JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Since the pandemic began, Visit Jacksonville took a hit - a 60 percent reduction hit.
Michael Corrigan, President and CEO of Visit Jacksonville joined Jacksonville’s Morning News and talked about the current efforts between Jacksonville and the state to promote the tourism industry.
“When the pandemic started, we were just like VISIT FLORIDA, stopped all of our marketing for a period of time until we knew it was safe for people to travel and go to hotels and restaurants and venues again,” Corrigan said. “And when we did that, we focused on the Florida market first. We started a few weeks before VISIT FLORIDA’s campaign was launched yesterday. But we are primarily marketing and we’re seeing in our analytics a lot more interest from people in the Miami area and in the Orlando area.”
Yesterday Governor Ron DeSantis and VISIT FLORIDA launched a new campaign to encourage Floridians to travel within the state.
“This new intrastate marketing campaign is the latest step we’re taking to help get people back to work. While the pandemic is not over, and safety remains paramount, we encourage Floridians to venture out of their homes to enjoy everything our beautiful state has to offer,” says DeSantis.
With this campaign, Corrigan hopes they will see a small increase in revenue.
“We’re anticipating probably a 20 percent increase over the short term as the new year starts,” Corrigan said.
However, no one is anticipating a full recovery until a vaccine is released.