Sunshine Matters

The Sunshine State’s tourism industry was proud to play host to the 99th Annual Destination Marketing Association International Convention held in Orlando last week.  With a contingent of 75 Florida attendees, numerous members of the Florida delegation received accolades during the convention for their continued excellence and engagement with DMAI, including:

• Misty Johantgen, Senior Vice President of Partner Relations & Development at Visit Orlando earned the Certified Destination Management Executive CDME) designation
• Columbia County TDC received accreditation, while St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches VCB and The Beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel achieved re-accreditation through the industry-wide Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP) for being DMOs that meet or exceed industry standards
• Charlena Owens, Convention Services & Sales Administrator at Visit Tampa Bay; Janel Carrillo, Project Manager of Marketing & Creative Services at Greater Miami CVB; and Meagan Houser, Agency Manager at VISIT FLORIDA were selected for the 2012-2013 30 Under 30 Program, with Megan Casey, Senior Event Planner at Visit Orlando serving as an Ambassador representing the 2011-2012 class
• Jorge Pesquera, President and CEO at Palm Beach County CVB; Tamara Pigott, Executive Director at Lee County VCB; Danielle Courtenay, Chief Marketing Officer at Visit Orlando; George Aguel, President & CEO at Visit Orlando; Doug McClain, Vice President of Marketing & Communications at Visit Tampa Bay; Kathryn Lewis, Online Relations Manager at Visit Tampa Bay; David Dodd, Vice President of Visitor Services at VISIT FLORIDA; Kevin McGeever, Senior Editor at VISIT FLORIDA; and myself were all chosen as speakers on topics ranging from destination branding to social media interactions

David Dodd, along with Ruth Trojan, CEO at Nadler & Associates and Jennifer Walker, Director of Marketing Communications at Austin CVB, led a breakout session entitled “Creating Visitor Centers and Innovative Experiences.” During the presentation, David highlighted visual elements of VISIT FLORIDa’s plans for our welcome centers of the future, including web content, social and mobile efforts, and renderings of the centers’ new look.  During the “Telling the Story Through Personalized Content” session, Kevin McGeever, alongside Elena Prostova, Vice President at Miles Media, demonstrated the importance of delivering the right message, to the right person, through the right channel, at the right time.

As part of the 2013 DMAI Convention, VISIT FLORIDA hosted the second annual Florida Delegation Reception on Tuesday evening.  This event was begun last year as a way to provide an opportunity for our statewide tourism industry Partners to network and share contacts and experiences in the midst of the convention.

The next opportunity for the statewide industry to come together will be the 46th Annual Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism this Sept. 11-13 at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort in Orlando.  It will undoubtedly be another great celebration of our individual and collective successes marketing our amazing destinations, so I look forward to seeing you there!