ORLANDO
A special report from Lisa Simundson on “Transforming the Future”, The 46th Annual Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism, held Sept. 11-13, 2013 at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando
The name of the conference was a big clue. Because when you mention the word “Transforming” in Orlando, it might call to mind the newest attraction at Universal Studios – Transformers: The Ride 3D – and indeed, the giant Autobots featured in the popular graphic novels and movies put in an appearance at the 46th annual Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism (FloridaTourismConference.com), hosted by the state’s official tourism marketing corporation – Visit Florida – and held Sept. 11-13 at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando.
Not only did the towering robots draw the flash of nearly every camera phone in the ballroom, they helped underscore the conference’s theme of “Transforming the Future” of tourism in the Sunshine State, a concept echoed by a number of guest speakers, including Governor Rick Scott himself, who laid down a challenge for the 823 industry professionals in attendance: 100 million tourists in 2014.
An entirely attainable goal, if tourism figures released at the Conference are any indication: 23.4 million visitors in the second quarter of 2013, an increase of 2.6 percent over the same period in 2012, making Q2 2013 the largest second quarter for visitation in the state’s history. Through the first half of 2013, Florida welcomed 49.6 million visitors, an increase of 4.2 percent, while visitor spending for January-May 2013 was $33.2 billion, representing a year-over-year increase of 5.5 percent from the same period in 2012.
Tourism gains were the state’s gains, Governor Scott noted. “You create great experiences, and you've helped turn the economy around,” he told attendees. “I walked in with almost a $4 billion deficit and for next July, we’re projecting a $1.5 billion surplus. When I finish this job, I think I want to get into tourism,” he added.
While Governor Scott got the crowd excited about increasing visitor numbers, other keynote speakers laid out specific agendas for doing so. Among them was Loews Hotel Chairman Jonathan Tisch, who encouraged attendees to support the new Brand USA, a public/private partnership touting itself as America’s first nationally coordinated tourism marketing effort. If the idea of a public/private marketing effort sounds familiar, there’s a good reason – Brand USA’s president and CEO is Chris Thompson, former CEO of Visit Florida.
“Brand USA has seen and learned from the successful work of Visit Florida,” Tisch said. “The simple creation of Brand USA sends the signal that the federal government is starting to realize what we [in tourism] do for this country’s economy.”
Tisch noted the impact of international travelers on the national coffers – “they stay longer and they spend more money” – but lamented what he called “cumbersome, confusing” travel policies.
“Our visa process once operated like a giant ‘Not Welcome’ sign,” he said, pointing to efforts by the U.S. Travel Association, Brand USA and other industry leaders who worked on the problem and found ways to fix it.
The results speak for themselves. “In China, the wait for a visa is down to five days from 120 days… and in Brazil the wait has been cut by 98 percent, from a high of 140 days to just two days,” Tisch said. But cutting visa wait times is just the first step in a multi-tier initiative to take travel to and within the U.S. “from the Flintstones to the Jetsons,” as one newspaper columnist put it. Next up: the often interminable customs lines that have caused countless travel delays for international visitors in gateway cities.
“We need to provide a seamless travel experience,” Tisch said. “The hard reality is that America’s aging infrastructure cannot handle the travelers that we have, much less the millions of new travelers that we are trying to attract.”
Other speakers at the conference included author and former Harvard Business School professor Morten Hansen, who exhorted Florida travel business owners and executives to seek reliable, not spectacular, growth and cited Southwest Airlines as a good example of this principle, noting that the airline stuck to its original model of low fares, high frequency and quick turnaround, and never wavered from its no-frills philosophy.
“The path to mediocrity lies in chronic change,” Hansen declared. “You have to combine change with continuity in order to transform.”
Continuity was in full force at the Governor’s Conference, which again showcased a stellar line-up of breakout seminars and special guests, including celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse – star of Emeril’s Florida, now on the Food Network – who was on hand to help area high school students prepare locally harvested oysters. “We’re showcasing Florida’s incredible local ingredients, working with fishermen and farmers,” Lagasse said as the aroma from his creation wafted over an appreciative crowd.
