Sunshine Matters

You can’t plan it and you certainly can’t control it, but sometimes it all comes together – weather, style-setters and action-packed polo creating a thrilling day on and off the field at the International Polo Club in Wellington, Florida. With this backdrop of the U.S. Open Polo Championship Final Match, VISIT FLORIDA and our Partners hosted  a “Chukkers, Champagne and Sunshine” media brunch that few will soon forget.

Though the setting was formal, the atmosphere was relaxed as Partners from the Florida Department of Agriculture, Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach, the OPAL Collection in Palm Beach County, Visit Sarasota, Visit St. Petersburg/Clearwater, The Paradise Coast, and the Florida Agriculture Center & Horse Park Authority enjoyed Sunday brunch and talked with journalists.  More than 20 media from around the world, including Argentina, the UK, Canada, Germany and cities dotting the US, had a chance to learn about Florida’s many equine and luxury assets.

There was much to discuss; the equine industry in Florida accounts for $5.1 billion in economic impact yearly with 68,000 people employed by the industry.  Ocala/Marion County in Central Florida calls itself the “Horse Capital of the World” with more than 700 horse farms sitting on 30,000 acres.  There are actually horse farms located in each county of Florida, making up nearly 30 percent of the state’s total farms.  It’s serious business and seriously fun to enjoy Florida’s many equine assets, from horse surfing in Bradenton to a trail ride in Levy County.

In addition to the Partners at the International Polo Club, 16 VISIT FLORIDA Partners contributed to a luxury-equine landing page created as an introduction for the media. Amelia Island welcomed readers to “Come Make Memories,” Florida’s Historic Coast invited guests to “epic shopping, grand hotels and engaging interludes,” and Visit South Walton highlighted the 2015 Forbes Travel Guide Star Award Winners in Northwest Florida. The venues are different, but the message is always the same: Florida offers sophisticated upscale vacation experiences for all tastes.

Polo took center stage on Sunday, but VISIT FLORIDA, in conjunction with Discover The Palm Beaches, also hosted six media for a five-day FAM trip before and after the U.S. Open Polo Championship Final Match.  The trip offered a luxury FAM experience of the Palm Beach area.  To understand how they were exploring the area, the tables were turned on the media when asked, “What do you consider luxury?”

Kate Michael with Pursuitist: “When you surround yourself in a cocoon of comfort, for example, the HMY yacht trip was the ultimate experience for all five senses; looking at and touching the magnificent yacht, feeling the sun on you as you sailed, smelling the ocean waters and tasting the amazing champagne.”

DeMarco Williams with Forbes Travel Guide: “It speaks to anticipation, knowing what the client needs before they ask, for example, at the Eau Palm Beach the housekeeping staff picked up my phone and laptop chargers and put them in a little mesh bag to keep them together so I wouldn’t forget them.”

Katie Nanton with NUVO Magazines: “Luxury is a perfect combination of natural, pristine coastline and handmade beauty, not necessarily something that money can buy, for example at hotels, restaurants and even on our yacht trip, it appears seamless from the front, but dozens are working behind the scene to create the experience.”

Susan Veness: The Telegraph Online/The Guardian: “Stepping outside your everyday experiences to be immersed in an atmosphere of pampering.  Like being out on the water during the yacht trip, ‘that is a gift’.”

Between scrumptious food at Jové Kitchen & Bar at Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach, exotic and classic cars at the Barrett Jackson Auction, learning to play croquet at the National Croquet Center, yoga and massages at the Eau Palm Beach spa, shopping on Worth Avenue and dinner at the HMF restaurant at the Breakers Palm Beach, all the senses were indulged, every need anticipated and all the experiences seamlessly fulfilled.

For more information about VISIT FLORIDA’s media relations efforts, contact me at pforrester@visitflorida.org.