HAPPY NEW YEAR!

As we start the new year and new decade, I want to thank you for your support and dedication to the destination. You make Greater Fort Lauderdale a dynamic place to live, work and play, and my team is excited to work closely with you this year. Save The Date: Please plan to join us for a special luncheon at the Broward County Convention Center on Wednesday, February 12. We have a few surprises in store for you, so you don't want to miss it. Look for your invite coming soon to your inbox.  ~ Stacy Ritter, President/CEO, GFLCVB

GET IN THE BIG GAME

South Florida is gearing up to host Super Bowl LIV, February 2, 2020, for a record 11th time at the Hard Rock Stadium. Check out the events below taking place in Greater Fort Lauderdale surrounding the "Big Game" and visit sunny.org/superbowl for more details. If you have an event taking place or specials being offered during the game, please let us know! Contact Kim kcanter@broward.org with details. 

  • Players & Ponies at Gulfstream Park
  • Raised in the 9[54] at Las Olas Oceanside Park, Fort Lauderdale beach 
  • Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson Celebrity Superslam Charity Basketball Game at NSU
  • "The Night Before" with the Zac Brown Band at the BB&T Center
  • 2020 Super Bowl Breakfast, The Diplomat Beach Resort
  • Taste of the NFL, The Diplomat Beach Resort 

The Sustainable Events Network, Florida & Caribbean (SENFC) is assisting the NFL with their Sustainability and Zero Waste goals for Super Bowl LIV. SENFC's sustainability efforts involve the game and everything relating to the week-long activities. We hope you will engage in sustainability and food rescue initiatives for all events relating to the Super Bowl. If you have relationships with food pantries or agencies, please contact them to get involved. If you need some assistance, contact Francis Purvey at SENFC (fwpurvey@sunlarkassociates.com or 954-778-3228). They will be happy to help guide your effort with food rescue partners including Feeding South Florida and Food Rescue US.

LATEST MEDIA HITS SECURED BY THE CVB

THAT'S A WRAP!

We loved seeing pictures of Greater Fort Lauderdale from our partners, locals and visitors all through 2019. It was an incredible year! Check out some of our best loved pictures from the year - many of which were UGC (user generated content). Don’t forget to use #VisitLauderdale to join the conversation! 

NOVEMBER STATS

Greater Fort Lauderdale Average Hotel Occupancy
November 2019
% Change
78.84% 
+4.7%
Greater Fort Lauderdale Average Hotel Daily Rate
November 2019
% Change
$142.45
+2.6%

PANTHERS IN PARADISE

This month, we finalized the @VisitLauderdale video series “Panthers in Paradise,” featuring Florida Panthers players, team members and fans on their quest to uncover the community gems of Greater Fort Lauderdale. View the episodes on our YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, or IGTV. 

PRIDE OF THE AMERICAS

The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau is proud to be the presenting sponsor for Pride of the Americas, welcoming visitors from North America, the Caribbean and Latin America to the destination, April 21-26. Click here for a glimpse at what's to come.  

Pride Fort Lauderdale is working with Delmay and Partners in Hollywood to create a housing/hospitality program for the event. If your property would like to participate, contact Jeff Delmay at jeff@delmaycorp.com. To learn more about sponsorship, advertising and other marketing opportunities during Pride of the Americas, contact J.W. Arnold, Executive Director, at jw@pridefortlauderdale.com.

JANUARY CONFERENCES

Groups meeting in January will generate more than $17 million to Broward County. Groups include:

Jan 1-5: Q Christian Fellowship Conference 2020 (1200 attendees)
Jan 5-9: CoStar Group Inc. 2020 Sales Conference (1000 attendees)
Jan 5-11: Novogradac's 2019 Affordable Housing Conference (300 attendees)
Jan 6-15: AAHS/ASPN/ASRM Joint Annual Meeting 2020 (600 attendees)
Jan 7-11: Core States Holiday Party & Safety Meeting (400 attendees)
Jan 11-16: SAP Latin America - FKOM LAC 2020 (2600 attendees)
Jan 12-18: Association of Marina Industries 2020 (500 attendees)
Jan 13-18: Loss Executives Association 2020 Annual Conference (450 attendees)
Jan 14-15: Capital Jazz Super Cruise 2020 (300 attendees)
Jan 16-25: IOUE 2020 Winter Meeting (600 attendees)
Jan 17-26: Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition, 2020 (7000 attendees)
Jan 23-25: Nat'l Newspaper Publishers Assn (NNPA) Training Conference (200 attendees)
Jan 26-28: S&P Global Platts Aluminum Symposium 2020 (350 attendees)

Sports Development welcomes more than 25,000 athletes, coaches and families in January including: Pegasus World Cup Invitational horse race at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, College Swim Training in Coral Springs//Pompano, Florida Lacrosse Classic in Weston, and Rising Stars Girls Softball Nationals and Showcase in Davie/Plantation.

PORT EVERGLADES

Port Everglades set a world record on December 1, 2019, with a total of 55,964 guests passing through the Port in a single day. The previous record was set on March 13, 2016, with 55,885 passengers -- also at Port Everglades.

Port Everglades will welcome four brand-new ships in November 2020. Royal Caribbean will debut its newest ship, Odyssey of the Seas. This will mark Royal Caribbean's first Quantum Ultra Class ship to arrive in North America with capacity for more than 4,000 passengers. Celebrity Cruises will introduce the Celebrity APEX, sister ship to Celebrity Edge, luxury line Silversea Cruises will debut Silver Moon and Princess Cruises will debut Enchanted Princess. 

CRUISE AND PLAY DEALS

To enhance the pre- and post-cruise experience for visitors, the CVB continues to collect information from attractions, restaurants, retailers, spas, and hotels for our Cruise and Play program. Offers for cruise passengers should include a special incentive such as 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. Submit your offers or update your current offers through the partner login. Contact Justin for assistance. 

FORT LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (FLL)

Passenger traffic climbed nearly 2% in November to 3.04 million travelers, compared to the same month in 2018. Domestic passenger traffic increased 3.2% to 2,362,945 travelers. Overall, 33.2 million people traveled through FLL in 2019, year-to-date as of November 30. This is an increase of 1.7% from last year. For 2019, it is expected FLL’s annual passenger traffic will exceed 2018’s total of nearly 36 million travelers.

Several new dining options debuted this month including Shake Shack in Terminal 2, Flash Fire Pizza in Terminal 2 and Rocco's Tacos and Tequila Bar in Terminal 1. 

Click here to read the latest edition of FLL’s NewsFLLash.

CVB TRAVEL FOR THE MONTH

Jan 5-8: PCMA Convening Leaders, San Francisco 
Jan 13-17: Brand USA Mission, Mexico City & Guadalajara
Jan 23-26: New York Times Travel Show, NYC
Jan 24-26: AAA Pittsburgh Travel Show

Click here to check out more of our CVB team in action at various events and functions around the world.

HAPPENINGS AROUND TOWN

Run the Publix Fort Lauderdale A1A Marathon & Half Marathon… Where the Ocean is Your Finish Line! The marathon takes place January 26 featuring 26.2 miles of signature South Florida beauty, loaded with miles of unobstructed ocean views. Register at a1amarathon.com.

Art Fort Lauderdale​ (January 23-26), a 4-day curated art fair that transports attendees on a journey along the famed Intracoastal Waterway via water taxi and private yacht. Guest will stop at vacant multimillion dollar waterfront properties featuring emerging artists exhibiting various styles and methods of art that reflect the past, the present and the future. This destination art fair seeks to highlight the uniqueness of our city and puts Greater Fort Lauderdale on the art world map as a premiere location to view, interact with and purchase art along with giving art aficionados, residents and visitors a cultural experience that is memorable, interactive and engaging. 

SEAGLASS | A Greater Fort Lauderdale Rosé Experience (February 8-9), a first-of-its-kind, this two-day event immerses guests in a rosé experience second to none. Set on the sands of Fort Lauderdale beach – with the Atlantic Ocean as the backdrop, SEAGLASS showcases more than 30 varietals of the world’s finest rose wines and more than 20 winemakers, spirit producers, chefs, along with perfectly paired culinary options throughout the weekend.

Journey back to the 16th century as you step through castle gates and into the days of yore at the Renaissance Festival at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach. Explore the artisans' village and view live demos of glassblowing, steel-fighting, archery, and more. Feast on hearty food fit for a king while enjoying live performances on stage and in the lanes, including thrice-daily jousting events. February 8-March 22, weekends only.

The 17th Annual Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food (SOBEWFF®) festival returns, along with the Crave Greater Fort Lauderdale series, February 19-23. Click here for a list of the star-studded line-up of talent coming to Greater Fort Lauderdale.

For a list of the hottest events this month, check out January Events in Greater Fort Lauderdale. 
If you would like to submit an event to be listed on our site, go to sunny.org/submit.

TRAVELHOST CELEBRATES 40

TravelHost of Greater Fort Lauderdale celebrates its 40th anniversary. TravelHost of Greater Fort Lauderdale is the oldest and most successful TravelHost in the country out of 35 markets. The publication supports local tourism and the hospitality industry, reaching leisure and business travelers through their information rich website, extensive social media network and in-room TravelHost Magazine. 

The local edition is owned by Ina Lee, Chair of the Marketing Advisory Committee. Congrats to Ina and her entire team on a great accomplishment! Ina is pictured here with her fabulous team. 

WELCOME TO THE CVB TEAM

JoNell Modys joins the Marketing & Communications team as a Senior Executive. JoNell has more than 20 years’ experience in tourism destination marketing communications. She began as an agency vendor for several years before directing communications for the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades CVB as a Collier County employee for 16 years. Prior to working in travel and tourism marketing and public relations, JoNell was a broadcast journalist and producer. She holds a bachelor's degree in Communications from the University of Hawaii. 

April Vaughn joins the Administration team as Administrative Coordinator. April had an extensive tenure with Miami-Dade Police Department’s Fiscal Administration Bureau as an accounting clerk before moving on to become an account specialist with Broward County’s Port Everglades Finance Division. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Ashford University in Iowa.

Best wishes,

Stacy Ritter, President