Florida Huddle 2016 held at the Tampa Convention Center recently focused on reaffirming Florida’s position as USA’s leading tourism destination that is increasingly attracting travellers from emerging markets like India By Sudipta Dev
The third edition of Florida Huddle organised by Visit Florida in Tampa, Florida attracted 678 delegates from 396 companies. There were 217 buyers from 17 countries. As many as 14,658 appointments were set up over two days. Along with buyers from the US, the international buyers came from the UK, Germany, Canada, India, China, Spain, the Bahamas, Brazil, Honduras, Ireland, Mexico, The Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa and the UAE. As many as 21 per cent of inbound to the US comes to Florida. “We welcome 15 million international visitors. International markets are extremely important. While Canada, UK, Brazil and Germany comprise most international travel to Florida, there is a growing significance of South East Asia, with India and China, along with Japan and Australia as emerging markets. Better flight connectivity will boost inbound arrivals from these markets. We need to get ourselves ready for that. We strive to be the number one destination in the world and we will get there,” said Paul Phipps, chief marketing officer, Visit Florida. The emerging markets are critical for the state’s tourism industry that takes great pride in its diverse product offerings. Travellers from 80 countries visit Florida and the number continues to grow. “One of the things we try to do is to train our hospitality industry to understand the nuances of the different cultures who come here to Florida. I think we do a good job of that,” stated Phipps.
Economic driver
Tourism drives the economy of Florida. Pointing out that in the state of Florida tourism is the leading industry, Phipps mentioned, “We have wonderful partners in the state and many of them are with us at the conference. But the real roots on the ground, specially internationally are the tour operators, OTAs, and others. Interestingly the biggest growth in tour operator business are the millennials. More and more millennials like to travel in groups. They like craft beer, organic food, and want locally sourced food. They want someone to make all arrangements for them so that they don’t have to worry about it and just enjoy. With OTAs, people say that tour operators are going to become irrelevant, which will not happen.” Talking about the significance of social media, he averred that travellers trust the opinions of strangers, sometimes before friends and certainly before brands. “Our quality of life in Florida depends on tourism and that tourism depends on bookings. In this state we embrace anybody and everybody and our commitment to you is that when travellers come we will take care of them. We appreciate anyway you can book people and they can come to Florida. The tour operators and the OTA industry across the world know and understand Florida and most importantly represent Florida well with our clients,” he added. Last year Miami International saw for the first time more international flights than domestic.
Discovering Tampa
For a state that aims to become the number one destination in the world, the leading destination for Floridians is Tampa/ St Pete. The Tampa Bay area which has been considered as an ‘undiscovered treasure’ in Florida, is fast changing the perception with renewed focus on marketing the destination worldwide.
“What is great about Tampa and Tampa Bay is that the destination is continuously evolving, it has now become a sophisticated destination,” said Santiago C Corrada, president and CEO, Visit Tampa Bay. He pointed out that there has been sustained efforts to bring international airlines to Tampa and they have been successful. “Point to point connection is important. We are only one connection away from the entire world,” he said, adding that after direct connectivity with Zurich (Edelweiss Air), direct flights to Frankfurt started with Lufthansa last September.
On account of the prolific art, culture and history there are also many festivals. The highlight is of course the Gasparilla festival. From being the best beer brewing city in the US to a sophisticated culinary scene with many award winning restaurants, Tampa is fast becoming an epicurean capital. Eco tourism, waterways that are easy to navigate, new hotels are some of the other tourism highlights, along with a hospitable and diverse populace that understands the needs and demands of international visitors from across the world. The destination is also the only one in Florida offering a City Pass with amazing savings.
New hotels have been opening up with significant investments from the hospitality industry. The biggest investment is over a one billion dollar redevelopment project, covering more than 40 acres in and around the convention centre.
“Tampa Convention Center will remain but will be supplemented by additional meeting space, more hotels and entertainment options. The work has already begun. It will take three-five years to finish. We already have a number of great assets,” said Corrada. The airport is going through billion plus dollar investment and the port as well. Tampa Airport is regarded as one of the best in the US. It is a port of call for a German ship. There are cruise liners departing for the Caribbean.
Among the suppliers at Florida Huddle 2016, some clearly had a strong India focus. For instance, Pirate’s Town Dinner Show Theaters that comprises of four shows – Treasure Tavern, Pirate’s Dinner Adventure, The Three Musketeers and Cirque Magique. Anny Mororo, international sales and marketing manager, Pirates Town Dinner Show Theatres believes that the shows would be of particular interest to guests from India who like to enjoy such extravaganzas with good F&B options. Leslie Andree, director, sales and marketing, Orlando Balloon Rides already has a significant Indian clientele and would like to see the numbers increase.
The much popular Clearwater Marine Aquarium is another attraction that has been attracting Indian travellers who are well aware of the Dolphin Tale movies, mentioned Jen Carlisle, director of tourism marketing, Clearwater Marine Aquarium. Albeit, Wild Florida (for airboat tours and encounter with alligators and other exotic animals) is yet to witness significant interest from the India market.