Henny Groenendijk, Tracy Vaughan, VISIT FLORIDA; Sylvia Oliande, Kissimmee CVB; Mr. Lee Rose,
The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel; Christina Baez , Florida Keys & Key West;
Alfredo Gonzalez, Greater Fort Lauderdale Area; Mary Haban, Visit St.Pete/Clearwater;
Katharina Lane, Hayworth Creative Public Relations; Susan Estler, Panama City Beach CVB;
Lynnette Visaya, Visit Orlando;
Jill Revelle, Sea World Parks & Entertainment
No longer do we hear those three little words that used to set any Canadian’s heart aflutter: Dollars at Par.
No, with the loonie continuing to soar over the greenback, we don’t need that gimmick any more. Looks like we’re happy to visit Florida in even greater numbers these days: in 2010 a whopping 3.1 million of us dropped into the Sunshine State.
Last week a team of 10 Floridians dropped into Toronto to let us know what’s new in their home state, and that yes, the love affair continues to flourish.
What’s new under the sun? Sylvia Oliande of the Kissimmee (love that name) CVB told us that Gatorland is adding a zipline…you guessed it, taking you soaring over alligators. We also learned that the biggest Legoland in the world is opening in October in the site of the former Cypress Gardens. Lee Rose told the crowd that there is a new art gallery - “Art of the Olympians” - opening in Fort Myers, featuring artwork of 40 Olympic athletes from around the world.
Speaking of art, the Salvador Dali Museum in downtown St. Pete welcomed 175,000 visitors in its first three months, proving that Florida is a great destination for culture vultures as well as beach lovers and theme park enthusiasts.
As Tracy Vaughan, International Director of Sales, pointed out: we represent 26 per cent of total international visitors. No wonder the red (or should that be orange?) carpet is out for Canucks, year round, in Florida.
