Sunshine Matters

Today, Governor Scott signed the 2013-2014 state budget.  In a press release sent to media this afternoon, VISIT FLORIDA and several key tourism industry leaders voiced support for its inclusion of increased tourism marketing funding.

Will Seccombe, President and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA

“With the substantial increase in VISIT FLORIDA funding, Florida tourism is extremely well positioned to build on two consecutive years of record visitation and job creation.  I would like to thank Governor Scott and the Florida Legislature for their visionary leadership and for their extraordinary support of VISIT FLORIDA and the state’s tourism industry,” said Will Seccombe, President and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA. Continue reading »

I am pleased to announce that VISIT FLORIDA’s preliminary estimates* for the first quarter of 2013 (January-March) show that 26 million visitors came to Florida, an increase of 4.7 percent over the same period in 2012.  This makes the first quarter of 2013 the biggest quarter for visitation in the history of Florida tourism.

“More people visited Florida this past quarter than ever before,” Governor Scott said. “Record visitation to the Sunshine State means more jobs and opportunities for Florida’s families, which is great news.” Continue reading »

Today, the Florida Legislature passed the state budget which included a $9.5 million increase in VISIT FLORIDA funding for a record $63.5 million in FY 2013-14.

With this substantial increase in VISIT FLORIDA funding, Florida tourism is extremely well positioned to build on two consecutive years of record visitation and job creation.  I would like to thank Governor Rick Scott and the Florida Legislature for their visionary leadership and for their extraordinary support of VISIT FLORIDA and the state’s tourism industry. Continue reading »

While Viva Florida 500 is a year-long commemoration of the discovery of the Sunshine State by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon and his crew, April marks the celebration’s biggest push.  To kick things off, VISIT FLORIDA participated in a press conference hosted by Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner on April 2 to coincide with the actual anniversary of Ponce de Leon’s landing.  One of the big announcements was the impending arrival of El Galeón, a replica of Spanish ships from 500 years ago, that would be sailing from Spain to Puerto Rico and on to four ports of call in Florida. Continue reading »

I am pleased to share that today, during a meeting of the Florida Cabinet, Governor Rick Scott announced that according to preliminary estimates released by VISIT FLORIDA, visitors to the Sunshine State spent a record $71.8 billion, an increase of 6.8 percent over 2011.  This represents a record year of spending in 2012 by tourists in Florida, exceeding the previous highs of $67.2 billion in 2011 and $65.5 billion in 2007. Continue reading »