Visit Pensacola, Inc.

?? This week, the Visit Pensacola team attended EntreCon! It was a jam-packed two days of learning centered around leadership, entrepreneurship, and innovation. EntreCon is a fantastic conference in Pensacola that allows business owners and leaders to connect and collaborate. Thank you, Studer Community Institute, for putting on a fantastic conference!

It was a very exciting day for Pensacola as Catalyst, The Thrash Group, and The 1559 Collective, in partnership with Tandem Hospitality Group, broke ground on Hotel Tristan in the East Garden District in downtown Pensacola. The 121-key hotel will feature a ground-floor lobby and restaurant spaces, meeting and fitness spaces on the second floor, and a rooftop bar and lounge with views of downtown and Pensacola Bay. Hotel Tristan is slated to open in 2026. We're looking forward to experiencing this wonderful addition to downtown Pensacola!

United Kingdom ?? Visit Pensacola Visit Pensacola, in partnership with VISIT FLORIDA, brought the Florida sunshine to the UK last week at World Travel Market (WTM) London! Darien, Nicole, and Kaya, along with Visit Pensacola's UK PR and trade rep, Becky, were able to meet with dozens of trade, media, content creators, and travel agents, showing off all the amazing things Pensacola has to offer. The highlight was an immersive installation that showed off the beauty of the Pensacola Bay Area (and of course, the Blue Angels.) WTM brings together the international leisure travel community; providing inspiration, education, sourcing, and benchmarking to travel professionals while providing exhibitors a place to do business and showcase their services to the international press. The UK continues to be a growing international market for Pensacola, and the team was ready to showcase our little slice of paradise.

There are a couple of Hospitality Round Tables (HRT) we look forward to each year, and the Thanksgiving HRT is one of them! ?? This afternoon, we gathered our tourism and hospitality partners to network and enjoy a delicious Thanksgiving-themed lunch provided by Hilton Pensacola Beach It is important to remember that during this time of year not every family has access to a pantry full of nourishing food. We had the pleasure of hearing from several community speakers on how we can help feed those in need, not just during the holiday season but year-round. A special thank you to those community speakers who joined us today ?? Kerri Smayda | Manna Food Pantries Murilo Morata | UF/IFAS Extension Escambia County Jena Yonkers and Stephanie Wright | FOODRAISING FRIENDS INC Thank you for all the hard work you do to keep our communities fed and thriving ??

Nominate your favorite Pensacola chef, restaurant, or bar for the 2025 James Beard Awards! Whether it’s a culinary innovator or a standout local eatery, show your support by submitting a nomination in the Restaurant and Chef Awards or the Impact Awards categories. The James Beard Awards are prestigious accolades recognizing excellence in the culinary arts, hospitality, and food journalism in the United States.

Pensacola is The Way to Meet! ??? Recently, Kaya, Tia, and Darien had the pleasure of meeting with the retreat committee members of Leadership Greater Huntsville (LGH) to support the planning of their 2025 retreat scheduled for this upcoming April in Pensacola. This is the first time LGH has chosen to host their retreat in the same destination for two consecutive years! We are thrilled that they have again selected Pensacola for this special event. Great work, team! #TheWayToBeach

We want to give our newest tourism & hospitality partners who joined in the month of October a sunny welcome to the Visit Pensacola family! ???? ?? Elle Kay Photography—Pensacola, Florida ?? The Olde English Creamery ?? Stay APT Suites ?? Ocean Strike Team ?? Visit Pensacola could not tell the story of our destination without our tourism partners. We work with local businesses to promote the Pensacola Bay Area as a premier destination for conventions, meetings, sporting events, leisure travel, and more. ?? Interested in becoming a partner? Tap here: https://bit.ly/3AaOryu to learn more. #TheWayToBeach

Looking back at our annual meeting last week celebrating 10 years of visiting Pensacola! ???? We could not possibly tell the story of our destination without our tourism partners, community stakeholders, and passionate locals. This Annual Meeting was one to remember, and we cannot thank you enough for being a part of it. Cheers to another great year of tourism in Pensacola! ??

Tonight, we celebrated a decade of success at Visit Pensacola's 10th Annual Meeting! We honored our incredible community and tourism partners who contributed to The Way to Beach?. With over 2 million visitors welcomed and $22 million in tourism tax collections this past year, we are proud of the milestones we achieved together. Here’s to the future of tourism in Pensacola and our continued efforts to make Escambia County a must-visit destination! We extend our gratitude to our outgoing board for their service and warmly welcomed the new board members who will lead us into another successful year.

The Sun Belt Conference Basketball Championships are here to stay until 2030! ?? The five-year extension makes Pensacola the most frequent (10-time) host of the Sun Belt Basketball Championships all-time. Save the date for next year's conference at the Pensacola Bay Center: March 4-10, 2025! ?? ?? Read more here: sunbelt.me/4e5Ehj3