NEW YORK — Visit Orlando has become the exclusive global tourism partner of the U.S. Open tennis championship.
The multi-year partnership with the United States Tennis Association (USTA) gives Visit Orlando on-court exposure at the two-week event, which is attended by more than 700,000 people and is broadcast to millions worldwide.
Also, Visit Orlando will sponsor Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day, the largest promotional event in tennis with more than 35,000 attendees, and participate in year-round marketing programs on the USTA website aimed at the organization’s 750,000 members.
The partnership came from the USTA’s plan to relocate its Community Tennis and Player Development divisions to Orlando, where it is building a facility with 100-plus tennis courts in the Lake Nona area of Orlando. Completion is targeted for the end of 2016.
Noting that tennis fans and players tend to be affluent and travel frequently, Visit Orlando CEO George Aguel said at an event in New York on Friday that USTA was an optimal target market for Orlando.
“By working closely with the USTA through our U.S. Open partnership, as well as leveraging the USTA’s future presence in Orlando, we plan to attract incremental visitation to our destination through the penetration of key audience segments,” he said.
USTA executive director and COO Gordon Smith said the new facility would become “the home of American tennis,” and that it was important to become part of the fabric of Orlando.
“Part of that fabric is visitation,” he said. “This partnership will make sure we have greatest visibility for our sport, our facility and our new partner.”
Visit Florida, the state's official tourism marketing corporation, is also partnering with Visit Orlando and the USTA on marketing programs and will be the exclusive tourism sponsor of the Western & Southern Open, a major tournament held near Cincinnati.