$10.5 Mil Tourism Blitz Targets Atlanta, Charlotte and Miami

ORLANDO-Desperate to rejuvenate metro Orlando’s sagging hospitality industry, the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau kicks off a $10.5 million advertising and promotion campaign in January, aimed primarily at Southeastern cities within driving distance to the area’s attractions.

Atlanta, Charlotte and Miami are where the bureau hopes its ad dollars will generate fresh hotel and retail revenue in the first half of next year, according to a blueprint outlined by bureau president Bill Peeper at the group’s annual meeting. The bureau will be spending $7 million or about 95% of its total $7.5 million budget for 2002 in the Southeast.

Another $3.5 million from Visit Florida Inc., the state’s marketing agency, will be spent to blitz Great Britain. Visit Florida Inc. itself plans to spend a total $20 million on cooperative advertising campaigns from January to June.