According to Sara Clarke’s recent artcile in the Orlando Sentinel, signs point toward a good summer for Orlando’s primary industry, as hotels look to fill more rooms and theme parks are riding on a wave of pent-up demand.

With Memorial Day weekend the unofficial start of the summer travel season, Orlando is expected to be one of the top spots on travelers’ minds.

“We’re doing great compared to the rest of the country,” said Abraham Pizam, dean of the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management. “The hospitality and tourism industries are recovering and are seeing some good times – I wouldn’t say the best of times.”

Pizam attributes the positive momentum to people giving into their desire for a vacation even though the overall economy is still struggling.

“Those who can afford … will dig into their savings and spend money in order to get away from all the bad news,” Pizam said. “The question that is the most important one: Is that sustainable?”

For this summer, at least, that appears to be the case.

Orbitz.com said in April that Orlando ranked top on its list of most popular summer travel destinations for 2011, ahead of cities such as Las Vegas, Seattle, Los Angeles and Denver.

SeaWorld Orlando said last week that it is expecting attendance growth this summer, while Universal Studios is awaiting the release of the final movie installment of the Harry Potter series in July, which could bump attendance at its already wildly popular Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Disney officials expressed more caution, saying recently that hotel bookings through the end of June are slightly behind those of last year, although they said their rooms are commanding higher rates than a year ago.

Tourism businesses will have to battle the continuingly sluggish economy and high gas prices to make this summer a success story.

With gas averaging $3.79 a gallon nationwide on Sunday, the federal U.S. Energy Information Administration has said it thinks prices have peaked. Still, the cost of a gallon of gasoline remains about a dollar higher than at this time a year ago – something that could have a psychological effect on travelers.

Orlando’s hoteliers say they’ve got their eye on gas prices but aren’t sounding the alarm yet.

“We’re monitoring the situation, but we’re not as concerned as it relates to gas pricing at this point,” said Richard Maladecki, president of the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association.

One concern Orlando won’t have to deal with this year: the threat of oil on Florida’s shores. Leading into last summer season, tourism officials still had their eye on the millions of gallons of crude oil that had poured into the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that exploded in April.

This year, Maladecki said, hoteliers are expecting to see a continuation of the positive performance they reported during the first three months. In March, hotels recorded their best occupancy rate in years and slightly higher prices.

“We’re seeing our advanced bookings at a considerably higher pace than they were last year at this time,” said John Brost, general manager of Mystic Dunes Resort & Golf Club. “Still not up to the 2007 years, but significantly better.”

For Orlando’s tourism market, looking past Memorial Day and into the summer isn’t an easy task. While many in the industry are feeling good about the upcoming leisure season, travelers are still planning their vacations with relatively short notice, making projections difficult.

“It’s still a very short-term-booking market,” said Gary Sain, president and chief executive officer of Visit Orlando, the local visitors’ bureau. “I think as we get into it, we’ll have a little bit of a better understanding.”

Happy (US) Memorial Day!

Sincerely,

Bill Cowie President

Orlando office 407 396 9914

Looking for a home in Florida? We do vacation rentals or can help with the purchase or finance of a Florida property. Request more information or submit a Custom Search Request for a listing of homes available in your price range.

The BRITISH HOMES GROUP Florida

From today’s ORLANDO BUSINESS JOURNAL

The metro Orlando area welcomed 46.6 million visitors in 2009, making it the most visited U.S. destination of the year, according to a new report by D.K. Shifflet & Associates.

The visitation numbers represent a 4.7 percent decrease as compared with 2008, marking a much stronger performance than the earlier forecast by D.K. Shifflet & Associates of a 9.9 percent decrease in a difficult year for the travel and tourism industry.

Domestic travel represented 93 percent of Orlando’s total visitors in 2009, with 43.3 million visitors. International travel, which includes overseas countries and Canada, totaled nearly 3.3 million.
The top international market for 2009 was Canada with 865,000 visitors.

The second-largest number of international visitors came from the United Kingdom, with 831,000.

D.K. Shifflet & Associates said the United Kingdom still represented 35 percent of all overseas visitors and remained Orlando’s largest overseas origin. Overseas visitors excluding the United Kingdom increased 6.4 percent in 2009.

The overseas travel numbers are provided by the United States Department of Commerce’s Office of Travel & Tourism Industries through in-flight surveys and analysis of customs paperwork provided by travelers.

D.K. Shifflet & Associates Ltd., a travel research firm, specializes in consumer-based travel.
 
 
Looking forward to seeing you again here in The Sunshine State!

Sincerely,

Bill Cowie, President

www.BritishHomesGroup.com

Kissimmee Office: 407 396 9914

Orlando will host Pow Wow 2010 and the 4,500 or so suppliers, wholesale buyers and travel writers that come with the show. It’s a tremendous opportunity for the region during what’s expected to be a critical year for tourism, as the nation hopes to be climbing out of recession by then.

As the host city, Orlando will have the home-court advantage when it comes to snagging a piece of the show’s action. The U.S. Travel Association, which organizes the event, estimates that Pow Wow generates more than $3.5 billion in travel deals, and the host city typically captures 10 percent of the show’s total bookings.

The show, organizers say, consists of three days of intensive, prescheduled business appointments involving more than 1,000 U.S. travel-and-tourism businesses and organizations and close to 1,500 travel buyers from more than 70 countries. In addition to dozens of individual appointments, a buyer is also wined and dined by attractions from the host city.

For Orlando, which last hosted the event in 2006, that means everyone from Walt Disney World to Mears Transportation to various local hotels get to strut their stuff in hopes of wowing wholesale-travel buyers with a firsthand experience.

“So much has changed since when we hosted it last,” said Danielle Courtenay, spokeswoman for the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau. “It gives us an opportunity to make sure that the thinking and perception of Orlando is current.”

Among the new draws in Orlando by next spring: roller coasters introduced this year by both Sea World and Universal Orlando, Disney’s Toy Story Mania ride and American Idol Experience show, the five-star Waldorf Astoria hotel in Bonnet Creek, the 1,400-room Hilton Orlando, and a host of new dining and shopping options.

Also, Universal’s much-anticipated Harry Potter attraction is expected to be open no later than the summer of 2010.

Leslie Case, director of sales and marketing for Blue Man Productions, knows the value of having Pow Wow in town. Last year, when Las Vegas was the show’s host city, more than 3,000 Pow Wow delegates saw the local rendition of Blue Man Groupduring a special evening event.

“People get it much better when they have an opportunity to see the show,” Case said. “There are relationships that are established at events like this that last us for many years.”

Nickelodeon Family Suites also hopes to benefit from see-for-yourself marketing next year, too, by inviting promising leads for a familiarization stay. Jim Struna, the hotel’s director of marketing and revenue management, said the business is a regular at Pow Wow and projected that the show will account for 17 percent of the hotel’s business this year.

One big benefit of the show is that it allows domestic travel companies to pitch their product to international buyers in person, something that might be too costly to attempt if it involved flying overseas.

Orlando marketing representatives started building some buzz for Pow Wow 2010 at this year’s Miami Beach show. The visitors bureau set up a “smile campaign” at its booth and is posting delegates’ photos to a Pow Wow 2010 page on Facebook, the popular social-networking Web site. Also on the site: A video commercial for Orlando’s varied vacation attractions.

In addition to generating a local marketing blitz, the coming of Pow Wow usually sparks a citywide cleanup. Before this year’s event, Miami embarked on an intensive beautification campaign that included politeness reminders for taxi drivers. About 30 officials took a two-hour bus tour to inspect the streets Pow Wow delegates were most likely to see or use during their visit; the day’s journey produced an 83-item punch list of problems that were then assigned to 15 agencies or organizations.

“We like to say Pow Wow is the Super Bowl of our trade shows,” said Rolando Aedo, vice president of marketing for the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. As this year’s host, Miami-Dade County was planning to spend about $2.3 million on Pow Wow, Aedo said.

By the time Pow Wow arrives in Orlando next May, local marketers are hoping the hundreds of travel buyers will be in the mood for doing business.

“This has been such an unpredictable year for travel,” said Courtenay, the visitors bureau spokeswoman. “Hopefully, by that time, we’ll have seen some turnaround.”

Orlando Lodging Deals
There are always deals to be had at Orlando hotels along International Drive near the theme parks but this time of year you’ll find some exceptional rates.  Right now some hotels are offering the lowest rates to hit Orlando in awhile.  Internet pricing is especially attractive and most hotels will honor a published online price even if the special may have passed their desk.  Try Orbitz.com for some great specials.  The Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau is also sponsoring Endless Summer through November 15th where you can stay for 2 nights and get the third night free.

Orlando Dining Deals
September is "Magical Dining Month" for some eateries in Orlando.  Often times you’ll find low-season perks like the above where participating restaurants serve delicious three course meals for anywhere from $19 – $29.  More than 50 area restaurants are participating this September.  You’ll find more information and a list of participating restaurants on the Orlando Magical Dining website. 

Orlando Entertainment Specials
Discounts sometimes come in unexpected places for the Orlando attractions.  Day ticket rates for Disney are a whopping $79.88 these days so any deals are appreciated.  Sea World visitors normally pay $74.50 for admission however AAA and AARP members will get a discount.  Southwest Airlines Frequent Fliers are being treated to a 20% discount through December and Sea World visitors can re-use a single day ticket for a second day if they return within a week.  SkyVenture, a free-fall parachuting simulator offers $8 online discount coupons and at the beautiful Harry P. Leu Gardens $7 admission will also get you an evening movie on the lawn.

Bottom line – there are lots of deals to be had.  Make sure you do a thorough Internet search before offering to pay full price.  Often times you can find special discount coupons or online rates that hoteliers may be willing to honor by phone.  So come on out and enjoy the fall value season in Orlando! 

Visit Florida, the state’s tourism-advertising agency, said 82.4 million travelers visited Florida last year, down 1.8 percent from 83.9 million in 2006.

The 1.5 million drop was attributed to fewer drivers, as non-air arrivals to the state fell 5.5 percent to 39 million. Arrivals by air rose 2 percent to 43.4 million. Another bright spot: Intrastate travel rose 7.3 percent to more than 13.9 million.

Visit Florida President and Chief Executive Officer Bud Nocera said it is possible higher gasoline prices are deterring vacationers from traveling too far afield by car.

Geographically, domestic travel to Florida slipped 2.1 percent to about 76 million last year. The number of overseas visitors, who are particularly coveted by the tourism industry because they stay longer and spend more, remained essentially flat at 4.1 million.

Canadian visitors rose sharply, jumping 10.2 percent to 2.3 million travelers. Visit Florida attributed the increase to the rise of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar.

Visit Florida hopes the 2007 slide in travel will help persuade Florida lawmakers to give the organization $43.4 million in public money this spring to spend on tourism advertising!

We’ll keep you posted if the budget is approved.

Orange County Convention Center was amongst the winners also as well as Carnival Corp and Royal Caribbean – all local companies.

The awards were voted on by 167,000 travel agents and professionals in the industry sector online. This year the leading destination award goes to London – Orlando in 2006 held this title.

In the regional awards sector Orlando was listed as North America’s leading destination

The rescheduled launch is said to happen no earlier than January 2nd 2008 at 5.41am.

The delay should give a significant amount of time for NASA Engineers to investigate the problem.

Florida tourists and residents alike all enjoy seeing this spectacular sight of a shuttle launch. Each launch is precious as the Shuttle Fleet is due to be retired in 2010 and has no immediate replacement. There are a scheduled 13 missions still planned.

The shuttle is carrying another section of the International Space Station – the section is names Columbus and is built by the European Space Agency at a cost of over $2.1 billion. The section has been in development since the early 1990′s.

So check out the launch either from Florida or online on www.nasa.gov

Similarly Walt Disney World posted year on year increases! Similarly SeaWorld are expecting to post record numbers.

Universal are not only posting bumper numbers but the visitors are also spending more! They believe that the increase is due to the publicity of the blue man group as well as the coming Simpsons ride and the long anticipated Wizarding World of Harry Potter in just over a year!

The figures are great for the tourist industry as a whole in the Orlando area.

Southwest said that they had over 27 million passengers between July 1st and September 30th this year – a massive number but it is still an increase of 9.5% over last years near 25 million passengers in the same third quarter last year.

Not only were there an increase in passengers but the planes were fuller on average too in the same quarter, up to over 76% up from last years 74%.

Thi is another sign showing the airport as well as the areas hugh level of growth.