UK arrivals to Orlando have fallen this year on 2005 and the visitors’ bureau is concerned at reports from tour operators that early bookings for summer 2007 lag 8%-12% behind the same time last year.
However, the bureau’s revised forecast of 1.05 million UK visitors this year would represent just a 1% fall on 2005, much less than the 4% decline in UK arrivals reported by the US Department of Commerce on Tuesday.
The Orlando CVB is already planning a fightback, having tripled its UK marketing budget for 2007 to $3.4 million following a rise in resort tax.
It plans advertising campaigns in January and, for the first time, September. Expect a TV promotion in the new year, with brochure inserts in the News of the World and Daily and Sunday Express.
Marketing manager for Europe Eva Cooper said: “We’re also investing in consumer research in London, Manchester and Glasgow and will start trade research in a couple of weeks.
“We want an accurate picture of where people are travelling. If we are losing people, is it because of cost, competition, lack of interest? Or is to do with immigration and security issues?
“The feedback from tour operators is that fuel supplements on fares [generally £70] are having an impact. That can be a lot of money for a family with three children.”
Orlando will launch its first online training programme for UK agents in January, with prizes such as cinema tickets for those who complete an Orlando Holiday Challenge quiz and a place on a luxury fam trip for 30 top-selling agents in a year’s time.