St. Pete/Clearwater, FL – Ahead of the traditionally busy travel Labor Day Weekend, Visit St. Pete/Clearwater (VSPC), along with local officials, unveiled its Visiting Safely & Responsibly Campaign called “Rise to Shine” today at Pier 60 on Clearwater Beach. The nearly $2 million campaign was developed with chambers of commerce and local municipalities to give Pinellas County businesses a unified approach communicating expectations during COVID-19. According to the latest traveler sentiment research from Destination Analysts (a San Francisco-based tourism research firm), those who are thinking about packing their bags for a trip—even staycations—want to know what hotels, attractions, restaurants and destinations are doing to keep them safe. The same research is showing an overwhelming number of travelers want to know destinations have strict safety measures in place, like a face covering mandate, and this campaign is designed to communicate that and rebuild consumer confidence. St. Pete/Clearwater continues to lead the state in many tourism metrics since reopening its beaches, despite nearly 50% of American travelers cancelling 2.1 trips on average because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While forecasts for travel in the remainder of 2020 is down, especially fall/winter holidays, beach destinations and small towns make up the majority of leisure trips planned for American travelers. ![]() ![]() |