TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, as part of a nearly $9 million marketing plan following Hurricane Michael and this year’s red tide blooms, VISIT FLORIDA announced the relaunch of Florida Now, a landing page to provide real time information from destinations across the state to encourage the continuation of bookings to Florida.

The new Florida Now landing page features a collection of Hurricane Michael recovery information and updates including an interactive map with photos, videos, twitter feeds and webcams. In addition, the page includes a new Northwest Florida blog section that can be filtered by city to show business openings, coming soon messages, upcoming events and other destination-specific information submitted by tourism businesses to help visitors make the most informed travel decisions.  

VISIT FLORIDA President and CEO Ken Lawson said, “Following Hurricane Michael, VISIT FLORIDA has been working with both the public and private sectors, to ensure our neighbors in the impacted communities recover. Through this revamped Florida Now page, we will shift visitor perceptions of Florida by enabling them see for themselves that Florida is still the No. 1 travel destination in the world.”

Franklin County Tourist Development Council Administrator Curt Blair said, “As a VISIT FLORIDA partner, this page will be invaluable for our destination to showcase that we are open and ready to welcome visitors from across the globe. This weekend, the Forgotten Coast will host the 55^th annual Florida Seafood Festival in historic Apalachicola. With this page, we will be able to share this, and other, important information with potential visitors as we encourage them to discover the beauty of the Forgotten Coast.”

Panama City Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau President and CEO Dan Rowe said, “Following natural disasters like Hurricane Michael, VISIT FLORIDA is always on the front lines protecting our industry. As the impacted communities continue to recover, this landing page will allow our destination to communicate with visitors in real time and let the world see what areas of the state are ready to welcome travelers now.”

The webpage is live now at VISITFLORIDA.com/FloridaNow.