Florida’s Sports Coast is an ideal destination for outdoor adventure lovers. With activities like kayaking, hot air balloon rides, wakeboarding, cycling, and camping, adventure-seekers will never run out of things to do and see.
Florida’s Sports Coast, Pasco County’s Destination Management Organization (DMO) and one of the fastest growing counties in the country, has selected award-winning Paradise Advertising & Marketing, Inc. (Paradise) as its tourism marketing steward, responsible for developing brand, creative, advertising media, and integrated marketing campaigns.
To fulfill the Florida’s Sports Coast three-year marketing strategic plan, Paradise is charged to market and promote the county’s vast array of tourism offerings to leisure, meetings, groups, and sports audiences, both domestically and internationally. Paradise is a renowned full-service tourism and destination marketing partner that specializes in brand strategy, omnichannel advertising, content development and distribution, digital, social media, and communications while maintaining a keen eye on sustainability and social inclusion.
An outdoors paradise located on the west coast of Central Florida just 30 minutes from Tampa International Airport, Florida’s Sports Coast offers more than 30 parks stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Withlacoochee River and an abundance of options for indoor and outdoor sports, as well as cycling, hiking, and water activities, including such state-of-the-art facilities as Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County and the 150,000-square-foot AdventHealth Center Ice complex, the largest in the Southeast.
Over the last two years, Florida has led the way in population growth for the first time since the 1950s, with 1.9 and 1.6 percent population growth, respectively. In 2023, U.S. Census Bureau figures show that Florida had four of the five fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country, with Pasco County ranked third nationally – with a net domestic migration of 23,750. Between 1970 and 2020, Pasco County’s population increased by 639%, or 485,936 residents, and is projected to grow by another 40 percent by 2045.
Destination and county leaders are working together to plan for this significant growth, with tourism as an important economic driver. According to the Sports Events and Tourism Association (Sports ETA), Florida leads sports tourism in the country, an industry which generated a total economic impact of $128 billion, supported 757,600 full-time and part-time jobs and contributed $20.1 billion in taxes to various sectors of the economy. Florida’s Sports Coast is poised to become a big player in the state’s significant sports tourism economy.
“We are proud to be a vibrant vacation spot for leisure visitors and a trusted destination for sports events, training camps and clinics at cutting-edge sports venues, says Florida’s Sports Coast, Executive Director, Adam Thomas. “Among the several landmark events we hosted, we have welcomed the United States Wheelchair Rugby National Championships (Organized by USWRA and Wounded Warriors Abilities Ranch), which brought 180 adaptive wheelchair athletes from across the country and internationally to compete in our destination; the TORHS National Championships, which brought 255 Roller Hockey Teams over a 10-day span; and the 2023 Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational Basketball Tournament (Organized by ENG Sports), which brought 200 high school basketball teams from across the country to compete in this 4-day tournament.”
Added Thomas: “In selecting Paradise, we chose a like-minded partner with extensive tourism marketing experience who understands our mission and will know how to advance our tourism brand experience, help us drive visitor demand and communicate the value of our singular offerings.”
Once Florida’s best-kept secret, Pasco County has become a known haven for those who love the outdoors, especially to hike, paddle and ride its dozens of trails on more than 100,000 acres of public land. But it’s cycling that is putting the destination on the map for enthusiasts everywhere. Cyclists from all over the world come to Pasco County to ride the paved 42-mile Suncoast Trail, which spans three counties. Another option for cyclists is Withlacoochee State Trail, which starts near Dade City and runs north for 46 miles, making it the longest paved rails-to-trails path in the state.
“We have known and admired what the Florida’s Sports Coast has offered visitors for a long time,” said Paradise President Rudy Webb. “We couldn’t be more excited to partner with this amazing destination and help fulfill its vision to emerge as an influential state tourism leader but also a national and international sports tourism powerhouse.”
