We’ve been talking about how Disney, SeaWorld and Universal Orlando have been offering all kinds of deals to Florida residents because the state has seen a marked decrease in international and out of state tourism dollars. Now Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Visit Florida have launched their new campaign targeting in-state travel.
The new campaign will be targeting Floridians via bill boards, television and social media. The hope is that if outsiders see Florida tourism returning with in-state people it might entice them to come back sooner.
The issue is also that many countries outside of the United States, that send lots of tourism to Florida, are not allowing international travel right now. Many are restricting travel to the United States in particular. This leaves domestic travelers and in-state travelers. But what we do know is that people feel safer traveling near where they live. That’s what they are going to focus on with this new campaign.
Dana Young, CEO of Visit Florida said:
“Our data has determined that people right now, even though many are ready to travel they feel more comfortable traveling closer to home, and right now they’re feeling more comfortable driving. We are convinced that our tourism industry will be better than before.”
Travel and tourism is a big business for Florida and they have seen a 60% decrease due to the pandemic.
According to Governor DeSantis from March to June 2019 the state saw 24 million visitors. The same period of time in 2020 only saw 8.8 million. He also stated that room demand for local hotels has decreased by 75%. That’s a huge hit for a lot of people.
Hopefully this can help, but if the state is already seeing high unemployment numbers and many are impacted by the tourism issues, it may not work out as well as they hope. Right now Walt Disney World, SeaWorld and Universal Orlando are making cuts to staff, hours and projects just to keep going. I’m hoping it works for them because we all want the theme parks to come back better than ever. Same for all the beaches, hotels, stores, and more.
What do you think? Comment and let us know!
Source: ClickOrlando
Pirates & Princesses (TM) (Stylized as PNP) is an independent, opinionated News and Information site focused on Travel, Entertainment, Fashion, the “Geek Girl” Lifestyle, and more. We focus heavily on Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Universal Orlando Resort, and other themed entertainment and travel destinations. Our news staff includes former theme park and entertainment industry employees, journalists and dedicated pop culture and theme park enthusiasts. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of this site, our affiliates or our sponsors.