show report FLORIDA HUDDLE Florida Huddle
From America's oldest continuously occupied city, St. Augustine, Laura Gelder reports on the 37th Florida Huddle
Visit Florida takes on Huddle
VISIT Florida, the official and central tourism marketing corporation for the state, has announced that it will take over the previously
privately-run
Florida Huddle trade show. The acquisition of Florida’s longest running trade show was announced at its 37th show in St Augustine. Florida Huddle, which will be set in
Palm Beach next year, will retain its familiar format of pre-arranged meetings
between buyers and
suppliers. The Huddle system matches parties interested in seeing each other and also allows buyers to request appointments in the order they wish. Vice President of Sales and Marketing
at Visit Florida, Eileen Forrow, hinted at a few changes for 2014: “We’d like to see more receptive operators on the floor and have a track dedicated to condos,” she said. In recent
years, Florida’s main
attractions such as Disney, Seaworld and Universal have been a notable absence at the show, but Forrow said Visit Florida was keen to get them back to the Huddle. She added: “by providing expanded branding opportunities and leveraging our international in-country teams’ travel trade relationships we hope to take Huddle to a new level.” Former Vice President of Huddle International,
Christy
commented on the takeover: “Under Visit Florida’s operational control and with their branding strength I have every confidence that Huddle will become even better.”
floridahuddle.com
Viva La Florida!
Kennedy’s new star attraction THE Kennedy
announced its new
Space Center has exhibition
displaying the space shuttle Atlantis will open on June 29 this year. NASA’s complex will house the shuttle in a 90,000-square-foot, $100 million exhibit space which will showcase the spacecraft as if it were in space – raised 30 feet off the ground and rotated 43 degrees. The exhibit Space Shuttle Atlantis,
will tell the compelling story of the shuttle programme through more than 60 interactive exhibits and simulators. “Although the multimillion-dollar
THIS year marks 500 years since Florida, and in turn the continental United States, was discovered by the Spanish, and a state-wide initiative called Viva Florida 500 will highlight its historic
legacy
through a series of events. Events to mark the anniversary of Ponce
Myers,
de Leon landing in Florida will take place across the state and can be found on the Viva Florida website. Many events will centre on St. Augustine, the city widely believed to be the closest to the historic landing place of the Spanish conquistador. St Augustine’s biggest new attraction is
its Colonial Quarter, due to open this month. The living history experience reconstructs 16th, 17th and 18th century
IN BRIEF Orlando's new attractions:
SeaWorld Orlando will enveil its Empire of the Penguin attraction, an immersive area allowing guests to walk amongst the penguins, as well as an adventure ride. TRANSFORMERS: The Ride - 3D will open this summer at Universal Orlando, and Disney's Magic Kingdom will open the Princess Fairytale Hall.
visitorlando.com
New ad campaign for Florida: Visit Florida has kicked off a fresh brand campaign called ‘Must be the Sunshine’. The campaign has launched in the US in both print and television and focuses on telling the consumer’s story. There is no current timeline to launching the campaign in the UK. However, Visit Florida has also re-vamped its website:
visitflorida.com
Picasso as never before:
St Augustine’s new visitor Information Centre is holding a special exhibition of Pablo Picasso’s graphic work and ceramics, featuring pieces that have never been displayed in the US. On display are rough sketches, engravings, book illustrations and photographs of the artist himself. The exhibition runs until May 11, 2013.
floridashistoriccoast.com
life in Downtown St. Augustine, with interactive activities, demonstrations and stories.
Speaking at Florida Huddle, Executive
Director of St. Augustine, Ponte Vedera and The Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau, Richard Goldman, revealed how Viva 500 would highlight an historic side to Florida that many people are unaware of: “When Jamestown was being built, St Augustine was being refurbished,” he said. On and around April 2 there will be a series of events in the city, including the unveiling of a new statue of Ponce de Leon,
historical re-enactments and
Hispanic food and wine tastings.
vivaflorida.org
interactive exhibit encompasses much more than the Atlantis, there is no denying, she is the star of the show,” said Bill Moore, Chief Operating Officer of the Visitor Complex. Kennedy Space Center
has also
partnered with Rovio Entertainment, creator of the Angry Birds™ franchise, to set up the Angry Birds Space Encounter this spring – the first of its kind in the States. Kennedy
Space Center Visitor
Complex is located just east of Orlando.
KennedySpaceCenter.com
www.sellinglonghaul.com • March 2013 61
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