VISIT FLORIDA Official Media Newsroom

Corporate Information

VISIT FLORIDA's MISSION
The mission of VISIT FLORIDA is to promote travel and drive visitation to and within Florida.

VISIT FLORIDA's VISION
VISIT FLORIDA establishes Florida as the #1 travel destination in the world

VISIT FLORIDA's VALUES
Integrity
Excellence
Innovation
Inclusiveness
Welcoming
Fun
Teamwork

VISIT FLORIDA's HISTORY & FUNCTION
VISIT FLORIDA, the state's official tourism marketing corporation, serves as Florida's official source for travel planning to visitors across the globe. VISIT FLORIDA is not a government agency, but rather a not-for-profit corporation created as a public/private partnership by the Florida Legislature in 1996.

As the state's number one industry, tourism was responsible for welcoming 85.9 million visitors in 2011 who spent more than $67.3 billion, generating 23 percent of the state's sales tax revenue and employing more than 1 million Floridians. VISIT FLORIDA receives state funding in the form of a portion (15.75 percent) of the two-dollar-per-day rental car surcharge. For every $1 spent on tourism marketing, VISIT FLORIDA generates more than $177 in tourism spending and $11 in new sales tax collections, paid by visitors, not residents.

Additional funding is secured from the private sector to expand VISIT FLORIDA's marketing dollars. Last fiscal year, VISIT FLORIDA raised more than $56.4 million in private sector matching funds. This is done by actively recruiting the state's tourism industry to invest as Partners through cooperative advertising campaigns, promotional programs and many other pay-to-play ventures. Through this public/private partnership, VISIT FLORIDA serves more than 10,500 tourism industry businesses, including 2,800 invested Partners, 7,700 web affiliates and major strategic alliance partnerships with Disney Destinations, Dollar Rent A Car, The Hertz Corporation, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment and Universal Orlando.

VISIT FLORIDA facilitates tourism industry participation in domestic and international travel trade and consumer shows, and media missions to the top global visitor markets. VISIT FLORIDA also works closely with travel agents, tour operators, meeting and event planners, and is responsible for operating Florida's five Official Welcome Centers.

VISIT FLORIDA has 101 full-time employees in Florida and an international team of contracted staff covering Canada, China, Germany, Latin America and the United Kingdom. VISIT FLORIDA's corporate office is located at 2540 W. Executive Center Circle, Suite 200, Tallahassee, Florida 32301. The office can be reached at (850) 488-5607.

To learn more about VISIT FLORIDA, go to www.VISITFLORIDA.org or follow our corporate blog at www.sunshinematters.org.