They said it. They meant it.

Visit Florida officials say they’re living up to their promise to put a renewed emphasis on their relations with the travel trade and with travel agents in Canada.

Speaking at Wednesday’s Visit Florida event at Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto, which featured great displays on family travel to the Sunshine State, Summer Gonzalez of Visit Florida said the state is increasing its travel and trade efforts through a variety of means.

“We’re working on developing an e-learning program in the next few months,” Gonzalez told TravelPulse Canada. “We think that will be great for agents.”

She also said they’re looking at new trade fams; something the state has gotten away from the past couple years. They’re already taking part in more travel and trade events and will have a travel and trade show in 2019.

“We’re hoping to give a little love back to our Canadian agents,” said Gonzalez, Visit Florida’s Marketing Campaign Manager.

Gonzalez said preliminary figures for 2018 show Canadian visits to Florida are up 2.5 per cent. For 2017 as a whole, Canadian visitors increased a full four per cent.

Air Canada Vacations and Air Canada officials also were on hand for yesterday’s event, which featured a series of Florida images displayed on giant, overhead video screens around Yonge-Dundas Square, a dozen or so displays of great activities to take part in and tons of pink-clad workers talking up the state and showing off Florida’s charms with Virtual Reality gear.

They also had an artist painting a colourful landscape of Florida, complete with beaches, roller coasters, space rockets and more.

The special day in Toronto was aimed at boosting family travel to the state, Gonzalez said. But it’s not specifically targeting summer travel.

“Every season is a Florida season,” she said.

She also pointed out that Florida has a tremendous array of things to do; everything from ziplining in Ocala to horseback riding at Cape San Blas in northwest Florida and checking out Winter the Dolphin at the Clearwater Aquarium.

Officials for Air Canada Vacations said they have special packages for flights and hotels, with deals offering $300 off per family and another $100 off a vacation with the use of the promo code FLA100. The deals for are new bookings made by July 3 for departures by February, 2019. The offer expires at 11:59 ET on June 30, 2018.

Air Canada Vacations also has a Kids Fly Free program in place, plus the promo code for $100 off, for folks who book a flight, an Orlando hotel and a Walt Disney World Resort in Florida Theme Park ticket.

The latter package is for new bookings only. The offer expires at 11:59 ET on July 7, 2018.

For terms and conditions, visit www.aircanadavacations.com.