Two distinct destinations, 1,900 km apart, tied together by a small, round ball with red seams.
Visit Central Florida and Visit Detroit entertained trade partners and media guests on 19JUL with a fine lunch at a downtown Toronto hotel, followed by a baseball game between the Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers (won by the Tigers). It was a fitting way to close the day as it’s baseball that links these two disparate places.
The Tigers for years have done their spring workouts and played their home spring training games at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, providing a great attraction for Tigers’ fans in Michigan (and southern Ontario) to enjoy a ball game under the Florida sun.
The Central Florida tourism group represents Polk County, which is pretty much smack dab between two of Florida’s biggest ports of entry; Orlando and Tampa. The eastern edge of the county butts up against Kissimmee, which means Disney is only a few minutes away, and MCO about 45 minutes away. Lakeland is only about 65 km from TPA, so it’s easy to reach.
But you don’t have to leave Central Florida to enjoy great food, nightlife, wild nature, and theme parks. Legoland Florida Resort is in Cypress Gardens, just southeast of Winter Haven, as is Peppa Pig Theme Park, which is a huge hit with younger kids. The Florida Children’s Museum at Bonnet Springs Park in Lakeland is also a big attraction.
There’s a ton of accommodation choice in the region, as Polk County is home to more than 7,000 hotel rooms and more than 8,000 professionally managed vacation properties and condos. Among the best options are Legoland Resort, Pirate Island Resort and the Legoland Beach Retreat, which has a pool and outdoor playgrounds. Westgate River Ranch Resort & Rodeo offers the latest in glamping, with teepees that feature private bathrooms and fully furnished covered wagons.
Chris Follenus, Senior Travel Sales Supervisor, Visit Central Florida, said Canada is the county’s number one source of international visitors, and that there’ s been a solid increase in multi-generational travel to the region. Their efforts have traditionally focused on Ontario and Quebec, but they’re also paying more attention to Alberta and B.C.
“Our aim is to engage more closely with the travel industry, travel agents, tour operators, and other key stakeholders,” he said.
One great tool for advisors is the new Central Florida Insider Program, where agents can find tools and resources to help build bookings to the destination.
Central Florida is a great place to enjoy some peace and quiet, while still being super close to the theme parks, shopping malls and other attractions of both Orlando and Tampa, said Follenus.
Lake Wales is home to the remarkable Bok Tower Gardens, which features 50 acres of gardens, a lovely 20-room estate and the 205-foot art deco and neo-Gothic Singing Tower carillon. Circle B Bar Reserve is a nearly 1,300-acre park with an immense variety of animals and plants, including butterfly orchids and live oak trees.
Jennifer Ollinger, Domestic and International Tourism Manager for Visit Detroit, said the city has undergone a remarkable transformation, with several stylish, boutique hotels, a sparkling new riverfront and a huge variety of restaurants.
Michigan Central is a beautiful 110-year-old train station that Ford Motor Company and Google are turning into a 30-acre campus dedicated to mobility innovation. Detroit also is building a road that will allow electric chairs to charge as they roll down the street.
Ollinger said top landmarks in Detroit include The Fisher Building, a 441-foot tower with a three-story arcade adorned with frescoes, mosaics, brass and marble.
Detroit’s riverwalk has been voted best city riverfront for several years in a row, while the Motown Museum is undergoing a $50 million expansion.
The ultra-hip Shinola Hotel put Detroit boutique properties on the map a few years ago, and new hotels also are springing up around downtown. Roost is a new hotel in the historic, handsome Book Tower building. There’s a new hotel called The Godfrey, part of the Curio Collection by Hilton, in the Corktown area. It’s billed as the city’s newest, luxury lifestyle property.
“Twenty five years ago there weren’t a lot of people knocking on my door and asking to visit the city,” Ollinger told me in an interview late last summer. “Now I can’t handle the amount of requests we’re getting. Since 2015-16 our trajectory has been amazing.”
Working With Advisors
"There is no single market domestically or internationally that is more important to Detroit than Canada – full stop … and we want to welcome Canadians of every different background to our great city," officials said. "Thus, working with our industry partners and travel is essential in getting the word out.
"For 2024, we have a series of “lunch and learns” to update travel advisors on what's new and noteworthy about Detroit and additionally, we’re working on a new training program for Canadian agents that includes a Visit Detroit specialist certificate, as well as Canadian-specific fams, including one in early October."
“We’ve always been your assembly line for creativity and innovation,” a voice says in one of Detroit’s latest tourism videos. “Cars wouldn’t be cars. Music wouldn’t be music. Culture wouldn’t be culture. Your world wouldn’t be your world without us.”
