Visit Orlando Launches $2.2 Million Ad Campaign

For the first time since the coronavirus pandemic crippled Central Florida’s tourism industry, Visit Orlando has launched a full-scale advertising campaign outside of Florida to help bring back tourists.

With $2.2 million in advertising, Visit Orlando’s “Wonder Remains” campaign includes buying TV, social media and digital ads targeting nine Southern states, including Texas, Georgia and the Carolinas.

The advertisements will air from February until March with the possibility of extending longer based on how successful the campaign is, said Visit Orlando CEO Cassandra Matej, whose first day on the job was Feb. 1.

TV advertisements will run on ABC, CBS and NBC in Atlanta, Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte and Nashville.

Visit Orlando released the TV commercial, which showed scenes from Disney World, Universal, SeaWorld and the attractions on International Drive.

The campaign comes at a particularly tough time, one filled with economic and health challenges. Since the theme parks shut down last March and reopened in the summer with limited capacity, Orlando’s tourism recovery has been slow. Tens of thousands employed in the parks, hotels, restaurants, rental car businesses and other areas connected to tourism have been furloughed or laid off.

Visit Orlando is spending less on advertising compared with last year. Last spring, Visit Orlando spent $9.5 million on advertising, Matej said when comparing the $2.2 million price tag for “Wonder Remains,” which also includes an additional $60,000 in production expenses, she said.

Source: Orlando Sentinel