” This distinction marks Susannah as one of the “best of the best” in the hospitality, travel and tourism industries for 2014.  Two other Florida tourism industry leaders were named to this year’s list – Vince LaRuffa with Universal Orlando Resort and Jack Wert with the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau. Continue reading »

During a press conference at the Tampa International Airport this morning, Governor Rick Scott announced that according to VISIT FLORIDA’s preliminary estimates 97.3 million visitors came to Florida in 2014, an increase of 3.9 percent over 2013.  This is the fourth consecutive record year for visitation to Florida, exceeding the previous high of 93.7 million in 2013.  The number of direct travel-related jobs in 2014 was also a record high, with 1,135,700 Floridians employed in the tourism industry, up 3.6 percent from 2013. Continue reading »

Today Governor Rick Scott released the 2015-16 “Keep Florida Working” budget.  I am happy to share that the Governor recommended an $85 million investment in VISIT FLORIDA.  With this increased funding, VISIT FLORIDA will continue to build on the state’s momentum and will be able to expand our successful integrated global marketing efforts. Continue reading »