Sunshine Matters

The Florida Council of Tourism Leaders, comprised of the former chairs of VISIT FLORIDA’s Board of Directors, met recently in conjunction with the Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism.  The Council is committed to our mission to preserve, protect and defend the Florida tourism industry and are showcasing this by taking on our first task.

I have asked that this Council convene to take up a two-part objective:

1)  To help support and encourage the more than one million Floridians currently employed in the industry; and

2)  To assist with cultivating and recruiting new candidates into the field.

We have met with several Florida college deans to discuss ways to increase awareness of VISIT FLORIDA and garner more interest in careers within the travel and hospitality industry.  One way to tackle these objectives is to target Floridians who began their careers in hospitality and better engage the industry to celebrate the power of tourism jobs.

From a recent U.S. Travel Association report, we know that 19 percent of American workers started their careers in the travel industry and 2 in 5 American workers whose first job was in travel are now earning more than $100,000 per year. In the Sunshine State, tourism employs nearly 1.1 million Florida residents and is the state’s leading provider of good jobs that lay the foundation for excellent careers.

As the immediate past chair of the VISIT FLORIDA Board of Directors, I am honored to chair this prestigious group of individuals.  In addition to myself, the Council is comprised of the following 12 members:  Tony Lapi, Ed Fouché, Richard Goldman, Nicki Grossman, Donna Ross, Thom Stork, Thomas Waits, Walter Banks, Peter Guptill, Jack Healan, Arthur Hertz and Bill Sims.

Collectively, this panel of professionals brings to bear more than two hundred years of institutional knowledge on the Florida tourism and hospitality industry. Our Council members have done great things individually and now I am excited to see what we can accomplish as a group.

To learn more about the Council, please go to VISIT FLORIDA.org or contact Becca VanLandingham, staff liaison, at bvanlandingham@VISITFLORIDA.org.