Polk County “Tourism Caravan” Will Hit the Road May 2 – 6 to Celebrate National Tourism Week
Visit Central Florida and Central Florida Sports Marketing, known locally as Polk County Tourism and Sports Marketing (PCTSM) will celebrate National Tourism Week May 2 – 6, 2016, with a “Tourism Caravan”. The first full week of May is recognized annually as National Travel and Tourism Week. PCTSM staff will caravan across Polk County, delivering tokens of appreciation to tourism industry partners including hotels, attractions, restaurants, shops, Chambers of Commerce and more; to recognize and thank the front-line and behind the scenes travel industry personnel who interact with visitors on a daily basis. A reoccurring theme for National Tourism Week is “We Are Tourism” so staff will hand out #WeAreTourism logoed t-shirts and pens to employees and visitors during the caravan visits. PCTSM invites Polk County businesses to help celebrate National Tourism Week by posting “Thank You” messages on their venue’s marquee similar to this: “It’s National Tourism Week. Thanks for Traveling!”
Tourism is the number one industry in Polk County, employing more than 20,000 people and contributing more than $1.5 billion in economic impact in 2015, which helps enhance the quality of life for the citizens and businesses of Polk County. Research by VISIT FLORIDA (the tourism marketing corporation for the state of Florida) indicates more than 105 million visitors came to Florida in 2015, for a fifth consecutive year of record visitation, exceeding the previous high of 98.5 million in 2014. The number of direct travel-related jobs in 2015 was also a record high, with more than 1.2 million Floridians employed in the tourism industry.
For more information about PCTSM’s National Tourism Week Caravans, contact Kelly Rote at 863-551-4750 or Kelly@VisitCentralFlorida.org.
