Experience Kissimmee gets Canada ready for the holidays

With Christmas less than three months away, Kissimmee is already gearing up for the holiday season.

Just two-and-a-half hours away from Toronto, Florida has always been a popular choice for Canadians looking to escape the cold and enjoy some year-round sunshine. Christmas is no different, and with many of Orlando’s popular theme parks, like Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Walt Disney World transforming into a winter wonderland, as well as a series of new routes into Florida from Swoop, planning a winter holiday to Kissimmee has never been more affordable and accessible to all Canadians.

PAX recently visited Kissimmee last month, to take part in Air Canada Vacations’ 2018 Air Canada Race. While there, we had the pleasure of speaking with with Experience Kissimmee’s president and CEO, DT Minich.

“Since day one, Canada has always been our number one market,” Minich said. “Our repeat number of Canadian guests is incredibly high. Kissimmee is diverse, in the sense that we have the best of mother nature’s attractions, as well as our man-made attractions, which include those famous theme parks.”

Last night, Experience Kissimmee came to Toronto to provide an update on what Canadians can expect to find in Kissimmee, Florida, when they swap real snow for imitation snow down south this winter.

READ MORE: A winning team emerges from the AC Race in Kissimmee

Kissimmee: home of the vacation home

While Orlando dazzles visitors with its spectacular four-and-five-star hotel offerings, Kissimmee opens up a completely different market with its vacation home rentals. The destination is widely popular with groups and family travellers, looking to stay at a luxury property that goes beyond the four walls and two double beds of your average hotel room.

Many of Kissimmee's vacation rentals, like Reunion Resort, offer spacious, luxury houses for guests to stay in, featuring exquisitely-furnished three-bedroom layouts, complete with a master suite, full-sized kitchen, living room, and dining room.

Vacation home rentals are a perfect solution for travellers who are looking to get away for the holidays, but still wish to incorporate the concept of coming together—with nearby grocery stores all around and a spectacular kitchen in each home, guests can cook Christmas dinner right on the resort!

“We have an amazing vacation home product, and it’s all professionally managed, and the resorts work with travel agents,” Minich said. “I think it’s a really attractive product for Canadians because we’re seeing so many multi-generational families, and they can all be under one roof.”

Kissimmee’s vacation homes are vacant in the sense that nobody actually lives there, but they’re built around a central resort compound. Travellers have their own home and swimming pool, but you can also enjoy all of the amenities, children’s programs, and various amenities that you’d find at a luxury resort.

A Canadian Christmas in Kissimmee

Swoop will begin a direct flight from Hamilton to Orlando, this October, just in time for the holidays, and Flair Airlines will fly to Orlando from Winnipeg and Edmonton, which provides new options for Western Canada.

“The Canadian market has always been the number one market for the U.S. but when the Canadian dollar changed, international numbers dropped,” said Ana M. Gonzalez, director of international and domestic sales, Experience Kissimmee. “However, Florida’s numbers didn’t drop, and I think Canadians are very comfortable with the area and the weather we have. You can always tell when Canadians are in town because while we’re out freezing, they’re wandering around in sweaters,” she laughed.

Experience Kissimmee noted that many of Canada’s airlines, including Air Canada, continue to be an extremely valuable asset to Kissimmee’s tourism growth and development, citing their ability to understand consumer behaviour and add capacity.

“People should take advantage of the different events that take place during the year, because there are many special events that can include the whole family,” Gonzalez said.