© 2024 | WUWF Public Media
11000 University Parkway
Pensacola, FL 32514
850 474-2787
NPR for Florida's Great Northwest
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Visit Florida Expands Marketing Efforts To Rebound State's Tourism Industry

Visit Florida is hoping people in nearby states will want to vacation in Florida
sborisov
/
Adobe Stock
Visit Florida is hoping people in nearby states will want to vacation in Florida

Visit Florida is expanding its marketing efforts after the coronavirus severely impacted the state’s tourism industry. The agency is hoping to convince tourists within driving distance of Florida to vacation in the Sunshine State. Visit Florida’s Staci Mellman says it’s the third phase of the campaign.

“We did launch phase two, which promoted travel to in-state residents just in advance of Labor Day, right around the end of August, and we expanded to nearby domestic drive markets for phase three on October 5,” Mellman says.

Visit Florida is also running ads in international markets like Canada. Another initiative the group is tackling is understanding how tourism can enhance residents’ lives. Visit Florida’s Kate Chunka says jobs and tax savings were popular talking points in the past. Now, she’s hoping to broaden that discussion.

“Quality of life can also mean how tourism can create the protection and preservation of cultural and national resources,” Chunka says.

Visit Florida hosted a webinar to speak with different people from across the state on how tourism impacts local communities.

Copyright 2021 WFSU. To see more, visit WFSU.

Robbie Gaffney is a recent graduate from Florida State University with degrees in Digital Media Production and Creative Writing. Before working at WFSU, they recorded FSU’s basketball and baseball games for Seminole Productions as well as interned for the PBS Station in Largo, Florida. Robbie loves playing video games such as Shadow of the Colossus, Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. Their other hobbies include sleeping and watching anime.