Sunshine Matters

Our VISIT FLORIDA Marketing and Events team, with the help of our Partners, recently hosted two VIP (Very Important Planner) events.  The first took place in Minneapolis, which is a top ten air market and top 15 origin market for visitation to Florida.  The other was in Chicago, Florida’s third ranked top designated market area (DMA).  Both events proved to be highly successful, providing industry Partners with one-on-one networking opportunities with large numbers of meeting professionals.

The Minneapolis area VIP event included an interactive cooking exhibition at Cooks of Crocus Hill.  Full of networking and fun, the informative program involved industry Partners leading a team of six meeting planners in the preparation of five Florida-centric menu items ranging from a zesty citrus salad to mini key lime pies.  As part of the event, the four Partners were able to present their destinations and properties to the Minneapolis area meeting planners, which included 31 agents with company representation from HelmsBriscoe, Carlson Wagonlit Travel and Conference Direct.

The Chicago VIP event, which brought together nearly 40 meeting professionals from the Chicago area, was co-hosted by 10 of VISIT FLORIDA’s tourism industry Partners.  Highlights included an evening networking reception at Chicago’s new speakeasy venue Untitled Supper Club.  A favorite aspect of the evening was comedian Megan Gailey of The Second City comedy club who provided some comic relief to the guests while playing on Chicago’s harsh winter and the reasons why everyone should plan their meetings in the Sunshine State.  VISIT FLORIDA also shared information on our FloridaMeetings.com website and “Must Be The Sunshine” brand campaign with a focus on our meeting-specific advertisements.

Business travel accounts for nearly 9 million of Florida’s domestic visitors. Conventions, meetings, seminars and training events account for 58% of business travel to Florida.  Over the next two months, the VISIT FLORIDA Marketing and Events team will host VIP events in Atlanta, New York City and Washington, D.C. For more information on any of our upcoming events, please contact me at aabney@visitflorida.org.