Sunshine Matters

The Florida tourism industry is in the unique position of having attained so much success in recent years that we now face the challenge of determining how best to continue to build on our momentum.  To that end, nearly 200 Florida tourism industry leaders met this week at the annual VISIT FLORIDA Marketing Retreat to review research and hear from experts in order to provide input on the development of a strategic marketing plan for the years to come.

The two-day event included participation from members of VISIT FLORIDA’s Board of Directors and Marketing Committees, as well as key staff, expert presenters and agency partners.  The six keynote speakers brought in to share their expertise with attendees were Erik Wahl, internationally recognized graffiti artist and No. 1 bestselling business author; Bob Hill with aviation planning and technology firm Seabury APG, Cait Douglas, Director of Communications for the Travel Effect initiative at the U.S. Travel Association; Dulani Porter & Richard Cassey with Spark; and Cheryl Schutz from D.K. Shifflet & Associates.

As part of this year’s Marketing Retreat, VISIT FLORIDA outlined several marketing options the tourism industry must weigh when developing both short- and long-term strategies going forward.  Developing a platform that will take VISIT FLORIDA through to the year 2020 must strike a balance between solving for issues related to both scale and divergent destinations across the state.

During brainstorming sessions, VISIT FLORIDA addressed developing strategies that will allow the industry to more effectively target international travelers, especially those from the “Foundation Five,” including Canada, Brazil, the U.K, Germany and Mexico.  The domestic “Heating Up the Heat Map” discussion demonstrated the best strategies for utilizing regional co-op programs to maximize capacity during slower seasons.  In state, the “Harnessing the Power of Florida’s Brand Advocates” lecture discussed using the Share A Little Sunshine platform to promote the U.S. Travel Association’s Travel Effect.

In the midst of the Marketing Retreat, all attendees were invited to an evening reception at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood to help recognize Will Seccombe, VISIT FLORIDA’s President & CEO, as the South Florida Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International’s (HSMAI) “Hospitality Legend of the Year.”  The award is given annually to someone who has shown years of dedicated service and commitment to the area’s hospitality industry.

As was said of Will during the presentation, “Without question you are deserving of this honor as you have always been an important part of the tourism landscape for our area, and through your professional efforts at VISIT FLORIDA and personal commitment you have helped to bring visitors to South Florida.”  Will is most certainly a deserving recipient and we are pleased so many of the statewide industry could be on hand to share in his big moment.

While we were able to gather a tremendous amount of information from the industry during this year’s Marketing Retreat, we all know this event is just the beginning of VISIT FLORIDA’s planning process.  Staff will continue to work with the Marketing Committee members and other industry leaders over the next year on this major effort to develop a marketing platform that will create and add value to our industry Partners and to travelers from around the world.

VISIT FLORIDA’s unique public-private partnership model has proven successful because of the industry’s active involvement in the development and implementation of all our marketing efforts and this year’s Marketing Retreat was no exception.  I would like to thank all of the Partners who were able to attend the retreat for their commitment to VISIT FLORIDA and for the thought-provoking contributions that were made over the two days of meetings.  Their leadership is very much appreciated and will have a significant impact on our ability to make Florida the No. 1 travel destination in the world.

I welcome any feedback on the retreat and would appreciate any additional thoughts, ideas or suggestions on how VISIT FLORIDA can work with the industry to build more innovative and impactful marketing programs that add value to your existing efforts.  Thanks again to everyone who attended – and especially to our event sponsors at the Bonaventure Resort & Spa, Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB, Adara Media, Worth International Media Group, Collinson Media and Events, Madden Media and Northstar Travel Media Group.