Duneidin Beach photo courtesy of Visit Florida

As the loonie continues to wobble along its up-and-down trajectory, visitor destinations around the U.S. are eyeing another slim winter with respect to attracting Canadian travellers. Although numbers vary widely from destination to destination, Statistics Canada’s own numbers seem to suggest that a million fewer Canadians took international trips during the first half of 2016 as compared the same period as last year, a decrease of seven per cent.

Florida, a state heavily invested in the Canadian market, is taking steps to keep the state top of mind as a visitor destination. Through a variety of press trips and other international marketing efforts, the state is hoping to expand consumer awareness of the variety of experiences available to travellers in Canada.

This past spring, Visit Florida, the tourism arm for the state of Florida hosted three journalists from leading travel site vacay.ca, on a statewide exploration. The writers were introduced to the state’s culinary hotspots, its art and culture, new hotels as well as more exotic story angles such as romantic getaways at theme parks and road trips along Florida’s highways.

In total, 31 stories were created, which have been published on a dedicated “Flock to Florida” landing page at vaycay.ca. A few stories, include:

• Walt Disney World – a guide for couples on a romantic trip

• Weekend in Delray Beach for Florida sun and fun

• Dali Museum takes you on a walk on the wild side

• 10 places to get away from it all in Florida

• Five Fabulous Flamingo Facts

Readers considering exploring new facets of Florida can view the content through Dec. 31, 2016.

According to a statement by Visit Florida, vacay.ca’s top readers hail from Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. The campaign has done well across all of vacay.ca’s channels, including social media, indicating that there remains a strong interest among Canadians in Florida as a visitor destination.

For more information on visiting Florida, click to visitflorida.com. 

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