Oct. 28, 2016

Strong September Start Lays Foundation for Fall

Thanks to a stellar September, Orlando's fall season is shaping up nicely. With spectacular year-over-year growth, September was our strongest one since 1996. It began with the FSU/Ole Miss match-up that extended the Labor Day holiday by another day and brought a 16.4 percent rise in Average Daily Rate for the final weekend of summer travel.
 
In addition, I am delighted to report that the Orange County Convention Center had an extremely strong showing during the first month of autumn. Not only was citywide attendance at the Center up an astounding 85 percent compared to last year, Orlando hosted eight groups with more than 10,000 attendees each, including Graph Expo which brought 21,000 attendees to our community. During September, occupancy on I-Drive rose 9 percent over last year.
 
The early start to Halloween, numerous fall events and a very successful Magical Dining Month helped generate interest in our destination. In addition, Visit Orlando's increased marketing efforts, particularly in the Atlanta region and throughout Florida, is showing promise to help our autumn visitation.

-George Aguel

September Employment Growth

The Orlando MSA continued to experience robust employment growth in September with total nonagricultural employment growing by 55,200 jobs, 4.7 percent higher than September 2015. Orlando's leisure and hospitality industry added 13,500 jobs from September 2015 to September 2016, a 5.6 percent increase. The industry's 254,600 jobs accounted for 21 percent of total nonagricultural employment in the Orlando MSA. The industry's 5.6 percent year-over-year increase outpaced the 4.7 percent increase in total MSA employment, and the industry accounted for nearly one of every four jobs (24 percent) added over the past 12 months.

UK's Top Family Travel Blogger Visits Orlando

Visit Orlando engaged with Katie Ellison, UK blogger and social media influencer for Mummy Daddy Me, for a visit to Orlando with her family, Oct. 20-28. She will share her experiences on her blog, popular social media channels and YouTube (potential combined reach of more than 1 million). Katie was just named winner of the Best Family Travel Blog award in the UK.

Colombia TV Showcases Orlando as Halloween Capital

Noticias Caracol, Colombia's number one television news station, with an estimated national audience of 10 million viewers, filmed a series of Halloween activities in Orlando to produce several news segments that aired multiple times in Colombia. The segments included the terrifying scares of Universal Studio's Halloween Horror Nights, the not-so-scary frights of Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, the colorful Halloween crafts at The Crayola Experience, SeaWorld Orlando's Spooktacular shows and activities, and the hands-on fun at Brick-or-Treated at LEGOLAND's Halloween celebration.

Now Accepting Applications from Non-Profits

Visit Orlando is accepting applications from local non-profits that benefit families and children to partner with in the coming year. Last year, Visit Orlando contributed more than $175,000 through its annual fundraising events. Eligible non-profits are encouraged to apply for consideration no later than Nov. 11. Apply Online.

Destination Welcomed Argentina Fam

Visit Orlando and Aero México hosted the Logan Travel Argentina Fam last week, involving 10 travel agents and an airline representative. With offices in Buenos Aires, Rosario and Cordoba, Logan Travel has more than 25 years of experience in the Argentinian market. To date, Logan Travel has booked 3,950 passengers to the destination. The group stayed at Staysky Suites I-Drive and Coco Key Hotel and Water Resort . During their stay, they visited the theme parks and several other attractions, as well as participated in an educational seminar on how to sell Orlando, including what is new in Orlando and tips for travelers.

British Airways Campaign Launching in UK

Visit Orlando is partnering with Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Orlando Resort and SeaWorld Orlando to promote the destination during a co-op campaign from Nov. 2-16 with British Airways . The goal is to drive incremental visitation during off-peak periods from couples or those with children under school age, as well as highlight year-round activities offered in Orlando. Creative showcases the diverse, exciting and never-ending experiences available for all ages to "play on, and on, and on". Print, advertorials, digital, social and radio will deliver more than 36.8 million impressions.

Visit Orlando Attends Toronto Media Events

More than 50 Toronto-based travel writers and bloggers learned about Orlando's new openings in 2017 during a Visit Florida Canadian media event, Oct. 25-26. The two-day mission included a cocktail reception for mainstream media and a blogger breakfast event.

Keeping Orlando Top of Mind in Canada

Visit Orlando recently hosted its 6th annual Toronto sales mission. During the Toronto sales mission, Visit Orlando and members met with more than 70 clients representing corporate, association and specialty accounts. A "Farm to Table" themed lunch featured a cooking demonstration by Top Chef Canada's, Jonathan Goodyear. Participating members included Advantage Destination and Meeting Services, Doubletree Hotel by Hilton at Sea World, Hilton Orlando, Ritz Carlton & JW Marriott, Rosen Hotels and Resorts, Universal Orlando Resort, Villas of Grand Cypress and Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin.

Pictured, from left, are: Freddy Flynn; Rebecca Peyton; Andrea Fortaleza; Paul Perrino; Michael Avitable; Barb Crawford, S*M+i; Diane Alexander, S*M+i; Kristen Labelle; Mayte Albaladejo, Visit Orlando; Amanda Skena; Eliana Key and Michael Townes, Visit Orlando.

Travel Agents Learn About Orlando

Visit Orlando attended the FTI Touristik USA Roadshow from Oct. 17 - 25. This year the Roadshow went to seven cities: Hamburg, Hanover, Cologne, Mainz and Stuttgart in Germany; Basle in Switzerland, and Innsbruck in Austria. During the course of the week, Visit Orlando trained more than 300 travel agents, and awarded an Orlando stay as the grand prize in five of the seven cities. Also included, were tickets to SeaWorld Orlando and an Alamo rental car.

Visit Orlando Gains Industry Insight

Visit Orlando representatives attended ConferenceDirect's IndustryInsights event, which was held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC. The IndustryInsights event included a half-day seminar that presented timely meeting trends and travel data essential for savvy meeting planners, including a senior panel of industry leaders who discussed and shared important information on "hot topics" facing the meetings and convention industry.

Pictured, from left: Ron Keith, Visit Orlando; Brian Richey, Executive Vice President and Co-Founder, ConferenceDirect; Ken Barnett, Visit Orlando

Visit Orlando Takes Center Ice

Last week marked the first game for the ECHL Orlando Solar Bear's 2016/2017 season. Once again this season, Visit Orlando and the Orlando Solar Bears have teamed up as partners to promote the destination. In addition to prominent logos upon all of the player's jerseys as well as on dasher-boards in stadium, Visit Orlando will also execute a major promotion early in 2017 with the Solar Bear's NHL affiliate, the Toronto Maple Leafs.

This Week at the Convention Center

Record Passenger Traffic at OIA

August travel numbers are in and Orlando International Airport (MCO) registered a 7.4 percent increase in passenger traffic led by a nearly 10.5 percent rise in international passenger volume.

Halloween Horror Nights Extended

Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights 26 will be extended to include two more nights: Friday, Nov. 4 and Saturday, Nov. 5.

10 Delectable Desserts in Orlando

Orlando's area resorts, bakeries and restaurants are serving up fall flavors like pumpkin spice, apple cinnamon, and caramel in numerous mouthwatering treats on their dessert menus.

'Once Upon A Time' Projection Show Begins

Disney Parks & Resorts announced a new nighttime projection show, "Once Upon a Time," will debut at Magic Kingdom Park on Nov. 4.

U.S. Travel Barometer

Eight in 10 U.S. residents expressed interest in traveling domestically in the coming months according to the latest September U.S. Travel Barometer.

Brazil Considers Waiving Visa Fees

Brazil's government is considering waiving visas for tourists from the United States, Canada, Australia, and Japan, as part of an effort to make the country more appealing.

American Airlines to Launch 'Basic Economy' Fares

American Airlines announced last week that the rollout of its "basic economy" fares will debut in early 2017. Delta rolled out "basic economy" pricing in 2012, and United is set to introduce an equivalent class next year.

CDC Zika Information

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), its most current data available (Oct. 26, 2016) indicate that 139 locally acquired cases have been reported in the United States, while 3,951 travel-associated cases have been reported. For the most current information about the Zika virus, visit the CDC's Zika page.