Pack your bags, we're staying home
This summer, Greater Fort Lauderdale puts you in a sunny state of mind with value offers especially for Florida residents. Visit www.sunny.org/PackYourBags for participating hotels. The 2-for-1 Summer Offers (June 1-Sept 30) are in full swing with media coverage in print, radio, TV and travel blogs. Check out all the 2-for-1 summer offers to attractions, cultural activities, spas, dive operators, and entertainment at http://www.sunny.org/summer.
Tourism Sales Update
To enhance the pre- and post-cruise experience for visitors, the Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB is collecting information from attractions, restaurants, retailers, spas and hotels for the new Cruise and Play webpage on sunny.org. Offers for cruise passengers should include a special incentive such a discount, free shuttle service, free parking, welcome cocktail or any other added value. Your Cruise and Play offer will be heavily promoted through media, travel trade, CLIA agents, international agents, and consumer outlets. If you are interested in participating in this pre and post cruise program, please contact Fernando Harb at fharb@broward.org.
The GFLCVB Tourism Sales team attended the recent POW WOW trade show in Miami at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Over 80 prescheduled appointments were set with Operators from the UK, Germany, Poland, China and Latin America to name a few. The highlight at the booth was our Immersadome, the multi-sensory destination experience, made even more popular by our own NBC 6 affiliate sending a camera crew to capture the moment.
2-for-1 Summer Offers
As Americans plan their upcoming summer vacations, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau invites visitors to enjoy the destination's best attractions with special 2-for-1 offers, available now through September 30, 2009. Available on www.sunny.org/summer, the twice as nice deals help create perfect getaway experiences for travelers whose interests range from outdoor recreation to spa treatments and sunset cruises.
We Love Cruisers
As Port Everglades gears up to become the top cruise port in the country, with passenger volume expected to exceed 3.3 million in 2010, Greater Fort Lauderdale announces We Love Cruisers, the destination's new cruise marketing program for travel agents. Designed to provide extra incentives for agents booking pre- or post-cruise stays, We Love Cruisers will debut in October 2009, during the Cruise Line International Association's annual National Cruise Vacation Month.
As part of the new program, domestic travel professionals who book pre- or post-cruise stays in Greater Fort Lauderdale hotels for two or more nights and international travel professionals who book for three or more nights will receive a $25 American Express gift card from the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau (GFLCVB), on top of their earned hotel commission. Agents need only submit the hotel confirmation number to the GFLCVB, and their clients will receive a beach starter kit containing a welcome beach towel and flip flops upon arrival in their hotel room, along with two Cruise and Play VIP cards good for complimentary admission to one of Fort Lauderdale's many leisure amenities, including water sports, shopping and sightseeing.
The We Love Cruisers travel agent incentive program will be valid for the first 750 bookings made during the month of October 2009, and gift cards will be awarded to the agent upon completion of the booked stay. For more information and participation in the program, agents can visit www.sunny.org/welovecruisers.
The Plane Facts
On Wednesday, June 3, one of FLL’s largest carriers, JetBlue Airways, moved from Terminal 1 to an expanded area in Terminal 3. This relocation will allow JetBlue to centralize departures on one concourse and provide JetBlue international travelers convenient access to U.S. Customs and Immigration facilities. JetBlue international service from Fort Lauderdale currently includes Nassau, with Santo Domingo and Cancun service scheduled to begin June 18th. JetBlue’s move to Terminal 3 gives it the capacity to grow its Fort Lauderdale route network.
Green Traveler Survey
Tourism and hospitality leaders want to make vacations and business travel a "greener" experience. Global environmental and travel organizations, suppliers and media have joined with CMI Green and BBMG to produce this first-ever, comprehensive Green Traveler Survey. Your important feedback will help airlines, cruise lines, hotels, tour operators and destinations make their operations and communications greener. Your answers are strictly confidential -- none of the information you provide will be used for marketing purposes, nor will you be added to any lists without your consent. Completing the online survey takes only 15 minutes, and as an incentive to complete it, ten winners will receive a choice of a $50 iTunes gift card, or a $50 Amazon credit, or a $50 donation to the charity of your choice. Click here to take the survey.
Good Eats
The Red Zone Café & Sports Theatre recently opened in the Harbor Shops at 1804 Cordova Rd. in Fort Lauderdale, features 13 8’x9’ TVs. Orale, an authentic Mexican restaurant, opened in Downtown Hollywood. Interested in taking a cooking class? Hi-Life Café in Fort Lauderdale has an evening cooking class on June 17 from 6-7:30pm. $40 per person. Call Chuck at (954) 563-1395. Le Bistro in Lighthouse Point will be holding a cooking class on June 27 from 12-3pm. $50 per person. Call (954) 946-9240 for reservations.
Bet On It
The Isle® Casino at Pompano Park kicks off a sizzling summer with the third leg of the Triple Crown, free slot tournaments, a $25,000 Father’s Day Sweepstakes, two Mini Coopers and cash giveaways. They have added new games, increased the number of penny machines and now offer the state’s only random jackpot slot machines where guests can win a new car. Free valet parking is available every day.
Port Everglades Sets Sail with New, Easy-to-Navigate Website
Cruise passengers sailing out of Port Everglades can now book a hotel room and plan their pre- and post-cruise vacation directly from the Port’s updated website at www.porteverglades.net and through the main Broward County website at www.broward.org/port. The updated www.porteverglades.net has a fresh style and navigational ease that compliments South Florida’s nautical character and the Port’s diverse business mix of cruise, cargo, petroleum, foreign-trade zone and real estate. The site’s most popular features are the Daily Ship Schedule, Statistics, Tariff, and Port Map. New sections “Cruise and Play” and “Get A Room” are specially designed to help cruise guests plan their vacations. “Cruise and Play” features special offers for cruise guests, sightseeing options near Port Everglades, upcoming special events and the latest dining deals.
Happenings Around Town
Through June 25: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Museum of Discovery & Science and AutoNation® IMAX® Theater
June 1-July 31: Moonlight, Sea Turtles and You, Museum of Discovery & Science
June 10-20: AAU World Karate Championships, Broward County Convention Center
June 19-Aug 16: It’s a Dog Life, Art & Culture Center of Hollywood
June 19-Aug 16: Tillamook Cheddar Mid-Career Retrospective 1999-2009, Art & Culture Center of Hollywood
June 20-21: Stonewall Street Festival, Wilton Manors
June 23-25: Florida Marlins vs. Baltimore Orioles, Dolphin Stadium
June 23-28: Stomp, Broadway, Broward Center for the Performing Arts
June 25-28: Fort Lauderdale Int’l Swimming Invitational, Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex
June 25-28: Shorts 4 Kids, Broward Center for the Performing Arts
June 26: Broadwalk Friday Fest, Hollywood Beach Theatre
June 26: An Evening with Il Divo, BankAtlantic Center
June 26: Fort Lauderdale Bus Loop, Riverwalk, downtown Fort Lauderdale
June 26-July 16: Transformer 2: Revenge of the Fallen, Museum of Discovery & Science & AutoNation® IMAX® Theater
June 26-27: Undershorts, Broward Center for the Performing Arts
June 29: Beyonce, BankAtlantic Center
June 29-30: Florida Marlins vs. Washington Nationals, Dolphin Stadium
June 29-July 5: AAU Youth & Adult Taekwondo National Championship 2009, Broward County Convention Center
Your Greater Fort Lauderdale Tourism Sales Team
Alfredo Gonzalez, Vice President of International Business & Tourism
Fernando Harb, Director of Sales
Josh Winston, Tourism Sales Manager
Justin Flippen, Tourism Project Coordinator
Raquel Flores, Tourism Sales Assistant
