The Sunshine State Shines

From reaching out to children in crisis to going green, the 40th annual Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism—themed “A Proud Past, A Bright Future”—continued its decades-long tradition of being both personally enriching and professionally rewarding.

The 63 exhibitors and 962 attendees at the Aug. 26-28 event at Boca Raton Resort & Club were treated to a visit from Florida’s Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, who reminded the crowd that “tourism remains the No. 1 industry in Florida, and other states are always trying to follow our lead because we do it right. The bar continually gets raised... we do it better, do it first and stay ahead of the competition.”

In a state of nearly 19 million residents, 84 million annual visitors are generating $60 billion in spending, “more than the gross national product of many countries in the world,” Kottkamp noted. And the numbers continue to rise; according to figures released during the conference, the total number of tourists visiting Florida during the second quarter of 2007—23.5 million—represented an increase of 2.3 percent over the same period in 2006. Kottkamp also directed attention to the state’s Green Lodging Program, established in 2004, which provides the lodging industry with technical assistance to implement such “green” practices as towel and linen reuse and low-flow faucets and showerheads.

From environmental responsibility, the conference took a turn toward social responsibility during an address by Bill Strickland, founder, president and CEO of three Pittsburgh-based organizations for urban change: Manchester Bidwell Corp., Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild and the Bidwell Training Center.

“Environment drives behavior every day of the week,” he said. What drives the nation’s largest generational demographic—Baby Boomers—was the subject of a seminar given by Matt Thornhill, founder and president of marketing research and consulting company The Boomer Project.

Thornhill touched on issues such as how to market to Boomers as grandparents (hint: it involves Steely Dan music); where Boomers are retiring and investing (Panama is a popular spot); and Boomer consumer habits (“buy now, pay never”).

In one of the conference’s major highlights, Nicki Grossman—president and CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB—was inducted into the Florida Tourism Hall of Fame.