The president of the state’s tourism agency scored immediate factors with a Citrus County contingent at the Florida Capitol when she started off her presentation Thursday outlining some of the popular eateries and routines she’s been at in the course of her travels.

Visit Florida President and CEO Dana Young said Crystal River has aided place Florida on the map domestically and internationally for the reason that it is the only spot where travelers can get in the h2o and swim with the Gentle Giants.

On her travels listed here and overseas, “all persons want to talk about is manatees,” she mentioned.

Younger urged the county’s tourism folks to keep receiving the word out that the manatee inhabitants in Citrus is alive and nicely.

“Your manatee populace is thriving (and) you want to get that information out,” she claimed.

Young made the reviews through Citrus County Legislative Times, an yearly chamber of commerce-sponsored event where by a big contingent of locals make their way to Tallahassee to pitch jobs and fulfill the electric power brokers to make individuals assignments a reality.

Younger indicated her astate agency’s wish to enable Citrus County and praised the statewide advertising and marketing initiatives that authorized Citrus and the overall state to get started wooing travellers again to the Sunshine Condition through the pandemic.

Citrus and other rural counties fared primarily properly in the course of the brunt of the pandemic mainly because they have outside pursuits that vacationers considered safer.

She explained it also bought the phrase out that “there’s much more to Florida than beach locations and concept parks.”

One significant financial indicator: Citrus was in the prime 20 fastest escalating counties for domestic visitation from March 2021 by December 2021.

And with overseas international locations beginning to open up, the coveted intercontinental market will only strengthen Citrus County’s overall economy for hoteliers and tourist-associated corporations, she mentioned. Marketing efforts going forward will go on, she…