TORONTO — Experience Kissimmee is seeing early signs that Canadian travel is beginning to rebound, and President and CEO, D.T. Minich, says the destination has no intention of pulling back from a market that has long been its most important international source of visitors.
Speaking with Travelweek at Experience Kissimmee’s King’s Plate Appreciation Event at Woodbine Racetrack this past Saturday, Minich acknowledged that it’s been a challenging period for Canada-U.S. travel, with political tensions and the currency exchange weighing on demand. But he said there are reasons for optimism.
“I do think that we are seeing a slight rebound,” Minich said. “Early indicators are that the rebound has started, but this is our slow time for the Canadian market. So we won’t really have a true gauge until a little bit later on in the fall, because the booking window has shrunk.”
“WE’RE VERY POSITIVE AND UPBEAT”
One encouraging development, he added, is additional air capacity into Orlando International Airport (MCO).
“We have not decreased activities or spending levels in the Canadian market,” Minich said. “We’re very positive and upbeat. We have no plans of shrinking back or abandoning it. We will not abandon you, I promise.”
The message reflects the long-term importance of Canada to Experience Kissimmee. Minich told attendees that Canada has consistently ranked as the destination’s top international market and thanked travel industry partners for helping build Kissimmee’s tourism business over the years.
The destination itself has undergone considerable growth. Experience Kissimmee is now in its 12th year as a private organization, and Minich, who is marking his 12th anniversary with the organization, said its staff has expanded from 35 to 72 employees.
He pointed to tourism development tax collections as another measure of that growth. According to Minich, annual collections have climbed from approximately US$35 million 12 years ago to an anticipated US$92 million this year.
Exclusive-use pools are part and parcel of Kissimmeeʻs vacation home rentals, all commissionable to travel advisors
30,000+ VACATION HOMES, ALL COMMISSIONABLE TO TRAVEL ADVISORS
For Canadian travel advisors, one of Experience Kissimmee’s biggest areas of focus continues to be education, particularly around the destination’s vacation-home inventory.
Kissimmee has more than 30,000 vacation homes, Minich said, ranging from smaller two- and three-bedroom properties to ultra-luxury homes with as many as 20 bedrooms.
Importantly for the trade, he stressed that much of this inventory consists of professionally managed product contracted through tour operators and commissionable to travel advisors.
“There’s always been a little bit of a challenge to educate the agents that these are not Airbnb homes; these are professionally managed,” he said. “They’re contracted with the tour operators. They’re commissionable through the travel agents. It’s great product. It’s great value.”
That value proposition could be particularly relevant for Canadians dealing with an unfavourable exchange rate.
Minich noted that a family can potentially rent a three-bedroom vacation home approximately 20 minutes from Walt Disney World for a price comparable to a hotel room in some nearby resort areas. Having a kitchen also gives travellers the option of preparing meals rather than dining out three times a day.
Private swimming pools and barbecue areas are common features, while larger luxury properties can take the concept significantly further with movie theatres, bowling alleys, games rooms, themed children’s bedrooms, indoor and outdoor kitchens and other amenities.
The homes have also found a strong audience among multigenerational groups, Minich said, as families increasingly travel with grandparents, children and grandchildren. Groups of friends and multiple families can similarly share a larger property and divide the cost.
A tricked-out games room at a vacation home in Kissimmee
“THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS”
For advisors less familiar with Kissimmee, Minich describes the destination as the “second piece of the puzzle” in Central Florida alongside Orlando. Theme parks remain the primary draw, with Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando and LEGOLAND Florida among the major attractions within the wider Central Florida vacation experience.
But Kissimmee’s point of differentiation, he said, is the ability to combine those manmade attractions with outdoor Florida experiences.
“In Kissimmee and Osceola County we have a whole abundance of natural, more eco attractions,” said Minich, pointing to ziplining, tree-top adventures, airboat rides, wildlife viewing and kayaking.
“You can stand in the shadow of the world’s most famous castle in the morning, Cinderella Castle, and literally 25 minutes away you can be kayaking on Shingle Creek,” he said, noting that the creek forms part of the headwaters of the Everglades.
The result, he said, is “the best of both worlds” for clients who want a theme-park holiday without spending every day inside a park.
LOCAL & AUTHENTIC: THE LATIN CULINARY TRAIL
Development is continuing as well. Minich said several upscale hotel projects, including four- and five-star properties, are in the development or early construction stages, although he expects there will be more to share with the travel trade next year as projects move closer to openings anticipated around 2028 and 2029.
Another growing tourism initiative is Kissimmee’s Latin culinary trail, created to showcase the area’s substantial Hispanic and Latino community and independently owned restaurants.
Minick said Osceola County’s population is 57% Hispanic and that the culinary trail currently highlights 40 restaurants representing cuisines from across Latin America and the Caribbean. An interactive map helps visitors explore the participating establishments, many of which have deep family roots in the community.
“In some of them, there are three generations of family that work in these restaurants,” he said. “In a lot of cases they’re the abuela’s recipes, and there are incredible stories.”
LEGOLAND Florida Resort
U.S. HESITATION
For Canadian advisors wondering how to approach client hesitation about U.S. travel, Minick offered a more personal perspective. While acknowledging that Canadians may choose not to travel because of political developments in Washington, he said the economic consequences of falling visitation are felt most directly by hospitality employees in destinations such as Kissimmee.
“Who it’s going to affect is our frontline workers, our housekeepers at the hotels, our bell people, our waiters and waitresses, because they’re all paid on an hourly basis and they’re scheduled based on occupancy levels,” he said.
Minich also drew a distinction between national politics and the experience travellers have with local residents and hospitality workers.
“The politicians in any country are not the reflection of the general public or the population,” he said. “We want to welcome everyone. We’re very supportive of the Canadian market, and we’re going to continue to be.”
For Minich, that connection is also personal. He spent part of his childhood in Alberta, his sister was born in Canada and members of his family hold Canadian citizenship.
“To me, Canada is very, very special, and always will be,” he said. “We have a lot of commonalities, and so we just want to welcome all of our Canadians and say we’re ready for you. Come back.”
For more information, visit www.experiencekissimmee.
Lead image caption: Cari Motta, Account Manager – Canada; Casey Leppanen, Chief Marketing Officer, Experience Kissimmee; Keri Woody, Media Relations Manager, Experience Kissimmee; D.T. Minich, President and CEO, Experience Kissimmee
