Sunshine Matters

VISIT FLORIDA and the Florida tourism industry shined at the recent Connect Marketplace 2016.  We were joined by 35 of our Industry Partners who participated in the popular meeting and incentive conference, this year held in Grapevine, Texas. Collinson Media and Events’ Connect Marketplace is an innovative, appointment trade show designed especially for meeting and event planners, with a heavy focus on education.  

The format of the reverse trade show allowed nearly 3,000 planners and suppliers to maximize their time discussing meeting details and booking business.  VISIT FLORIDA and our Industry Partners averaged 30 appointments each day, providing one-on-one opportunities to showcase the broad range of unique meeting and event locations in the Sunshine State.

As a Collinson Media Alliance Partner, VISIT FLORIDA had the opportunity to address all attendees, sharing information about Florida’s inspiring meeting destinations and previewing our upcoming Florida Encounter event.  VISIT FLORIDA also coordinated a social media giveaway.  Industry professionals engaged with @FLMeetings via Twitter for a chance to win a beach cruiser. To enter, they had to answer the question “Why are Florida meetings the best meetings?” and tag the post with a contest-specific hashtag.  This activity allowed us to utilize the meeting and event planning professionals’ social networks to get the word out about Florida meetings and award the cruiser to a lucky winner during our presentation.

We look forward to participating in additional Collinson Media trade shows, including Connect Faith later this month in Orlando and the Diversity Marketplace in February.  If you would like to learn more about how Florida tourism businesses can benefit from participation in VISIT FLORIDA’s Meetings programs, please contact me at letemadi@VISITFLORIDA.org.