Sunshine Matters

Last week, VISIT FLORIDA hosted its inaugural Digital Innovation Forum: Florida in the Orlando area.  The event had over 150 attendees representing diverse roles and businesses within our industry.  The purpose of the Florida version of the Digital Innovation Forum was to provide Florida-specific travel insights in the digital sphere as well as highlight strategic partnership product opportunities.

Expedia, Facebook, Google, ListenFirst Media and Travel Startups Incubator presented innovations and key trends in digital marketing, including mobile, video and more.

Travel Startups Incubator vetted 11 emerging startups from all over the world, including some Florida-based.  The startups touched on verticals throughout the travel industry—hoteliers, airlines, DMOs, attractions and more. Read more about the individual startups here.

The startups each had five minutes to present, then were challenged in a three-minute Q&A from a panel of industry experts:

• Danielle Hollander, Chief Marketing Officer of Visit Orlando
• Sharon Siskie, Senior Vice President, Disney Destinations
• Terry Prather, Executive Director, Florida Council of Tourism Leaders, VISIT FLORIDA

These presentations and insights generated several key takeaways for tourism organizations as they navigate their digital strategy and stay on the forefront of innovation:

1)    Metrics are ever important.  Having key metrics identified and measuring the success of your campaign allows your organization to optimize your efforts.

2)    Industry collaboration and creativity amplifies innovation.  When our industry forms a collaborative voice, we can present a data-driven, digitally-focused, cohesive vision of Florida to the world.

3)    Make your content unskippable.  If you don’t capture the consumer immediately, you’ve lost them. Consumers need to see targeted messages at the right time on the right device.

From March 27-30, 2017, VISIT FLORIDA will also host a Digital Innovation Forum: Silicon Valley in California to promote digital thought-leadership.  Contact Becca Smith for more information.