Sunshine Matters

Through a partnership with the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA), VISIT FLORIDA co-sponsored the 15th Annual IIFA Weekend &  Awards event which took place in Tampa this past weekend.  The IIFA Awards are Bollywood’s version of the Academy Awards, but on a much larger scale.  With a global audience estimated to be more than 800 million viewers from 110 countries, this partnership provides a huge opportunity for Florida to reach Indian travelers living around the world.

This year marked the first time the IIFA Awards have been held in the United States, bringing nearly 30,000 visitors to the Tampa area for the weekend extravaganza.  As part of our partnership, VISIT FLORIDA hosted 18 media representatives who traveled from India, the United Kingdom, Canada and the U.S.  to cover the event and write about Florida as a top travel destination.  Members of VISIT FLORIDA’s own Content team had full access to all the weekend’s big events, offering significant postings to social media and producing multiple stories for VISITFLORIDA.com.

VISIT FLORIDA’s partnership with IIFA extends well beyond this weekend, including a “Weekend with IIFA” post-show that will be broadcast on Sunday, June 8 for the same huge international audience, as well as broadcast in English on Star World Network. Twelve vignettes showcasing celebrities experiencing the Sunshine State’s theme parks and other attractions in Orlando, Tampa and Miami can be seen during the post show and will be featured on Facebook and Twitter.  The total coverage package, from Saturday night’s initial broadcast to re-broadcasts of the show and the one-hour post-show special, includes over 30 hours of total broadcast time for VISIT FLORIDA and our Industry Partners.