Sunshine Matters

Preliminary estimates* of visitors to Florida for the second quarter of 2010 (April – June) show an estimated 20.8 million travelers visited the Sunshine State.  This represents an increase of 3.4 percent from the same period in 2009.

While Florida as a whole showed an increase in visitors for the second quarter, we know that tourism businesses in oil-impacted parts of the state have suffered economically.  There can be little doubt that without Governor Crist’s intense focus and our aggressive tourism marketing efforts during May and June the Sunshine State could easily have been looking at a very different outcome. 

Domestic visitors increased by 2.4 percent, overseas visitors increased by 11.9 percent and Canadian visitors increased by 10.4 percent, compared to the same period in 2009.  Of the 20.8 million visitors Florida welcomed this past quarter, domestic visitation represents 18.3 million or an estimated 88 percent of total; overseas visitors at 1.9 million or 9 percent of total; and Canadian visitors at 702,000 or 3.4 percent of total.  Also up for the second quarter of 2010, total enplanements at Florida’s 14 major airports rose by 2.5 percent and Quarter Two 2010 monthly hotel occupancy rates were up 4.8 percent.

“When you look at the misperceptions in the marketplace, fueled by the intense media coverage of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, it is truly impressive that VISIT FLORIDA’s aggressive marketing efforts and the actions of the entire tourism industry working together were able to positively impact the second quarter results,” said Ed Fouche, Chairman of the VISIT FLORIDA Board of Directors and Senior Vice President-Travel Industry Sales for Disney Destinations. “However, as response and recovery efforts are winding down, the industry remains concerned about public misperception and recognizes that the same level of resources may be needed to ensure travelers know that Florida’s beaches are clean, clear and open for business.”

VISIT FLORIDA pushed its marketing response to the oil spill into high gear with the launch of Florida Live, a real-time resource for visitors to see for themselves what’s happening in Florida.  Initially, it consisted of live webcam images from various locations around the state, Twitter feeds from local tourism organizations and date-stamped photos by fans sharing their favorite Florida experiences.  Florida Live has continued to evolve with the addition of daily videos, blog posts, vacation deals, worry-free reservation information, daily travel updates and daily fishing reports.

The new feature became the call to action for an aggressive advertising and public relations campaign focused on driving consumers to Florida Live at VISITFLORIDA.com.  The website had a record month in June with nearly 720,000 visitors, up 46 percent from the same month a year ago.

“We realized right away that providing a vehicle for visitors to make the most informed travel planning decisions possible was the right thing to do,” said Will Seccombe, Chief Marketing Officer at VISIT FLORIDA. “This clearly demonstrates that transparent, real-time messaging resonated with potential visitors at a crucial time in their travel planning.”

*Preliminary estimates are issued 45 days after the end of each calendar quarter.  Final estimates are released when final data are received for all estimates in the report.