Seventy agents have taken advantage of a brand-new training format with Visit Florida, offering one-to-one appointments with destination partners.  Visit Florida’s first UK Huddle took place on Monday and Tuesday last week, with networking and interactive learning also part of the programme.

Monday afternoon was dedicated to one-to-one appointments, and in the evening, following five-minute presentations from each partner, agents were challenged to use their new knowledge about Florida to write song lyrics. These verses were handed to the event's live band, who combined them into an original performance of the "Sunshine Song" bringing the day to an entertaining close. 

Bryan Griffin, chief executive of Visit Florida, said that Florida was the first US state to do a standalone event of this nature, and it had been such a success, that “we’ll be looking for a bigger space to do this again next year”.  He highlighted how Visit Florida had broken international visitation records in 2024, and then again in Q2 2025 versus Q2 2024.  

“We’ve had a consistent year of strong travel, and that’s important to us,” he said, while acknowledging the tough economic backdrop. “The globe has had a difficult time with inflation but hopefully we’re seeing that level off and we’re still trending in the right direction.”


Visit Florida’s latest marketing campaign, Live More Floridays, is encouraging travellers to explore hidden Florida attractions beyond the theme parks and the beaches. “We’ve built it so all our destinations can use [the assets] – it has broad appeal.”

Griffin said tour operator’s programmes were developing to include more off the beaten track suggestions, while special interest groups were also helping drive dispersion, such as music tours to NW Florida and car racing in Daytona.  

He also spoke how it was important for agents to dispel any myths arounds crime and wild weather affecting the state.  “Florida is very safe,” he said. “We’re actually experiencing a 50-year crime low.”
The state was also very well versed in its hurricane response, he said, and if one part of the state was affected by a named storm, it didn’t mean the whole state was impacted.  “2024 broke records for us, and that was with three major hurricanes,” he said.  

Looking to the future, he said Florida was keen to position itself as the destination for international travellers looking to join in the America 250 celebrations next year, with a branding campaign already live at America250FL.com. “There’s a lot of history in Florida,” he said.  “We’ll be compiling a list of all the different events, because we know people will want to come and be part of the celebration and patriotism.”


Miami is also gearing up to be a headline venue for the Fifa World Cup next year. The draw will be made on December 5, when the group stage matches will be announced. “We’re thrilled Miami is going to be one of the venues,” he said. “It’s the perfect location and so much of the city will be a celebration of the World Cup.”