Sunshine Matters

Last month, VISIT FLORIDA’s International Team was busy with our Latin American markets, hosting a Familiarization (FAM) Tour and participating in multiple conferences and events in Boca Raton, Brazil and Argentina.

At the beginning of September, VISIT FLORIDA participated in La Cita, which is a three-day forum for travel industry professionals from Latin America.  This year, the event was held in Boca Raton and VISIT FLORIDA had the opportunity to conduct more than 30 appointments with Latin American clients and media.  As the official media sponsor for La Cita, VISIT FLORIDA served on the selection and policy making committee, as well as provided the media lounge for attendees.

Before the forum, VISIT FLORIDA hosted a Pre-La Cita FAM for Latin American travel agents and media to showcase Southwest Florida.  Five FAM participants from Colombia and Costa Rica explored various properties in Fort Myers, visiting the IMG Academy, discovering a variety of cuisine throughout the city, and shopping at local retailers.  The participants were also given the opportunity to explore Florida’s beaches.

On September 22-26, VISIT FLORIDA and four of our Partners coordinated the Florida booth under the Brand USA Pavilion at the Brazilian Travel Agents Association (ABAV) Tourism Fair in Sao Paulo, Brazil.  This event is the largest and most important travel trade fair in the Americas, attracting more than 45,000 consumers, exhibitors and hosted buyers.

Brazil currently ranks second in top international countries for visitation and visitor spending in Florida, with 1.75 million travelers spending $2.2 billion in 2014.  As the number of visitors to the U.S. continues to grow by double-digit figures, Brazil remains one of our most important international markets.

Following the ABAV Tourism Fair, VISIT FLORIDA and three more Partners traveled to Argentina to participate in the Feria Internacional de Turismo (FIT) in Buenos Aires.  The four-day show attracted more than 62,000 consumers and 31,000 trade attendees.  In 2014, Argentina was a top five country for visitation and spending in Florida, with more than 700,000 visitors spending $538 million.

During the event, the Ambassador of Argentina visited the Florida booth to commend the work being done on approving visas and shared that more than 2,000 visas were processed when registration first opened in July and more than 30,000 were processed in August.  He felt this was a huge step for tourism and travel to Florida and the United States.

VISIT FLORIDA and our Partners also coordinated a VIP event around FIT for more than 200 top tour operators, travel agents, airlines and media.  This afforded us the perfect opportunity to show our appreciation for all the support provided to establish Florida as the No. 1 travel destination in the world.

VISIT FLORIDA would like to thank the businesses who partnered with us to make these events successful: Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB, Visit Palm Beach, Naples, Marco Island & the Everglades, Medeival Times Dinner Tournament, The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel, B Ocean, Disney Destinations, Greater Miami CVB, Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Visit Sarasota County and Bradenton Area CVB.

To learn more about our many international travel trade outreach opportunities, please check out the VISIT FLORIDA Marketing Planner or contact me at cjones@VISITFLORIDA.org.