Speaking to TTG, Dana Young, president and chief executive of Visit Florida, said the state was ready to welcome back UK holidaymakers with open arms. “We have been open throughout the pandemic in Florida – our hotels never closed and now we are fully open.
“We have no restrictions on capacity at events; we have no restaurant restrictions; no mask mandates other than in the airport. So really Florida has been open for over a year. There’s no gearing up required.
“There are many cities in the US and probably around the world that are going to have months and months just to gear up,” she added. “But we are very fortunate and delighted that in Florida, we are ready.
"Our theme parks are all open; our state parks, our national parks, our restaurants, nightclubs, shopping outlet malls – anything that a Brit would want to do in Florida is open and ready to go.”
Young said the state had already exceeded its 2019 domestic visitor levels by 6% in the first six months of 2021. “And 2019 was our 10th consecutive record year for domestic visitors,” she added.
Meanwhile, on the international side, Young said Florida had been “very aggressive in our marketing”. “We’ve been very targeted and forward-thinking in our marketing, more than any other US destination,” she said.
“And we’re not satisfied to just regain what we had – our goal is to increase market share across the board internationally and domestically. And I am confident at this point that we will get there.”
Young noted that while other tourist boards were focused on discussing Covid safety protocols, she believed “nobody wants to hear about that any more”. “[Consumers] don’t want to talk about Covid," she said. "People that want to travel want to travel, and they don’t want you to tell them what to do any more.”
Fam plans
Instead, Florida is focusing its marketing on showcasing all that the state has to offer “beyond the gateways”.
“If you fly into Orlando, you can go south to Kissimmee and you can go kayaking at Shingle Creek – and you have no idea you’re that close to the [theme] parks. And the headwaters of the Everglades actually start in Kissimmee, where you can take airboat rides and some people may not have thought of that before. That’s a different kind of theme park – a whole different type of adventure.”
Elsewhere, Young revealed plans are under way to host agents on a fam trip to the state in the new year, tying in with the travel trade show Florida Huddle, which takes place from 24-26 January.
“That’s the first event since the pandemic started where we’re going to be inviting everyone to come see us," she said. "Many people couldn’t attend IPW [International Pow Wow] so I think Florida Huddle is going to have its biggest year ever.
“There will be fams for both media and trade surrounding Huddle, both pre and post,” Young added.
