Visit Orlando has credited a commitment to marketing investment and trade education after reporting an upturn in UK visitors in 2018.
A total of 1.039 million UK holidaymakers visited Orlando last year, representing a 1.9% year-on-year increase.
Speaking at the IPW conference in Anaheim, Visit Orlando chief executive George Aguel told Travel Weekly: “We understood that there could be some challenges and obstacles in the UK market so we maintained a serious and aggressive investment in marketing which focused on how the destionation makes visitors feel rather than what there is to do.
“We also continued to invest in our education and training and those messages paid off.”
Aguel admitted that 2019 could be another challenging year, but said currency rates could work in the destination’s favour.
He said: “If Brexit isn’t resolved then there could be more challenges, but the dollar is starting to be more attractive, and we know we have already posted a strong year despite exchange rates not helping us.”
He added; “We are seeing positive growth at both ends of the market, but the amount of affordable accommodation coming onstream is another strong message.”