July 28, 2023

Hello,

On Tuesday, the National Football Association (NFL) named Orlando as the host of the 2024 Pro Bowl Games presented by Verizon!

Orlando hosted four consecutive Pro Bowl competitions in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. During the previous run of the Pro Bowl Week in Central Florida, Orlando welcomed over 200,000 visitors at Camping World Stadium and hundreds of thousands of visitors with festivities throughout the region, resulting in an overall economic impact in the hundreds of millions.

This year's Pro Bowl Games will include a multi-day competition featuring 88 of the NFL's top players in skills challenges and action-packed flag football at Camping World Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024. As part of the weeklong schedule of events, the NFL FLAG Championships in collaboration with RCX Sports will showcase boys' and girls' youth flag teams from throughout the country.

In addition to attracting national organizations like the NFL, Orlando has also garnered global attention, with the U.S. Olympic Team Trials — Marathon, a competition of America's best runners for coveted spots on the U.S. Olympic team, being hosted in downtown Orlando the same weekend as the Pro Bowl Games.

Orlando appeals to a variety of athletic sporting competitions, including volleyball, basketball and soccer. And don't forget, we have international soccer superstars in town next week with Juventus and Real Madrid facing off in the Soccer Champions Tour at Camping World Stadium on Aug. 2 at 7:30 p.m.

These events are an important opportunity to drive economic impact to our region with players and fans staying in our hotels, dining in our restaurants and enjoying many aspects of our destination beyond the game.

Promoting Orlando in Mexico — The Azabache Road Show

Visit Orlando's travel industry sales team participated in the Azabache Road Show to help travel agents learn how to better sell Orlando and connect with Visit Orlando representatives and member organizations. The event occurred in Cancun, Merida and Mexico City, bringing together 400 travel agents and trade media representatives, surpassing the expected attendance estimates by 30%. About 75% of the travel agent participants had never been to Orlando giving our team a unique opportunity to broaden the perception of agents to showcase the entire destination to drive future visits.

Orlando Leads List of Top 250 Conventions

Orlando will host the largest number of the top 250 conventions this year, according to Simpleview and Destinations International. The information was collected through Meetings Information Network's MINT+ 2023 Top 250 report, a database that helps destinations prospect intelligently by using both historical data and information on future bookings. Orlando has many offerings available for groups, including world-class venues, over 480 hotels, Michelin-recognized dining and unparalleled entertainment experiences. We are proud to continue leading in meetings and conventions. Learn more about the report here.

Plan to Attend Visit Orlando's Signature Luncheon

Join us for Visit Orlando's Insights Luncheon & General Session on Thursday, August 24, at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. Network with industry colleagues, learn about Visit Orlando's key fresh perspectives on influencing business. During the morning session, Visit Orlando's leadership team, chief sales officer Mike Waterman, chief marketing officer Danielle Hollander and senior corporate counsel Stan Rubins will provide key updates and insights to help inform your 2024 plans. At the luncheon, the president of The Center for Generational Kinetics, Jason Dorsey, will deliver an interactive presentation with new insights into Gen Z and working across generations. For corporate tables, please contact Kelly.Kinney@visitorlando.com.

Remembering Thomas Chatmon — Community Leader

We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family of noted community leader, Thomas Chatmon. A lifelong public servant, he was known throughout Central Florida as a key figure in the redevelopment of Orlando's downtown core, including the Creative Village, the Amway Center and the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, among other community projects.

Hotel Metrics

Metro Orlando occupancy for the week ending July 22 was 75.3%, up from last week's 73.4% rate but down 7.6% from the same week last year. The Average Daily Rate was $177.46, down 2.9% from the same week last year.

Across the Industry

Cvent CONNECT: Members of the Visit Orlando team attended Cvent CONNECT, an annual user conference and industry event for production pros, experience makers, and engagement experts. Across four days, with thousands of attendees including meeting professionals, our team showcased Orlando as the premier meetings destination in the country.

Around the Destination

Visit Orlando's Magical Dining: We've reached record-breaking numbers for Visit Orlando's Magical Dining, returning on Aug. 18 to Oct. 1. Now, more than 130 restaurants—including nine MICHELIN Guide restaurants and 22 first-time participants—are serving three-course, prix-fixe menus. Visit OrlandoMagicalDining.com to make dinner reservations, explore the extensive menus and begin planning staycations by taking advantage of great savings at our destination's amenity-filled hotels and resorts through Visit Orlando's Magical Nights.

Visit Orlando Engaged!

Orlando Takes Over Coney Island: On Monday, Visit Orlando, in partnership with TripAdvisor, sponsored Coney Island's Flicks on the Beach movie series premiering the Orlando episode of "The Wanderer" before The Super Mario Bros. Movie. "The Wanderer" is a travel show streaming now on Prime Video. The Orlando episode follows two "Wanderers" from NYC and their first time visit to Orlando to find its hidden gems. This event on Coney Island allowed us to leverage the episode to inspire hundreds of families and adults in our No.1 market. Over 800 New Yorkers joined us on the beach for the premier, enjoyed orange creamsicles and engaged with our orange wall photo opportunity with a chance to win flights to Orlando provided by Frontier Airlines.

The Orlando episode of Tripadvisor's "The Wanderer" travel series is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video in five languages across 119 countries. If you haven't had a chance to view it, I encourage you to set time with your families, friends or colleagues. Watch here.

In the News

Orlando Family Magazine: The state of tourism

Tampa Bay Parenting: Awesome new things to do in Orlando this summer

MSN: Taking the kids: Economizing on summer vacation without sacrificing the fun

Exhibit City News: Talk on the tradeshow floor: convention centers are in expansion mode everywhere!