Sunshine Matters

Today, Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam and VISIT FLORIDA announced a joint effort to highlight the state’s growing agritourism industry by adding a new feature to the Florida Attractions Finder.  This video-rich online tool, which allows travelers to identify attractions that best fit their personal preference, has been viewed more than 112,000 since its inception in May. Continue reading »

I am pleased to announce that Terry Prather, former President of SeaWorld Orlando, has been appointed to serve as the Executive Director of the Florida Council of Tourism Leaders.  The Council, which is comprised of the former chairs of VISIT FLORIDA’s Board of Directors, creates a strong network of industry experts that may be called on by the Board, the Chair or the President for their expertise and experience.  Collectively, these professionals bring to bear more than two hundred years of institutional knowledge on the Florida tourism and hospitality industry. Continue reading »

VISIT FLORIDA recently hosted a group media familiarization (FAM) tour for four top-tier travel bloggers targeting domestic (U.S) consumers.  Hosting influential media on FAMS allows the journalists or influencers to personally experience the Florida product in order to gather content for their publications, and inspire their readers and followers to visit the Sunshine State.  Each year, the majority of Florida’s visitors come from the United States – 91.2 million in 2015.  With a loaded nine-day itinerary and 13 hour days, VISIT FLORIDA and our Partners set out to ensure the media learned about all of the great experiences Florida has to offer. Continue reading »

VISIT FLORIDA recently participated in U.S. Travel Association’s 48th Annual IPW held in New Orleans.  This event, which is the largest single generator of travel to the U.S., brings travel professionals from every corner of the country—including representatives of hotels, destinations, attractions, museums, amusement parks and other travel businesses—together with the world’s top international tour operators and wholesalers that send travelers to the U.S. Continue reading »

VISIT FLORIDA’s social media influencers program exceeded expectations in its first year, reaching new, more diverse and much bigger audiences — in ways they want to be reached. This program, which debuted in November 2015 and is administered by the SPARK marketing and advertising agency in Tampa, replaced the Insider program, which ran for 8 years. Continue reading »