With the third quarter of the year fully underway, we know that many of our members and industry partners are already looking ahead to 2025 and are building out their plans. That‘s why we developed, Visit Orlando’s Insights Luncheon & Economic Forum, to give you an in-depth analysis of major factors shaping the future of travel.

Taking place on Friday, August 23, at Hilton Orlando, the Economic Forum features Chairman & CEO of Sage Policy Group Anirban Basu with Visit Orlando’s Senior Director of Market Insights & Research, Maria Henson. They will share how interest rates, global conflict, wage dynamics, business confidence and demographics will impact economic outcomes and provide a forecast for the coming year.

Following the forum, luncheon attendees will be treated to an inspiring message from a dynamic keynote speaker, Kevin Brown, the best-selling author of The Hero Effect®.

The HERO Effect® is a simple philosophy that separates world-class organizations and high-performance people from everybody else. Kevin is passionate about helping people expand their vision, develop their potential and grow their results. And, as the father of a child with autism, he knows firsthand how the principles of true success reach beyond the boardroom and into the lives of real people facing the challenges of everyday life.

Corporate tables are available for purchase. They include up front seating for eight, your logo on event materials, complimentary admission to the Economic Forum for your attendees and more. Contact Kelly Kinney for details.

For individual seats, register today! We look forward to seeing you at Visit Orlando’s Insights Luncheon & Economic Forum.

Visit Orlando Captures Paris 2024 Olympics Audience

In partnership with NBCU, and through our media agency ICON International, Orlando will receive national exposure during the highly anticipated Paris Summer Olympics at a highly discounted cost. We will have 170 total TV spots running nationally across NBCU linear and digital channels including NBC, USA, E!, Paris 1-2 and Peacock, with an average of eight spots per week. The campaign will run for three weeks, beginning July 24 to Aug. 11, with 34.4M estimated impressions. It will allow us to capitalize on live TV and on-demand viewing to drive travel demand for the rest of 2024 and affirm Orlando’s alignment with sports.

Data & Trends

Metro Orlando’s hotel occupancy rate for the week ending July 21, 2024, was 73.5% which was down 2.4% from the same week last year. The average daily rate for the week was $173.47, which was down 2.3% from last year. Room night demand trailed prior year by 1.7%.

Across the Industry

U.S. Travel Summer Summit: Three times a year, the U.S. Travel Association brings together travel industry leaders from across the county who serve on the organization's board. In the Summer Summit, held this week in Napa, California, Visit Orlando joined colleagues in all travel sectors to hear industry insights, discuss trends and how we can work together to move the travel industry forward. Here are few key takeaways from the discussion:

• Business & Corporate Travel: The trend of combining business travel with leisure continues and Orlando is well-positioned to capitalize on this market. Companies like Accenture report business travel exceeding pre-pandemic levels, with new consumer expectations. Travelers now value hotel brand loyalty and improved customer service. Sustainable practices are crucial, with travelers reporting back if hotels contradict company policies, such as providing plastic water bottles.
   
• Airline Experience Enhancements: Travelers are willing to pay for better experiences, wanting less bare bones travel, influencing airlines like Southwest to reconsider their seating models.
   
• Live Events and Entertainment Growth: The president of Live Nation and the partner of Bottlerock Napa Valley shared insights on the rise of live events and entertainment post pandemic. While we all know of the Taylor Swift phenomenon, the days of waiting for a concert in your own area are long gone. They have seen massive growth in travelers creating trips around live events. Orlando's entertainment offerings make us well positioned for this trend.
   
• Brand Loyalty and Customer Connection: We also heard from companies like Levi Strauss & Co. and Albertsons about how they emphasize building long-term consumer relationships, whether through versatile everyday wear or personalized local grocery experiences. While they are outside our industry, the message came through that looking to the past can help move forward into the future.

Overall, if Orlando remains focused on our strong brand—what helped establish our leadership position—and continues to enhance it, we will be well-positioned for great success in the future.

Around the Destination

Behind the Scenes for Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining: An important aspect of Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining presented by Orlando Health is the benefit to our community through the annual charitable contribution to local nonprofits. Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining has raised more than $2.5 million for local organizations since 2009.

To highlight the program’s contributions to our local community, Visit Orlando went on location with this year’s charity partner, The Mustard Seed of Central Florida, interviewing their executive director, Kathy Baldwin. The Mustard Seed plays a crucial role in rebuilding the lives of families and individuals affected by disasters or personal tragedies by providing household furnishings and clothing, while also prioritizing environmental responsibility. Stay tuned to Visit Orlando’s social channels for the full story coming soon.

District 4 Back-to-School: This past weekend, the Visit Orlando team donated backpacks and school supplies for Orange County Commissioner Maribel Gomez-Cordero’s Back-to-School event at the Meadow Woods Recreation Center. Thanks to the community-wide effort, over 120 students received the essential tools they need to be well-equipped and ready to learn for the upcoming school year.

Membership Power Hour: Visit Orlando hosts educational events year-round on trending topics for member organizations to build knowledge, grow their network and uncover new business opportunities. At our latest Power Lunch held at Pinstripes, 100 members joined to hear Visit Orlando‘s Chief Marketing Officer Danielle Hollander discuss “Harnessing Marketing for Growth and Influence.” In today’s dynamic marketplace, effective marketing is the driving force behind business growth, increased awareness and shifting perceptions. Danielle delivered five approaches to marketing efforts to achieve multiple goals and ensure effective allocation of resources.

Visit Orlando Engaged!

Florida Media Conference: The Florida Media Conference united top media executives and emerging professionals from across Florida in Orlando and Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek for two days of networking, industry knowledge sharing and exposure to innovative ideas. This year, Wesley Costa, Visit Orlando’s director of international marketing, participated in a panel discussion focusing on marketing strategies for Florida tourism, along with representatives from Visit Panama City Beach, City of Pompano Beach and Visit Fort Lauderdale.

Wesley emphasized the importance of an integrated marketing strategy that provides a consistent message across multiple channels, engaging consumers from inspiration to planning to booking. He highlighted the success of Visit Orlando’s recent initiatives like "Winter Doesn’t Exist," which was expanded this year from Northeast U.S. markets to also include Canada and the U.K.

Travel Advisor Training Event: Our travel industry sales team attended InteleTravel Dream Maker’s training event in Tampa, Florida, that brought together over 275 travel advisors, primarily from Florida.  InteleTravel is one of the largest host agencies in the world, with over 90,000 travel advisors globally. Its Dream Maker event is their regional opportunity to offer their travel advisors in-person training with some of their preferred partners, like Visit Orlando.

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