“The biggest theme for the UK is dispersion, and food is not what we’re known for” said Visit Florida PR director Megan Lowe, highlighting Florida’s ongoing “Beyond the Expected” marketing campaign.
Central to this is the promotion of Florida’s multi-cultural culinary offerings, spanning Caribbean, Creole and Latin American flavours, among others, and showcasing various activity trails, taking in cycling, horse-riding, gastronomy and even fishing.
“Think of a trail and we’ve got it,” said Visit Florida president and chief executive Dana Young, who was quick to stress efforts to disperse tourists more widely around the state was less about a wholesale shift away from Florida’s theme parks and more an effort “to get people to stay or venture out of the gateways”.
Accessible travel, meanwhile, remains a long-standing focus for Visit Florida; partnerships with Wheel the World and accessibleGO have ensured accessibility is embedded in its marketing, placing a spotlight on disabilities that may not always be obvious or visible.
Fort Lauderdale, Tampa Bay and Palm Beach have already signed up to “map” 10 hotels, 10 restaurants and 10 attractions as part of Wheel to Go’s accessibility mapping system.
Elsewhere, Visit Florida has partnered with UK television network ITV on a project starring TV personality Jimmy Docherty, who is taking in 10 different locations across Florida to uncover its flavours. Young highlighted new modules reiterating these new messages on its FloridaTravPro programme for agents.
UK arrivals hit 1.1 million in 2022, and in the first three quarters of 2023, numbers stood at 800,000, or 89%, of 2019 levels. Young is optimistic the last three months of the year will see visits to Florida recover to at least pre-pandemic figures.
