Sunshine Matters

The Fourth of July is quickly approaching and many Americans will spend the long weekend traveling around the state and country.  In fact, a Sun-Sentinel article cites good news for Florida’s tourism industry saying, “The number of Florida residents taking a trip at least 50 miles from home during the July Fourth holiday weekend is expected to rise 6 percent from last year.” 

But with consumers still concerned about the economy, special deals are a driving force in deciding where to take a trip.  According to The State of the American Traveler survey released in January, almost two-thirds of travelers actively look for specials or deals in their trip planning and about one-third look to travel to less expensive destinations. That’s why VISIT FLORIDA’s “Hot Deals” section of VISITFLORIDA.com is consistently in the top 10 for traffic on VISIT FLORIDA’s consumer site.  On the “Vacation Deals” tab of Florida Live, travelers can browse hundreds of listings from across the state, many of which have a worry-free guarantee meaning consumers can book trips with confidence knowing special policies have been put in place to deal with oil spill repercussions if necessary.

Search engine marketing efforts related to VISITFLORIDA.com show 50 percent of the clicks are on the deals category and 72 percent of the conversation is related to deals content, proving that offering incentives is paramount to getting consumers to act now and help the Sunshine State and the important Florida tourism economy.

June was a record month for traffic to VISITFLORIDA.com with more than 719,000 visits; up 46 percent from last June.  In order to take advantage of the trend toward deals and the growth in traffic to the website, VISIT FLORIDA Partners should go to VISITFLORIDA.org/listing to post deals and worry-free guarantees.