TALLAHASSEE — These are turbulent times for inbound travel and tourism funding to the U.S. but Visit Florida officials – and anyone promoting Florida in Canada and other top markets – are breathing a sigh of relief this week now that Visit Florida’s full-year 2017-18 budget, pegged at US$76 million, has finally been passed by the Florida legislature after a marathon three-day special session.
Visit Florida has been beset by scandal after it partnered with Florida-born rapper Pitbull for a tourism promotion campaign. Florida Governor Rick Scott called for former Visit Florida CEO Will Seccombe to step down after Visit Florida refused to publicly disclose it paid rapper Pitbull US$1 million to promote the state. Visit Florida’s new President and CEO Lawson was appointed in January.
The approval for the full $76 million (up from the $25 million approved earlier) comes with new new layers of oversight in the wake of the Pitbull scandal. Lawson said the new deal “adds strong transparency and accountability to our organization.”
Lawson thanked Florida Governor Rick Scott “for his steadfast leadership” in ensuring Visit Florida is fully funded. Over the past few months the Governor travelled the state discussing the importance of tourism.
“Today’s victory will allow us to continue working with our industry partners to market Florida as a global destination and help us reach our goal of 120 million visitors,” added Lawson.
Visit Florida’s Summer Gonzalez, in Toronto recently as part of a cross-country public relations blitz, said that while inbound tourism to Florida was up marginally in 2016 versus 2015, to 112.3 million (0.4%+), the Canadian market hit 3.2 million for the year, a 14% decrease. The weak dollar has made the Sunshine State, such a favourite here, a tough sell. That said, “Canada is still the top international market for Florida, even with the drop,” noted Gonzalez. Visit Florida has increased its spend in the Canadian market with a campaign that includes new TV ads.
Gonzalez said Visit Florida is targeting Canadian families, always a dominant market to the state, as well as mature Baby Boomers in the 55+ age range. “A lot of experienced travellers are seeking other destinations,” she said. “A lot of them are ‘been there, done that’ visitors so we’re promoting other parts of Florida, and other experiences”, from Natural North Florida to swimming with manatees.
