Florida Huddle in-person show returns
After skipping 2021 due to Covid, the physical in-person version of Florida Huddle returned this week at the Tampa Bay Convention Center.
It delivered some impressive numbers from both the host city and the state tourism board.
Positive stats were announced by Santiago Corrada, President and CEO of Visit Tampa Bay as he hailed the importance of extensive marketing both domestically and internationally throughout the pandemic.
The result has seen record numbers for hotel occupancy, visitor numbers and visitor spend.
These numbers were boosted in 2021 by the hosting of Super Bowl LV, which was won by Tampa’s own Buccaneers, and Wrestlemania.
The ‘staying relevant despite the pandemic’ theme was echoed by Visit Florida’s leader Dana Young.
She revealed that even though international visitors were excluded from the US for 20 months, efforts within the domestic market had reaped enormous benefits with numbers and revenues the highest of all time.
It has also trickled down to what are referred to as secondary, smaller destinations with visitor numbers increasing over 12% and hotel revenues increasing by almost a quarter.
Adaptation, innovation and the ability to bounce back were the keys to success, according to Young.
The result has been that on all fronts, the indicators are now better than they were prior to the pandemic.
The positive vibes were also felt on the Huddle show floor with over 7,500 appointments for the 193 suppliers and delegates from over 24 countries.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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