Florida Real Estate, Tourism and Immigration News

Despite a year long recession in 2008, more than 48 million people visited Orlando last year to give the area its second-best year on record, according to an official head count released Wednesday.

The visitor total reported by the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau Inc. — 48.9 million — was three-tenths of a percent better than the 2007 head count of 48.7 million and the best year since 2005, when a record 49.3 million visitors came to town.

“We knew the first part of ‘08 was sensational for us, and we led the U.S. in a lot of different metrics,” said Gary Sain, president and chief executive of the visitors bureau. “And then, of course, the last six months of the year were very challenging.”

The slight increase last year was due to an 18.9 percent jump in international visitors, who constitute a small but lucrative segment of Orlando’s tourism market. The number of U.S. visitors, who constitute about 93 percent of all travelers to Orlando, actually fell last year by nine-tenths of a percent.

Sain attributed the international growth to more targeted marketing in countries such as Brazil and Canada, as well as the addition of international air service by carriers such as Germany’s Lufthansa, Ireland’s Aer Lingus and Brazil’s TAM.

“We’re just making it easier for people to travel to Orlando,” he said.

The number of domestic leisure travelers last year generally held steady when compared with 2007, but the number of domestic business travelers fell 3.2 percent as the recession prompted corporations to trim their travel budgets. Overnight group meetings fell 7.8 percent compared with a year earlier, the visitors bureau said.

International Pow Wow, the U.S. travel-and-tourism industry’s primary trade show for foreign buyers, came and went last week in Miami Beach. For Orlando, it’s already time to focus on next year’s show.

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.”

The Orlando tourism marketplace claims an annual 48 million visitors.  Although Disney attracts a large part of those tourists, it is not Orlando’s only attraction – Universal Studios, Sea World, myriad golf opportunities, dining, hotels and other entertainment, the opportunities are endless!  This of course has created the perfect environment for second home sales to flourish.  Orlando real estate buyers are also tempted with the idea of short term rental income.  With such a healthy stream of visitors, the rental market is strong. 

Right now the strongest pull to the Orlando real estate market is affordability.  Many of the communities surrounding Disney are now much more attainable.  Celebration and Windermere are two communities with close proximity to the theme parks that offer buyers many options.  In Windermere you can find everything from a three bedroom townhouse in a non-gated community to a palatial single family retreat in a private, gated neighborhood.

Neighborhood Spotlight:

Reunion by Ginn Resorts - November 8th Reunion Real Estate Auction
Just six miles from Disney World, Reunion is a 2,300 acre master planned community.  This gated community features more than 2,000 units (including single family homes, condos and townhomes), three golf courses, a water park, delectable restaurants, plus luxurious spa and fitness facilities.

Call British Homes Group Today for help with purchasing or financing your Orlando area dream home!

Orlando Area MLS Search 

When the kids head back to school, theme park numbers naturally decline.  With cooler temperatures in the Orlando area come some great values.  There’s a myriad of activities for children AND Adults this fall season in Orlando!

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! 

Walt Disney World named leading theme park in the world at the World Travel Awards this week.

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

With 973,000 visitors from the UK to Orlando last year it is no wonder that British Airways want to increase the number of flights to Central Florida. The number of Brits visiting the area made up about a third of all international visitors.

Orlando International Airport is one of the major hubs for flights in the state and is currently spending millions of dollars on refurbishment and expansion to cope with the influx of visitors.

Beginning on March 30th the airline will add three flights a week to its already impressive number taking its total of 10 nonstop a week – this will mean twice daily flights Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays and a once daily flight the other days.

Of course this is coupled with Virgin Atlantics number of routes to Orlando from Gatwick and Manchester.

This is of course in addition to the new Frankfurt route by Lufthansa as well as Aer Lingus’s direct flights to Dublin starting at the end of October.

This is definately exciting developments as it feeds the huge demand for access to Central Florida!

For the first time ever, Orlando is having to promote the area in the UK – the ‘once robust market’ has waned in recent years in a post-9/11 world.

There are two hits in the campaign to help the area – a domestic campaign focusing on the south western US (dubbed "Endless Summer") and the international one focusing on the UK. Both are part of a 2 year $68million marketing blitz promoting the area. The project is tagged "Orlando. Built for Families. Made for memories."

The UK ads are still in the testing stage but are likely to be similar to US ones. Though the numbers for 2006 aren’t available yet, the visitors bureau research projects a 2.8% decline decline in travelers from the UK last year to 1.03million people. However they predict a 3.4% increase this year to 1.07million.

One issue is that in a post-9/11 world Brits are subconsciously feeling it is difficult to travel to the US when in fact Briton’s have it easier than a lot of the world to visit the US as most UK residents can take part in the Visa Waiver program. One downside to visiting Florida is the 9 hour flight!However there is nothing that can be done about that! The area has so much for everyone to enjoy! Now is the time to visit! Get in before the crowds!!