Sunshine Matters

VISIT FLORIDA and seventeen of our Industry Partners recently hosted two VIP (Very Important Planner) events in Atlanta and Washington, D.C.   These markets have a strong base of corporate and national association planners that source Florida for meetings and conventions, and have proven to be highly successful in marketing Florida’s diverse and immense meetings opportunities.

In Atlanta, more than fifty meeting professionals came out for two events, including an afternoon at Spa Sydell in Midtown and an iron chef-themed cooking event.  The two events offered VISIT FLORIDA’s participating Partners several networking opportunities and one-on-one interactions with top Atlanta area meeting planners.

In the Washington, D.C. area, the VIP event was held at the historic Whittemore House in Dupont Circle and featured guest speaker Sarah Gabriele from the U.S. Travel Association.  Gabriele spoke about the future of meetings and the “Meetings Mean Business Coalition,” which promotes face-to-face interaction and personal connections.  More than 40 meeting professionals from national associations headquartered in the DC area attended the event.

Business travel accounts for nearly 10 million of Florida’s domestic visitors each year.  VISIT FLORIDA marketing and sales initiatives like these meeting planner events continue to help the Sunshine State shine brighter than other destinations when it comes time for them to select locations.

In the coming months, VISIT FLORIDA will be planning our 2014-2015 fiscal year meetings and convention initiatives.  As our new events become finalized, you can visit our online Marketing Planner on VISITFLORIDA.org  to view details or contact me at chatcher@VISITFLORIDA.org.