Hurricane Irma devastated parts of Florida during the weekend of September 9, bringing in $58 billion to $83 billion in damage.
With normal life gradually coming back, the hospitality industry wants to bring back visitors to Florida destinations. Several Florida-based tourism bureaus have introduced marketing initiatives this week to woo visitors. Despite the destruction (10,000 homes in Miami-Dade County are still without power), by and large, life in downtown Miami has returned to its usual pace.
William Talbert, CEO of Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) said, “When you look back it feels like a long time, but it’s only been 10 days. We are open for business — the airport is open, the seaport is open and the vast majority of hotels [are open].”
The job now is to remind people that Miami is back to business, which is why the visitors bureau launched its #MiamiNow initiative on Sept. 20. This marketing campaign provides visitors with deals on hotels, restaurants, spas, museums, attractions and shopping. A sample deal includes a $23 lunch or $39 dinner at some of Miami’s hottest restaurants like STK South Beach and The Capital Grille. The visitors bureau is also urging tourists to check out the city’s condition on their own by viewing live webcams of Miami’s beaches at SeeMiamiLive.com. The campaign will run till October 31.
Local hotels are also working incredibly hard to get things back to normal as fast as possible.
Central Florida residents and businesses suffered less damage than some of their southern neighbors, but it is not completely unaffected. In Orlando, businesses have spent the past two weeks trying to get back to normal. George Aguel, the President and CEO of Visit Orlando, credits the city’s huge tourism infrastructure and preparedness for its ability to effectively bounce back.
“If you’ve got a family and you want to experience the parks, you’re not going to sacrifice that,” said Aguel.
For Aguel, the goal now is to remind tourists that they are welcome to Orlando, and that the city has moved past Irma.
