ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando leaders unveiled a new branding partnership to promote the area for tourism and business.
Visit Orlando and the Orlando Economic Partnership said they will “combine forces” to showcase the city as a destination for tourism, business and meetings. The new branding drives home the idea that Orlando is “Unbelievably Real.” With a tagline of “Unbelievably Real,” the branding plan will be aimed at tourists, meeting planners, conventioneers, business relocation specialists, site selectors, business owners and company CEOs. Around $23 million will be spent on it this year.
“For the first time ever, our destination will have one voice, one look, one feel and one brand that we take to the market,” said Cassandra Matej, the CEO of Visit Orlando.
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Matej and Orlando Economic Partnership President CEO Tim Giuliani showed a video promoting all aspects that make Orlando the city what it is — from theme parks, to businesses and more.
“This is the place where you can live in the moment or make memories that never fade. Where unicorns come in the form of startups, where you can be your true supercharged self, where whimsy and innovation are serious business. Here anything is possible, if you can imagine it and that’s what makes Orlando unbelievably real,” the video said.
As part of the new branding, Matej and Guiliani announced a new Orlando Unbelievably Real culture project that is a multi-year initiative to “engage our local creatives, to inject their soul into this movement and express it in a way that they feel is really authentic to Orlando.”
Giuliani said one idea is to create a new symbol for the area and an Orlando sign to make it a “perfect spot” for photos and videos.
“(Orlando is) place where so many things come together. Where people like to come visit but also that same imagination that goes into theme parks has gone into the many industries that we have here — especially modeling, simulation and training industry — that is the best in the world, and a lot of people don’t know that’s housed here in Orlando,” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said.
Dyer and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings were in attendance and spoke on the new partnership.
“Research shows that people consider living in places that they experience on vacation or at a conference. It’s not hard to imagine how a CEO who visits Orlando for a convention or family vacation may then want to move her company here. Our audiences intersect and in order to have a more impact on a consistent basis, we’ve created a compelling message on the reasons to visit, move or start a business in the Orlando region,” Dyer said.
This comes days after Orange County reported its “highest monthly collections ever” for tourism tax.
Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond announced the county’s Tourist Development Tax collections for March 2022 were 118.2% higher than in March 2021, as well as millions of dollars higher than any monthly collection report published in the last several fiscal years.
“...these were the highest monthly collections ever, shattering the previous high set in March 2019 by $7.3 million or 23%!” Diamond said in a statement.
The latest report shows that difference, with March 2022 highlighted as a high-water mark in the ongoing growth period following dismal collections numbers reported when the COVID pandemic reached Florida.
“When we combine forces and invest in economic and community development and market Orlando as a destination for tourism, business and meetings we can strengthen our brand identity and take the region to the next level,” Demings said.