Interview: Visit Florida’s Ex-CEO on Tourism Marketing Challenges in 2017
Photo Credit: Former Visit Florida CEO Will Seccombe, pictured here, spoke to Skift last week about his tenure at the organization and what the future portends for tourism boards in 2017 and beyond. Visit Florida
Skift Take
From growing public-private partnerships and shifting strategy when foreign currencies decline, Seccombe's insights are relevant for tourism boards the world over.
Will Seccombe's nine-year tenure at Visit Florida -- and as the organization's CEO for the past four years -- ended last month following a controversy involving Miami rapper Pitbull's work with the organization and Visit Florida's lack of transparency with taxpayer dollars used to promote the state to travelers.
Seccombe's departure left destination marketers in the U.S. and abroad wondering about the future of tourism marketing in America's most-visited state -- and perhaps in their own.
Visit Florida, which received $76 million for tourism marketing and promotion this year, suddenly found itself in a fight for its existence. This week a Florida House of Representatives subcommittee voted in favor of a bill that would eliminate funding for Visit Florida.
The bill's next step is a vote before the entire Florida House and State Senate, which a spokesperson for Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran, who supports the bill and has criticized Visit Florida, said could happen in m
