Visit Florida Chief Executive Dana Young is reassuring the UK trade the state is recovering and open for business after being hit by two major hurricanes – Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton – in September and October.
Speaking at this year’s WTM, Dana said the clean up and recovery is going ‘really quickly’ with impacted hotels and beaches reopening.
She said: “The two hurricanes back-to-back was significant – but it’s important to let people know the vast majority of the state was not impacted at all.
“When I am speaking to agents who are booking for a trip a few months out I will say they should have absolutely no hesitation at all about booking their favourite destinations in Florida, even if they were impacted by the storm.
“Anna Maria Island is a great example of recovery – several hotels are open and all beaches are open. It is a process, but it is happening more quickly than any of us thought could happen.”
UK visitors to Florida reached 859,000 from January to September 2024, and Dana said they are expected to reach or just exceed 2023’s figure of 1.14m for the full year.
The state is also just short of its pre-pandemic levels, with up to 92% of 2019 arrivals.
Visit Florida held a pre-WTM breakfast for 57 agents ahead of the trade show, and has eight co-op marketing campaigns with UK operators, including Gold Medal and TUI for the coming year.
New attractions for 2025 include the opening of Universal Orlando Resort’s Universal Epic Universe park in May.
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Speaking at this year’s WTM, Dana said the clean up and recovery is going ‘really quickly’ with impacted hotels and beaches reopening.
She said: “The two hurricanes back-to-back was significant – but it’s important to let people know the vast majority of the state was not impacted at all.
“When I am speaking to agents who are booking for a trip a few months out I will say they should have absolutely no hesitation at all about booking their favourite destinations in Florida, even if they were impacted by the storm.
“Anna Maria Island is a great example of recovery – several hotels are open and all beaches are open. It is a process, but it is happening more quickly than any of us thought could happen.”
UK visitors to Florida reached 859,000 from January to September 2024, and Dana said they are expected to reach or just exceed 2023’s figure of 1.14m for the full year.
The state is also just short of its pre-pandemic levels, with up to 92% of 2019 arrivals.
Visit Florida held a pre-WTM breakfast for 57 agents ahead of the trade show, and has eight co-op marketing campaigns with UK operators, including Gold Medal and TUI for the coming year.
New attractions for 2025 include the opening of Universal Orlando Resort’s Universal Epic Universe park in May.
The post Agents should have ‘no hesitation’ booking Florida post hurricanes, says tourism chief appeared first on Travel Gossip.
Continue reading...
