Sunshine Matters

I’m pleased to share VISIT FLORIDA’s preliminary estimates* of visitors to Florida for the first quarter of 2011 (January – March) which show an estimated 23.3 million travelers visited the Sunshine State.  This represents an increase of 3.3 percent from the same period in 2010.

Preliminary estimates for the first quarter of 2011 show a 2.0 percent increase in domestic visitors, a 14.4 percent increase in the overseas market and an 8.1 percent increase in Canadian travel to Florida.  Of the 23.3 million visitors Florida welcomed this past quarter, domestic visitation represents 19.8 million or an estimated 84.8 percent of total; overseas visitors at 2.1 million or 9.1 percent of total; and Canadian visitors at 1.4 million or 6.1 percent of total.  Florida’s tourism-related employment for the first quarter of 2011 was 1,003,200, up by 52,300 jobs, which reflects a 5.5 percent increase when compared to the same period of 2010. Continue reading »

As we head into our 2011-12 fiscal year, I am excited to see our successful Insider program continue on VISITFLORIDA.com.  This program consists of freelance journalists who generate content in a specialized topic area. They write feature stories for the web, blog posts, answer questions from users on VISITFLORIDA.com, take photos, and shoot informal videos as well as host produced videos.  Our Insiders also interact with people in communities outside of VISITFLORIDA.com, such as Facebook, Twitter and more.  The planned Insider topics for the upcoming program year are Family, Beaches, Off the Beaten Path, Outdoors & Nature, Boating & Fishing, Dining, Entertainment & Luxury, Shopping & Smart Travel and Golf. Continue reading »

One of the ways VISIT FLORIDA provides visitors to the Sunshine State with valuable travel planning information is through the VISITFLORIDA.com Insiders program. Now in their fourth year of providing a bevy of content for activities and attractions that make Florida unique, the nine VISITFLORIDA.com Insiders all share a passion for touting the beauty of their state.  Continue reading »

Recent analysis shows that people who view VISIT FLORIDA’s “Insider” content are more engaged with our website overall.  These people are 25 percent more likely to complete a “conversion,” which could be anything from ordering a Florida travel guide to clicking through to one of our tourism industry Partner’s website listings.  Continue reading »

I am pleased to share that after many months of collaboration VISIT FLORIDA has launched America’s first state trails-tourism website offering comprehensive information about more than 100 of the Sunshine State’s trails and greenways.  Found at trails.VISITFLORIDA.com, this special micro-site assists visitors worldwide with planning and booking their outdoor adventures by providing detailed descriptions of Florida’s trails by city, activities, trail length or surface, as well as links to the individual trail websites and interactive maps showing the exact plot of a given trail so users can see nearby outfitters, hotels, campgrounds and restaurants.  Continue reading »