What is the future of Florida travel? We asked an industry expert.

Roger Dow began his career with Marriott, eventually spearheading the company’s marketing operations and launching the chain’s frequent-guest reward program, Marriott Bonvoy. In 2005, he took over as president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, where he was charged with increasing travel to and within the United States. He knows the best places in the world to live and work, and he and his wife, Linda, chose to live in Northeast St. Petersburg. We asked Dow to share some of his past experiences and where he sees Florida travel headed in the future. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

You used to commute to work in Washington, D.C. How did you make that work?

I commuted for over 10 years. I would leave Tampa at 7 a.m. and be in my D.C. office by 9:15 a.m., while many of my staff members were still stuck in traffic. Also, the nature of my job had me somewhere else in the U.S. or around the world half the time. The convenience, ease and available destinations from Tampa International Airport (TPA) made that easy. I’m not sure people appreciate what a phenomenal asset TPA is to the area and the ability to do business from here.

In 2005, I retired from Marriott to head up U.S. Travel for what I thought would be a five-year gig. It was a lot of fun; we accomplished a lot, and five years became 15. Then, COVID happened, and the board asked me to extend for another two years to help guide the travel industry through the pandemic. COVID hit the travel industry worse than any other, putting 8 million of our 17 million travel and hospitality employees out of work.

Why did you choose the Tampa Bay area as a permanent home when you have traveled the world?

I’m told the average age here is 42, which contributes to that vibrancy and the “something’s always happening” attraction of the bay area. It truly has everything in close proximity: sports, culture, entertainment, the beaches, a myriad of outdoor activities and dining choices. It seems like a new restaurant opens every week. A huge factor was the two airports, with TPA voted the best airport in the U.S. Also, home prices were really reasonable in 2012, compared to Sarasota, Naples and Florida’s east coast.

At U.S. Travel, you launched a regular video series featuring conversations with prominent corporate and industry leaders throughout the pandemic. What do they think of the Sunshine State’s post-pandemic recovery?

In the U.S., airlines (and) hotel, cruise and attraction companies are ramping up their investment in Florida. They see it as easier to do business with greater upside potential than some other destinations. Internationally, Florida is very attractive, but countries around the world are increasing their efforts to lure global travelers away from Florida. The state has fully recovered and exceeded pre-pandemic numbers when it comes to leisure, meetings and conventions. The one lagging sector is business travel — not only in Florida, but everywhere. Remote work has forever changed business travel. My belief is (that) “remote” does not have to mean just working from home. There is a huge opportunity for people to do their work remotely from Florida and have their families with them for days or weeks at a time.

As a leading travel industry advocate, you met with administration and congressional leaders to advance policies that benefit the broader travel industry. What did that accomplish as far as future travel?

I’m very bullish on the tourism future for Florida. It has so much to offer, and that list keeps growing. The pandemic was really a positive shot in the arm (no pun intended) for Florida. While many competing destinations were virtually shut down, Florida was open. This caused leisure, business and meeting/convention travelers to come to Florida to be pleasantly surprised. There are so many destinations and activities in the state that keep growing and improving. My caution (is) for Florida to not become complacent; other destinations are ramping up their promotion activities, while the state and many local lawmakers are continually trying to reduce or redirect tourism funds (paid for by visitors). Over time that will hurt tourism — the prime driver of Florida’s economy and jobs.

You have spent dozens of years observing visitors. What has most surprised you about where tourists are coming from? Is international tourism on the rise?

Florida has always been attractive to visitors from Europe and Latin America. Pre-pandemic, Florida was being discovered by high-spending visitors from China, India and the Middle East. COVID kind of shut that down, only to be rekindled in the future. The U.S. is the (most) aspirational destination for travelers around the world by far. That said, the difficulty in getting a visa is crippling international tourism growth. It takes well over a year to get a visa to visit the U.S. these days. Would you go anywhere if you had to wait over a year to get a visa to go there? Fix that, and you open a spigot to tens of millions of legitimate international visitors.

What do you think continues to attract people to our Sunshine State?

People are attracted to our Sunshine State for its weather, variety of unique destinations, growth of attractions and things to do. The ease of traveling here by air or auto is a big plus. Not surprising to me, but still a surprise and still unknown to potential visitors, is the sophistication of our entertainment, cultural and dining possibilities, which are on a par with any destination in the world. Many still view us as a state full of motels, theme parks, T-shirt shops and low-end restaurants.

What brought you to Florida, specifically the Tampa area, and why do you stay?

Falling in love with the bay (area) when we attended the Super Bowl in 2009, Linda and I moved to St. Petersburg in 2012. Pound for pound, Florida, and especially the Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater areas, have as much or more to offer than most destinations in the U.S. and around the world. That’s why Linda and I are proud to call it home. We live in Old Northeast overlooking Tampa Bay in a home that took 3.5 years to renovate. I love waking up to beautiful (sunrises) and the vibrancy of the Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater area.

Even though you retired from U.S. Travel, do you have any new projects on the horizon?

I prefer “rewirement” to retirement as I am starting a new travel-related business in Florida. I’m the co-founder of FutureWrx Solutions and currently working on a pilot (program) in Orlando. It’s a new service for the hospitality industry, working with hotels, restaurants, convention centers and stadiums. The official launch date has not been announced yet.