Good afternoon,

This week, our Gulf Oil Spill Weekly Update includes the following highlights:

We'll continue to provide you with key updates each week and encourage you to visit www.SunshineMatters.org for regular updates.

Special Session
The Florida House and Senate were in Tallahassee for Special Session this week. Both chambers adjourned Tuesday without taking up Governor Crist's call to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to ban oil drilling.

Consumer Research
In order to understand how consumer perceptions are being affected, VISIT FLORIDA has launched a series of consumer surveys and will be conducting focus groups in August.

Marketing Efforts & Opportunities
While we await further word from the Governor's Office on the potential for additional advertising funds from BP, VISIT FLORIDA continues to promote the state aggressively through our board approved 2010-2011 VISIT FLORIDA Marketing Plan. In light of the potential continuing impact oil may have on travel to the state, maintaining Florida's visibility in national markets is even more important. 

We are currently messaging through our in-state outdoor advertising campaign, the statewide Share a Little Sunshine PSA campaign and our national online ad buy. We are in the process of developing new fall opportunities with our marketing partners - Mazda, Southwest Airlines and Kodak.

With 176 cooperative marketing programs available through the VISIT FLORIDA Marketing Planner, there are more opportunities than ever before to extend your reach by leveraging shared buying power. Advertising and Welcome Center opportunities are available to all, while some PR and Sales programs are reserved or offer priority access for VISIT FLORIDA Marketing Partners. For more information, please go to www.VISITFLORIDA.org/planner.

Media Outreach
VISIT FLORIDA continues to work with media to build awareness of Florida Live (at VISITFLORIDA.com) and assist media in their reporting efforts. Significant media assisted during the last week include CNN, National Geographic magazine, Road Bike magazine, RV Business magazine,Los Angeles Times, Tampa Bay Business Journal, Sun Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Gulf Coast Business Review, International Travel Writers Alliance, CBS Channel 10 - Tampa/St. Pete, WBBH-TV NBC 2 – Ft. Myers and WOKV Radio – Jacksonville.

VISIT FLORIDA executive staff recently interviewed with the following key media outlets: the Weather Channel, CNN Radio, Bradenton Herald and Orlando Sentinel.

Proactively communicating with potential visitors on a daily basis, VISIT FLORIDA continues to leverage its social media outreach (Facebook, Twitter) to provide consumers with incentive-based information about vacation deals and destination events taking place throughout the state.

Free Web Listing
Thank you for continuing to help us get the word out about our Free Web Listing opportunity. Since the announcement two weeks ago, we received more than 1,000 applications from Florida tourism businesses throughout the state. For more info, visit www.VISITFLORIDA.org/free.

Resources
We continue to post detailed updates to www.SunshineMatters.org and encourage you to sign up to receive email or RSS alerts when new posts are added.

For crisis tools related to the oil spill, visit our Deepwater Horizon marketing response page at www.VISITFLORIDA.org/DeepwaterHorizon.

If you directly catch, sell, buy or serve Florida seafood products, please take a minute to answer this survey from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Marketing. They are working to better understand industry confidence in Florida seafood products in light of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.  The survey is brief and should take no more than a few minutes to complete.