Florida tourism marketer leaves for Va. job
By TAMARA EL-KHOURY
Published January 19, 2005
Bill Vervaeke, a leading marketer in the state's Visit Florida tourism initiative, has left Tampa for another waterfront community - Virginia Beach.
Formerly managing director and senior vice president with Fahlgren Benito, the Tampa firm that has the contract with Visit Florida, Vervaeke started his new job as vice president of the Meridian Group's travel and luxury division this month.
Visit Florida, the operating company for the Florida Commission on Tourism, is the state's marketing agency and is funded in part by a rental car tax.
Last week, Gov. Jeb Bush gave Visit Florida $4.75-million to help prevent tourism from dropping off as a result of the four hurricanes that hit Florida last year.
Vervaeke worked on the state's "Feel the Color of Florida" campaign.Officials at Fahlgren Benito could not be reached to discuss who would replace him. Officials at Visit Florida said they were not concerned about the turnover.
"The Color of Florida campaign has won so many awards and done so well and the creative genius and the strategic and media planning genius behind it are still at Fahlgren Benito," said Vanessa Welter, director of public relations for Visit Florida.
Florida's tourism executives and state leaders have been focused in recent months on stemming the damage to the state's national image after the unusual hurricane season. Vervaeke said the work needs to continue.
"The effort to have greater funding after the four hurricanes, that's really what has to be done," Vervaeke said. "It just needs to be communicated, especially to meeting and convention entities that Florida is a safe place to come to and that they can come during hurricane season."
He said Visit Florida and Fahlgren Benito are working on a meeting guarantee that would ensure that groups scheduled to meet in Florida during the hurricane season would not take a financial hit if storms required rescheduling or relocation.
Most of the $4.75-million given by the governor will go toward those "weather warranties."
Tamara El-Khoury can be reached at tel-khoury@sptimes.com or 727 893-8318.