Sunshine Matters

As we previewed at Governor’s Conference, VISIT FLORIDA will host the “Great VISIT FLORIDA Beach Walk” on November  6 to clear up any doubts about the status of Florida’s beaches in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The event will bring together thousands of residents and volunteers across the state to walk their favorite mile of Florida beach and take photos proving that every one of the Sunshine State’s beaches are as pristine as ever. 

Photos of Florida’s 825 miles of beaches will appear in the “Florida Live” feature on VISITFLORIDA.com so potential visitors can see the latest beach conditions for themselves.  Florida Live was created in May 2010 to maintain consumer trust through the course of the crisis by providing real-time updates from destinations around the state, coupled with live webcams and consumer generated content.

One of the great elements of Florida Live was the activation of Floridians to tell the real story.  We reached out to our ‘Share a Little Sunshine’ fans on Facebook and asked them to post date-stamped images of our beaches – and they proved to be great fans.  Recent focus groups told us those real photos, taken by real people, were really powerful.

Studies conducted by Kerr & Downs Research have shown that people who visited Florida Live were 31 percent more likely to visit Florida during and after the oil spill than those who had not been to the site.  Recognized as a best practice for crisis management, Florida Live has proven to be an innovative use of technology and content to address the oil spill situation.

However, research also indicates a disturbing level of consumer misperception about the lingering physical impact of the oil spill on Florida’s beaches. The result of this misperception is that a significant number of leisure travelers are less likely to visit Florida now versus before the oil spill – including many parts of the state that never experienced any physical impacts at all – leaving the Florida tourism brand tarnished.

One hundred percent of Florida’s beaches are clean and clear, but we still have a lot of work to do to clean up Florida’s image.  The Great VISIT FLORIDA Beach Walk will allow us to make the point, once and for all, that every single one of Florida’s 825 miles of beaches is as beautiful as ever.

VISIT FLORIDA reached out to various organizations around the state to assist in the effort.  To ensure that every mile of beach is represented, Volunteer Florida is organizing the volunteer walkers and photographers in each of the state’s 34 beach counties.  Those interested in participating in the Beach Walk are being asked to register in advance at www.VISITFLORIDA.com/beachwalk.

“Volunteers are all about making a difference for their communities, and now they can make a difference for their state!” said Volunteer Florida CEO Wendy Spencer. “It is truly amazing to think that all of Florida’s beaches will be touched by volunteers wanting to ‘Share a Little Sunshine’ with people all over the world.”

In order to better promote the event, VISIT FLORIDA has also received the assistance of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association and the Florida Lottery.  Both organizations have agreed to provide promotional support for the event through their outreach channels across the state.

For more information on the Great VISIT FLORIDA Beach Walk, go to www.VISITFLORIDA.com/beachwalk.