Sunshine Matters

Last month, in an effort to keep Florida top of mind with international travelers, VISIT FLORIDA joined more than 6,000 attendees from over 70 countries in Denver, Colorado for this year’s IPW—the travel industry’s premier international marketplace and the largest generator of travel to the U.S.

IPW, which took place May 19-23, gathers travel professionals—including U.S. destinations, hotels, attractions, sports teams and transportation companies, and international tour operators, buyers and wholesalers from around the world—to meet in one place to help bring the world to America.

This year’s event was attended by approximately 1,000 U.S. travel organizations, more than 1,300 international and domestic buyers, and over 500 members of the media. Over the course of five days, there were 100,000 prescheduled business meetings between suppliers and buyers, expected to result in $4.7 billion in future international travel to the U.S.

VISIT FLORIDA was well represented with a huge presence on the trade show floor. In addition to key staff from across the organization, VISIT FLORIDA brought a strong contingent of international representatives from Canada, China, Germany, Latin America and the UK. The VISIT FLORIDA International team conducted over 180 pre-scheduled appointments with tour operators and travel trade professionals, and the Public Relations team held more than 50 media meetings in addition to facilitating executive interviews with international and domestic writers in the IPW Media Marketplace.

Elvi Cal, Vice President Product Development, TravelBrands, said, “We met with the VISIT Florida team at IPW in Denver mid-May and had very constructive discussions on driving more Canadians to the state. For TravelBrands, Florida is key to our future growth in the US, and from a Canadian outbound travel perspective, the state leads with 17% of visitors and also dominates in visitor nights and spending so it is crucial we work together to continue this trend. TravelBrands and VISIT FLORIDA have worked together for many years and the relationship is extremely valuable so we are thrilled to be key partners in possible joint marketing ventures.”

Elena Wang, Assistant General Manager, Galaxy Tour, INC, said, “As the top wholesalers in China, Galaxy Tours has developed in depth Florida-only products for the market and saw a big increase for Florida-related products during 2017 and the 2018 Chinese New Year holidays. With Delta launching their direct flight from PVG to ATL, Galaxy Tours would like to keep working with VISIT FLORIDA to develop more Florida products showcasing the diversity of Florida.”

To learn more about our international trade show efforts, visit VISITFLORIDA.org and check out our online Marketing Planner.