DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (WFLA) – Gov. Ron DeSantis and Visit Florida officials announced in Daytona Beach a new in-state marketing campaign designed to encourage in-state travel by Floridians during a news conference Wednesday.
DeSantis has been advocating for more tourists to visit the state.
“This new intrastate marketing campaign is the latest step we’re taking to help get people back to work,” said Governor DeSantis. “While the pandemic is not over, and safety remains paramount, we encourage Floridians to venture out of their homes to enjoy everything our beautiful state has to offer.”
The new campaign will be seen on televisions, billboards and social media sites and will cost $13 million in hopes of making up the losses from the pandemic.
“We are down 60%, our tourism industry has just been, to put it bluntly, decimated by this crisis,” Dana Young, President & CEO of Visit Florida said. “The good news is that there is no doubt that Florida remains the best place to vacation in the world.”
Tourism is a foundational pillar of Florida’s economy, accounting for more than 1.5 million jobs and $91 billion in revenue in 2019.
“Our data has determined that people right now, even though many are ready to travel they feel more comfortable traveling closer to home, and right now they’re feeling more comfortable driving,” Young said.
DeSantis believes the campaign will remind Floridians that their home state offers world-class tourism opportunities that most people must travel to other states and countries to experience.
“This is really going to be I think an invaluable tool to help show folks that Florida is back,” DeSantis said.
The Florida Department of Health reported under 2,500 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday.
Just a day prior, the state reported the highest daily coronavirus case count since early August, which the state says can be attributed to an ‘unacceptable’ data dump by Quest Diagnostics.
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