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Safety No. 1 priority as Palm Beach County welcomes back tourists

Discover the Palm Beaches currently not promoting out-of-state tourism
Posted at 6:16 PM, Sep 03, 2020
and last updated 2020-09-03 18:17:09-04

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — As Palm Beach County moves into the second phase of reopening, tourism leaders are pushing a pledge for safety.

"2020 in a few words, 'Wow,' would probably be one of them," said Derrick Steinour, director of sales and marketing.

At Hilton Hotel in West Palm Beach, signs mandating face masks and plexiglass have become common this year.

"No. 1 is providing visuals. Our guests want to be able to see what we are doing. Once they see, then they believe," Steinour said.

Steinour said guests are welcomed with signs instructing them to social distance and wear their mask.

"Business is on a positive trend, mainly on the weekends. We have our weekend staycations, drive markets," he said.

Derrick Steinour
Derrick Steinour, the director of sales and marketing at Hilton West Palm Beach, says the tourism business is improving after a tough year due to the pandemic.

However, this Labor Day weekend, business is expected to expand. According to the travel site TripIt, 12 percent of all flights for this weekend are scheduled to Florida, compared to four percent last year.

"We're not promoting out-of-state [tourists], yet. In fact, we have been holding off on moving beyond South Florida up until now," said Jorge Pesquera, the president of Discover the Palm Beaches.

Pesquera said most recently they released this a video asking visitors to take "The Palm Beaches Pledge."

"We cannot let our guard down. We need to double our efforts to crush the curve and beat the virus. We've got to do the right thing, mask, distance and sanitize," Pesquera said.