WEST PALM BEACH — Starting next week Discover The Palm Beaches (DTPB), the official tourism marketing organization for Palm Beach County, will begin its leisure sales and marketing representation in five new key markets including Canada, handled by newly appointed rep VoX International.
The other four markets are Argentina, Colombia, Germany and Mexico.
All five newly-appointed agencies join DTPB’s existing international agencies, Hills Balfour in the UK and AviaReps in Brazil. The new representation in Canada is effective Feb. 18.
“This significant expansion will not only help us extend our brand presence as ‘The Best Way to Experience Florida’, but also highlight our commitment to visitation growth from these important markets,” says President and CEO of Discover The Palm Beaches, Jorge Pesquera.
“Our leisure sales and marketing team’s energized approach will demonstrate the importance of cultivating new and emerging markets to balance potential softening in other markets. We are confident that the entire Palm Beach County tourism community will rally behind this major initiative aimed at growing our tourism economy.”
He says Discover The Palm Beaches believes the expansion of leisure sales and marketing initiatives will bring much-needed awareness and attention to travel agents, tour operators, and receptive operators within these markets who are already interested in Florida.
The engagement of these new representation firms will also result in a year-round presence in the selected markets, as opposed to occasional trade events and sales visits, he added.
Efforts will focus on education and training for agents and operators.
Says Senior Vice President of Marketing, Leisure Sales & Community Engagement, Rich Basen: “The expanded team will work to complement existing efforts to educate and entice key travel trade players in selling destination resorts, attractions and activities to interested travellers who may not yet be familiar with the world-class tourism offerings of The Palm Beaches. Though our existing agencies have made great strides in sharing our messaging in the U.K. and Brazil, the newly-added agencies will no doubt enhance our market presence on a wider global scale.”
According to VISIT FLORIDA’s 2018-2019 Marketing & Sales Plan, international visitation accounted for 12.2% of total visitation to Florida in 2017. The breakdown for DTPB’s international markets is as follows:
- Canada: 321,270 visitors
- Argentina: 36,620 visitors
- UK: 35,950 visitors
- Brazil: 28,100 visitors
- Colombia: 20,990 visitors
- Germany: 20,660 visitors
- Mexico: 9,760 visitors
