Credit: @TheWeatherNetwork.com

TORONTO — VISIT FLORIDA wants to put winter-weary Torontonians in a Florida state of mind with its ‘Moments of Sunshine’ winter campaign, designed to encourage Canadians to visit Florida.

With a shape mirroring the outline of the state of Florida, VISIT FLORIDA has temporarily rebranded the Toronto TTC 1 Line as the ‘Sunshine Line’, officially launched yesterday with a VISIT FLORIDA industry event.

Nine of the stations along the subway line feature large murals of expansive Florida imagery, matching each station with a respective Florida destination along the coasts of the state, says VISIT FLORIDA. The nine stations include: Finch, St. Clair, College, Dundas, Queen, St. Andrew, Queens Park, Yorkdale and Union.

To tie the Sunshine Line together, an entire subway train for the route has been wrapped in vibrant Florida imagery from Jan. 7 – 28.

To enhance the campaign VISIT FLORIDA says it’s bringing “an element of surprise and delight” to Union Station commuters this week, with destination highlights on Amelia Island, Fort Myers and Sanibel Island and Greater Fort Lauderdale, with a new and different interactive element each day as well as fun giveaways.

Florida welcomed more than 3.4 million Canadian visitors in 2017, an increase of 4% over 2016. Nearly 40% of these travellers visit Florida in the first quarter of the year.

Canada of course is Florida’s number one international market, and many Canadian travellers return year after year to their favourite Florida destination, says Meagan Dougherty, Director of Public Relations, VISIT FLORIDA.

“We love Canadians,” said Dougherty at yesterday’s launch. “A lot of Canadians come to the same destinations year after year and we want them to continue to do that, but also to discover new areas.” Dougherty herself grew up in Florida’s Panhandle, along the Emerald Coast, and it’s an undiscovered gem: “It has the Southern influence, it’s quiet, more laidback. And it’s beautiful.”

Staci Mellman, VISIT FLORIDA’s VP, Global Brand and interim Chief Marketing Officer, says that from January to September 2017 Florida welcomed 95.8 million visitors, the largest ever number of visitors to Florida in a nine month period, and Canadians contributed 2.8 million of those visits. The 2018 figures have yet to be released “but we’re looking for 2018 to be an eighth record year,” says Mellman.

More information about the Sunshine State is at LoveFlorida.ca.