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Visit Florida held the first edition of Florida Connection, a series of chats with partners from the destination promotion agency in order to update tour operators about their products. The meeting was attended by representatives from St. Pete / Clearwater, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale.
In common, representatives of Florida destinations stated that all establishments (hotels, restaurants, attractions and shopping centers) are operating in compliance with the protocols and capacity limits. All also promoted their respective cities with good complements for itineraries that include Orlando, Miami, and even cruises, reinforcing the short distances between destinations; as well as the possibility of entry through the city airport, in the case of Tampa and Fort Lauderdale.
Open Air
Visit St. Pete / Clearwater Sales Manager Andrea Gabel pointed to a future search for travelers for outdoor experiences, something the coastal city can offer, with beaches ranked among the best in the United States in recent years. Even with no forecast for Brazilian tourists to enter the United States, the Brazilian market is very important for the destination, defends Andrea, who believes that the protocols applied at the moment will be maintained for next year, when the destination hopes to see Brazilians again.
Fort Lauderdale
Gabriel Martinez, a Fort Lauderdale representative, focused on the new standard of services in the destination and in Florida as a whole. The city has its own set of simple rules, called Safe + Clean Pledge, which recommends following the CDC guidelines for cleaning protocols, wearing masks, practicing social detachment, providing alcohol gel and training teams to apply protocols and stay safe . Martinez detailed that restaurants are operating at 50% of their capacity and the possibility of withdrawing their order, and also promoted Lauder Deals (discount and coupon program) and the website with information for the trade.
Outlets
Marisol Barrios, representing Tampa Bay, said that 2019 was a very positive year and, now, the destination seeks to reinvent itself to continue making it successful, which has been a challenge. Marisol reinforced the possibility of Tampa being included in itineraries for Florida, like other destinations, pointed to the protocols that are being applied and said that the malls are open, with outlets being the best option because they are not closed environments like malls.
At the end of the presentation, the representatives present were asked about dates for LGBT events in 2021 and returned with a negative. “The short answer is ‘no’. We have no dates, because there is still a lot of uncertainty about events with crowds and how to manage crowds, especially at parades and street festivals,” said Martinez. Marisol added, stating that “it is too early to commit to a date, so as not to have to postpone and cause more uncertainty”.
This article was translated from th original one in portuguese from PANROTAS: https://www.panrotas.com.br/destinos/eventos/2020/08/florida-promove-destinos-como-complementos-a-orlando-e-miami_175787.html
