TORONTO — Last night’s ball game at Rogers Centre was a win for the home team – and the ‘visiting team’ too.
Not the New York Yankees, of course. They lost 4-1 to the Toronto Blue Jays.
But up in box 304 the delegation from Visit St. Pete-Clearwater was strong at bat, hosting an industry event to keep the popular Florida destination on the radar for the Canadian travel trade, and vacationers, especially during these challenging times.
Brian Lowack, President and CEO of Visit St. Pete-Clearwater, and Commissioner Chris Latvala with Pinellas County (decked out in Blue Jays gear) led the delegation, which also included Jason Latimer, Visit St. Pete-Clearwater’s Director of PR, and Rosemarie Payne, Director of Leisure Travel, USA and Canada.
St. Pete-Clearwater is known for its sugar-white sand, crystal clear Gulf waters and much more. Hotel options range from legendary resorts to laid-back hotels and everything in-between.
Both St. Pete and Clearwater are enjoying record years so far, Lowack told Travelweek.
Of course, the key mission for last night’s event was to underscore Canada’s importance to Visit St. Pete-Clearwater, as the destination’s number one international market.
“The headlines coming out of DC, that’s not the message from St. Pete-Clearwater,” said Lowack.
“We want to reassure Canadians that their ‘home away from home’ in Florida is still there, and we can’t wait to see them again,” he added.
Asked for any recent stats for the Canadian market, Lowack put it this way: “Some of the future bookings are a little bit off.”
He said Visit St. Pete-Clearwater is hopeful things will start picking up again from Canada next spring.
He’s also hopeful that inbound visitors will see improvements at the border starting in 2026 ahead of America 250, the FIFA World Cup and more.
“We’re here because we want to remain top of mind, and because we want Canadians to know that the St. Pete-Clearwater that they know and love is still there. We look forward to welcoming them back,” he said.
St. Pete-Clearwater took a hit from Hurricane Milton in October 2024, however 98% of the destination’s hotels are open, said Lowack.
New hotels include Opal Sol, opened in February 2025 as a sister property to Opal Sands. Together the two resorts offer more than 100,000 square feet of meeting and event space.
Meanwhile St. Pete-Clearwater’s beautiful beaches, always a major draw, will be “bigger and better than ever,” said Lowack. “We’re adding 2.5 million cubic yards of sand, across 20 miles of our beach. It will make our beach five feet higher and 200 yards deeper. It was last done in 2018. We’re going to work on it 24/7 and get it done in six months.” It’s a major undertaking, but organizers have best practices to make sure the visitor experience isn’t impacted.
Visit St. Pete-Clearwater’s July 17 webinar for Canadian agents hosted by Melissa Bonacore, Sales Manager, Leisure Travel, was well-attended. Lowack credits Visit St. Pete-Clearwater’s strong connection with Canadian travel advisors for making inroads with Canadian travellers in these tough times.
“With everything going on, we’re fortunate to have good relations with travel advisors. We’ve seen less impact than some other parts of the country and some other parts of Florida,” he noted.
More information about travel to St. Pete-Clearwater can be found here.
