Visit Orlando

Orlando won Best U.S. Destination during Travel Weekly’s 22nd annual Readers’ Choice Awards on Dec. 11 at New York City’s Museum of Natural History! The awards are the pinnacle for the travel trade and recognize excellence in airlines, cruise lines, hotels, resorts, travel agencies and destinations. The awards are voted upon by travel advisors and tallied through an independent audit. https://bit.ly/41J7D4g Visit Orlando supports leisure sales by taking a strategic approach in working with major consortiums, retailers and host agencies. Building strong relations with companies such as Travel Leaders, AAA, Inteletravel, WestJet Vacations and Cruise planners—to name a few—that produce thousands of room nights for the destination. Training travel advisors both in person and through our best-in-class e-Learning program, the Orlando Travel Academy strengthens Orlando’s position among these top producers. Congratulations to Walt Disney World for winning in the Theme Park category, and to finalists Universal Orlando Resort and SeaWorld.

This year, Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining, presented by Orlando Health, raised a new record $352,218 for Orange County charities—a 30% increase from 2023! Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining has raised over $2.9 million for local charities since launching the charity fundraising component in 2009. This year’s primary beneficiary, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮, helps families recover from hardship while promoting environmental sustainability. Visit Orlando awarded $3,000 to nonprofits in each of Orange County’s six commission districts. The recipients are: • 𝗛𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝘆 – Supporting families through life’s challenges. • 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗜𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 – Empowering youth with educational resources. • 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 – Promoting recovery and wellness in the community. • 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆 – Offering tools to improve lives and livelihoods. • 𝗪𝗔𝗦𝗛 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 – Advocating for clean water and sustainable practices. • 𝗖𝗗𝗔 “𝗪𝗘 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲” – Building strong, compassionate communities. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eV_8cSsP

Happy Holidays from your Visit Orlando team! #happyholidays #unbelievablyreal #visitOrlando

Visit Orlando has been recognized in Smart Meetings’ Platinum Choice Awards, which highlights exceptional venues and destinations in the meetings industry! Joining the list of featured winners are Conrad Orlando and Evermore Orlando Resort. https://lnkd.in/gKK3xrZb

Orlando continues to shine as a top travel destination, and now Universal Orlando Resort has been named one of Travel + Leisure's 50 Best Places to Travel in 2025! Universal Epic Universe, opening in May 2025, will feature five new lands, including attractions based on Nintendo's Mario, classic monsters like Dracula and Frankenstein, and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The expansion will also include three new resorts, including the Universal Helios Grand Hotel, joining the resort's Signature Collection. "Universal Epic Universe will transform Universal Orlando into a weeklong vacation destination. This exciting growth happening in Orlando will bring even more travelers to our destination in 2025 and beyond.” https://bit.ly/3Z5jqXM

Visit Orlando’s Travel Industry Sales team hosted 24 tour operators from Brazil for a Super FAM. Participants experienced Orlando’s theme parks and attractions, world-class shopping, and diverse dining, including Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Orlando Resort, an Orlando Magic game, Wild Florida, ICON Park, The Mall at Millenia and Premium Outlets, among other experiences. The group also connected with 24 member companies at the Visit Orlando Marketplace to learn more about our destination and to increase their portfolio of offerings.

Visit Orlando welcomed 15 Florida State University students who are all members of Florida Public Relations Association – Student Capital Chapter to Orlando. While majoring in public relations, they each have interests that span from business to tourism and hospitality. Visit Orlando’s VP of Communications, Denise Spiegel, shared an overview of Visit Orlando, the communications team and a case study on our work to elevate the perception of Orlando’s culinary and dining scene. https://bit.ly/44V5yC0

Thank you to Meetings Today for highlighting why planners from diverse industries—like fishing, healthcare and technology—choose Orlando for their events. Read on to learn more directly from planners who create world-class events like ICAST (The International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades), HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition, and STAREAST, a Techwell Event. https://bit.ly/3OBy0kS

Visit Orlando and 24 members celebrated a beautiful fall day at the Mid-Atlantic annual client event held at the historic Effingham Manor in Virginia. Top area clients from association and corporate industries enjoyed networking with our members, learning about new developments in Orlando with the overall goal of driving future business to Orlando.

Following the Thanksgiving holiday, savvy travelers will be on the lookout for Black Friday and Travel Tuesday deals. To capitalize on this trend, we’ve launched Orlando’s Best Holiday Travel Deals, where residents and travelers can save up to 60% off theme park tickets, annual passes and hotel stays with limited-time offers. No matter the season, your Visit Orlando team is always looking for ways to keep Orlando top of mind for travelers. https://lnkd.in/eXH4u3Uc