ABTA 2004: Florida bullish as conference opens
Florida tourism chiefs were in bullish mode on the eve of the ABTA Convention in Orlando.
A spokesman for the Orlando Tourism Bureau said it was on target to welcome 1m Brits this year, 1.06m in 2005 and 1.1m in 2006,
And Colin Brodie, VisitFlorida UK director, said it was expecting record bookings, despite huge publicity surrounding the hurricanes earlier this year.
“We expect 1.6 million Brits to come to Florida this year, which is back to the 2000 levels, despite the challenges. Repeat visits are very high, people come back year after year.”
Mr Brodie conceded much of the growth was due to the favourable exchange rate, with the strong pound against the dollar making Florida holidays cheaper than in previous years.
“First timers are certainly affected by the price and we do well against Spain when the exchange rate is favourable,” he said.
Mr Brodie said some people might be put off by heightened security procedures, which include the fingerprinting and photographing of holidaymakers at immigration.
“There is a debate going on that the discerning customer may be thinking that this year they are not sure about coming to the US and may think it is not worth the hassle, but we’ll have to tough it out and see how it goes.”
*See www.TravelMole.com for further updated ABTA Convention news
Phil Davies
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