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VISIT FLORIDA® Wants Floridians to “Share a Little Sunshine”

NEWS RELEASE TOPIC:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 12, 2009

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In conjunction with National Tourism Week, VISIT FLORIDA, the state’s official tourism marketing corporation, launched its newest integrated campaign today, Share a Little Sunshine.

Share a Little Sunshine is a statewide, resident-driven, tourism industry-inspired, grassroots effort with the potential to infuse much needed revenue into Florida’s economy. The campaign includes a viral video and an e-vite that empowers Florida residents to do their part in helping Florida’s economy by getting back to what matters most—spending time with friends and family.

All Floridians have to do is visit www.ShareaLittleSunshine.org. Once at the site, Floridians will view a rally video featuring everyday Floridians promoting their own Share a Little Sunshine message while visiting iconic Florida locales. After viewing the rally video, Floridians select one of three free video invitations (family, friends, and romance) and email it to friends and family. In less than two minutes, Florida residents can help the state’s economy.

"The response Floridians will have after viewing the rally video is what will give the campaign energy,” said Chris Thompson, Chief Executive Officer at VISIT FLORIDA. "This campaign will empower and unite Floridians to take an active role in protecting jobs and creating revenue in their communities.”

As a special thank you, those who send invitations will be entered to win one of 12 great Florida getaways in the Sunshare Sweepstakes. Every time a participant sends an invitation they will be entered into the sweepstakes. The more they send, the more they will be entered to win. Getaway prizes were donated by convention and visitors bureaus and tourism businesses around the state. Prizes range from two to eight nights’ lodging and an assortment of classic Florida experiences, including golf, dining, shopping sprees, surfing lessons and attraction tickets. Once entered, a sweepstakes entry is eligible for all remaining prize drawings. Each week a different prize package is featured and a winning entry is selected for that prize.

"Floridians can play an important role in helping to bring visitors to our state - and the Sunshare Sweepstakes is the industry's way of thanking them for doing so," said Tammy Gustafson, Chair of VISIT FLORIDA’s Marketing Council and Director-National Sales of Universal Orlando. "The prizes will also highlight just how much our state has to offer."

In addition to the video and e-vite components, the integrated campaign is supported by statewide promotions and public service announcements. The Share a Little Sunshine campaign also has a social media presence on Facebook and Twitter.

“Share a Little Sunshine is a very unique tourism marketing campaign” said Will Seccombe, Chief Marketing Officer with VISIT FLORIDA. “There are more than one million Floridians employed in the tourism industry and this campaign taps into a huge resource using the most powerful tool in tourism marketing—a personal invitation.”

The Share a Little Sunshine campaign will run for 12 weeks and Floridians can start sending their video invitations today.

As the state’s number one industry, tourism is responsible for welcoming more than 80 million visitors each year, which results in over $60 billion in taxable sales revenue and employs in excess of 1 million Floridians. For every $1 spent on tourism marketing, VISIT FLORIDA – the state’s official tourism marketing corporation – generates more than $55 in tourism spending and $3 in new sales tax collections, paid by visitors, not residents. VISIT FLORIDA promotes tourism to Florida through sales, advertising, promotions, public relations, new product development and visitor services programs. As a public/private partnership VISIT FLORIDA has more than 3,100 tourism industry Partners and major strategic alliances with American Express Travel Related Services, AirTran Airways, Disney Destinations, Dollar Rent A Car, The Hertz Corporation, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment and Universal Orlando. To learn more about VISIT FLORIDA, visit www.VISITFLORIDA.org.