Best Holiday Lettings

Category: Holidays

  • Record year for VISIT FLORIDA Spending

    Today, during a gathering of the Florida Cabinet, Governor Rick Scott announced that in accordance with preliminary estimates released by VISIT FLORIDA, visitors to the light State spent a record $71.8 billion, a rise of 6.8 percent over 2011. This represents a record year of spending in 2012 by tourists in Florida, exceeding the former highs of $67.2 billion in 2011 and $65.5 billion in 2007.

    Governor Scott said, “Today’s news from VISIT FLORIDA demonstrates ‘It’s Working.’ Travelers to Florida spent a different $4.6 billion in 2012, marking the second one consecutive record year for visitor spending within the Sunshine State. Florida’s tourism industry is significant to Florida families because it serves as a necessary income to the state and a key driver of employment – and that’s why ourFlorida Families First Budget commits $75 million to go to FLORIDA, as a way to better grow jobs and opportunities for Florida families.”

    As the state’s official destination marketing organisation, VISIT FLORIDA is chargeable for serving the citizens of Florida throughout the growth and development of the tourism industry. VISIT FLORIDA creates innovative cooperative marketing programs that enhance the industry’s ability to successfully promote the Florida tourism product around the U.S. and worldwide.

    “Last year, visitors spent over 500 million vacation nights and nearly $72 billion within the Sunshine State,” said Will Seccombe, President and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA. “While it’s still very early in 2013, all indications are that VISIT FLORIDA is definitely positioned to construct at the previous two years’ momentum as we try to make Florida the No. 1 travel destination on the earth.”

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  • UKinbound: Negativety will follow ‘visit visa’ for Brazilian tourists’ announcement

    UKinbound, the trade association representing the interests of the UK’s inbound tourism sector, has damned the government’s latest visa announcement that recommends the introduction of visitor visas for tourists from Brazil.

    Commenting at the announcement, UKinbound chief executive, Mary Rance said: “This is this sort of disappointing and retrograde step from the govt. Last year, it gave the impression of progress was being made during this area as visa restrictions for Chinese visitors were lightened, but now it really does feel like one leap forward and two steps back.

    “Visas are recognised as among the biggest barriers to inbound tourism and adding to this with restrictions for the Brazilian market won’t be conducive to the united kingdom economy. Brazil was identified as certainly one of VisitBritain’s key growth markets for 2020 and we should always be encouraging visitors from this ever-expanding economy, not introducing a barrier which may act as a deterrent.

    “Over the past 10 years, visitor numbers from Brazil have increased by greater than 250% and it’s been the sole BRIC country not to have UK visitor visa regulations in place. This isn’t a coincidence. Our competitors inside the Schengen zone should not have a comparable visa restriction, so why introduce a barrier to growth within the UK where there currently seriously isn’t one.

    “The Government ought to specialize in relaxing the complexity of the visa process and make the united kingdom a competitive destination, not hinder tourism further.”

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  • Bahamas $80 million dollar shark tourism industry grows again

    Safe shark diving is nice for tourism; a live shark could be worth “tens of thousands of dollars” when compared with the “hundreds” that may be made by selling its fins. With that during mind an enterprising team of industry experts have created the world’s first educational dockside shark diving site at the small island of Bimini, Bahamas to assist dispel myths and misconceptions of sharks.

    Bimini Bull Run is headquartered on the Bimini Big Game Club, a 30 minute flight from the South Florida and a legendary outpost for fishermen, host to varied major sport fishing tournaments for greater than half a century. At this marina Bull Sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) have regularly visited because the time Hemmingway called Big Game home searching for fresh fish scraps from cleaning tables.

    A spokesperson for the location said: “We’re very excited with a view to offer someday guaranteed shark encounters with this completely unique and misunderstood shark species. Sharks are under siege all over and we’ve found that positive encounters with sharks change attitudes and mind sets taking into account the continuing preservation of those animals in ways in which negative encounters cannot accomplish and for us safety is prime. We built an oversized infrastructure to maintain sharks and those safe, it’s a wholly new operation that enables divers, non divers, and movie and television productions a singular place to come across them of their natural habitat.”

    Bimini Bull Run is a commercial concept endorsed and supported by the Shark-Free Marinas Initiative and the Bahamas Film Commission. Bimini Bull Runs specially designed cage systems are attached to purpose built docks that let divers, non divers, filmmakers, and underwater photographers access this unique and thrilling underwater world.

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  • Miami set for record visitors in 2012

    Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) President & CEO William D. Talbert, III, CDME announced today that overnight visitors to larger Miami and the Beaches increased +3.5% to a record-breaking 13.9 million overnight visitors in 2012, fueled by a +5.2% increase to a record 6.8 million international visitors and a rise of +1.8% to a record 7.1 million domestic visitors. 

    This marks the third consecutive year of record overnight visitors to the destination.         

    A record $21.8 billion in visitor expenditures was generated in 2012, a rise of +5.1% over the former year with international expenditures representing 70% of the entire vs domestic. 2012 marked the fourth consecutive year of records on records for visitor spending. 

    “For the third year in a row, the strength of the Miami brand continued to draw record overnight visitors, generating record employment within the leisure and hospitality industry,” says Steven Haas, Chairman of the GMCVB Board of Directors. 

    “With a brand new record high of 112,300 industry jobs in 2012, Travel and Tourism continued to set the pace for the community’s recovery from the recession with three consecutive years of increased employment.”     

    In July 2012, the GMCVB unveiled its new branding campaign to capture its evolution by launching the “It’s So Miami” program in top global markets, including Big apple, Brazil and Germany. 

    The new tagline and eye-catching imagery showcases contrasting visuals of iconic destination scenes juxtaposed with people cashing in on cultural attractions.  The brand new campaign captures the vibe and diversity of lifestyle in Greater Miami and The Beaches.  “

    The Bureau’s aggressive marketing and expansion of the preferred summer and shoulder season promotions, including Miami Museum Month, Miami Romance Month, Miami Spice Restaurant Month, Miami Spa Month, Miami Attractions Month and Miami Live Music Month were enjoyed by more visitors and residents than ever in 2012,” says Talbert.       

    During 2012, the GMCVB continued its international expansion to 40 locations in 30 countries, which included extensive expansion within the Brazil market.  Cities/countries added to the worldwide network in 2012 included The big apple, San Francisco, Jamaica, Bahamas and extra cities in Brazil. 

    Among the pinnacle 25 hotel markets within the U.S., Greater Miami and the Beaches’ ranked #4 for revenue per available room (RevPar), a rise of +7.9% in 2012 to a record $124.92.  Hotel room occupancy also ranked #4 with a rise of +1.3% to a record annual average of 76.4%, and average daily room rate (ADR) ranked #4 with a rise of +6.6% to an all time high of $163.59. 

    A record 13.4 million hotel room nights were sold in 2012, representing a +2.5% increase over the former year.  These sales generated a record $60.4 million in Convention Development Tax (CDT), a +8.5% increase over 2011 CDT collections.

    A record 19.8 million passengers were welcomed on the new Miami International Airport (MIA) in 2012, a +3.0% increase over 2011, which incorporates a record 9.8 million international passengers up +5.3% over 2011 and a record 10 million domestic passengers up +0.9% over 2011. 

    With 96%of overnight visitors to bigger Miami and the Beaches arriving by air in 2012, Miami International Airport is very important to the success and growth of the travel and tourism industry.

    “Both MIA and the PortMiami are pillars of our travel and tourism industry,” states Talbert.  Inside the last quarter of 2012, PortMiami welcomed an unprecedented seven new cruise ships in eight weeks further solidifying the port’s ranking as Cruise Capital of the area.

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  • VisitEngland teams with Blacks for brand spanking new campaign

    VisitEngland and outdoor specialists Blacks have announced an exhilarating partnership to advertise outdoor breaks in rural England.

    Domestic overnight holiday trips to rural locations in England were worth £2.2bn in 2011, with day trips contributing a further £8.7 billion.

    To boost rural tourism this year, the national tourist board and Blacks have today launched a £1.2million multimedia campaign, aimed toward inspiring Britons to explore England’s breath-taking countryside with a quick break within the great outdoors.

    The campaign will run throughout March, ranging from today, with a 30” television advertisement filmed in Cumbria, highlighting the several outdoor activities that may be enjoyed off the beaten track in England’s countryside – including walking, camping, trail and fell running, and wild swimming.

    Consumers are encouraged to go to www.blacks.co.uk/visitengland, where they’ll enter a contest to win a terrific adventure break in Cumbria.

    The website also contains destination details about the filming locations, and advice on the way to become involved in outdoor pursuits around the country.

    James Berresford, VisitEngland’s chief executive, commented: “England’s stunning countryside is a big draw for visitors from both home and abroad, and provides experiences to be found nowhere else on the earth!

    “We’re delighted to be working with Blacks in this campaign, which showcases England’s dramatic landscapes to inspire Britons to explore what’s all alone doorstep with a thrilling outdoor break.”