For the first time since the coronavirus pandemic crippled Central Florida’s tourism industry, Visit Orlando has launched a full-scale advertising campaign outside of Florida to help bring back tourists.
With $2.2 million in advertising, Visit Orlando’s “Wonder Remains” campaign includes buying TV, social media and digital ads targeting nine Southern states, including Texas, Georgia and the Carolinas.
The advertisements will air from February until March with the possibility of extending longer based on how successful the campaign is, said Visit Orlando CEO Cassandra Matej, whose first day on the job was Feb. 1.
TV advertisements will run on ABC, CBS and NBC in Atlanta, Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte and Nashville.
Visit Orlando released the TV commercial, which showed scenes from Disney World, Universal, SeaWorld and the attractions on International Drive.
“It’s inspirational; It’s emotional,” Matej said. “The images range from, of course, our fantastic theme parks to some of the more unique outdoor experiences as well as our culinary scene and arts and culture.”
The campaign comes at a particularly tough time, one filled with economic and health challenges. Since the theme parks shut down last March and reopened in the summer with limited capacity, Orlando’s tourism recovery has been slow. Tens of thousands employed in the parks, hotels, restaurants, rental car businesses and other areas connected to tourism have been furloughed or laid off.
At the same time, Orange County health officials are stressing the dangers of the coronavirus, especially now that a new highly contagious B.1.1.7 variant is spreading across Florida and the country.
Ten Orange residents have tested positive for the new strain, though officials suspect a wider spread of the mutation, which is believed to be at least 50% more transmissible than others, the Orlando Sentinel reported this week.
Even so, Matej said it was the right time to resume advertising out-of-state because there of pent-up consumer demand to travel.
“The fact that the vaccine has rolled out is starting to give potential travelers a whole lot more confidence,” she said. “Part of messaging is that Orlando is open, and we’re also a very safe place, and that we have strong protocols. … Orlando is on a national stage as being the example of a safe place.”
She pointed to the major theme parks’ mask requirements as an example of the strict health rules.
The hotel tax, a 6% surcharge on Orange County’s hotel rooms, which funds Visit Orlando, the Orange County Convention Center and other projects, has nosedived during the pandemic.
For December, the bed tax revenue came in at $10.5 million, less than any pre-pandemic monthly total since September 2010 and the smallest haul for any December since 2005, according to Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond.
Matej said she doesn’t expect any immediate layoffs at Visit Orlando, which underwent significant staff cuts in 2020. Visit Orlando laid off 42 full-time employees last year.
Visit Orlando is spending less on advertising compared with last year.
Last spring, Visit Orlando spent $9.5 million on advertising, Matej said when comparing the $2.2 million price tag for “Wonder Remains,” which also includes an additional $60,000 in production expenses, she said.
Matej warned she doesn’t expect Orlando’s tourism industry to rebound fully until 2023 but said she has an optimistic outlook.
“We were pretty hurt, along with many other industries. But the reality is, travel and tourism [are] very resilient. People want experiences,” Matej said
grusson@orlandosentinel.com
