ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Professional soccer and basketball returning to Central Florida could help bring tourists back to Orlando, experts said.
According to Visit Orlando, there’s enormous pent-up demand from the public to get off the couch and travel again.
The county’s mask mandate and successful NBA “bubble” at Disney World has been attractive to those who are ready to return to Central Florida.
Several players even sat down with ABC News to give an inside look on the “bubble” life.
Read: WNBA players adjusting to life in their Florida bubble
“The bubble, the way we call it, it’s proven to be very safe. All the cases that we saw and had came from the original markets to Orlando,” said Alex Leitao, Orlando City Soccer Club CEO.
In a virtual meeting with Orange County’s Economic Recovery Task Force, George Aguel of Visit Orlando said research is showing that two-thirds of all U.S. travelers plan to wear a mask while on vacation.
The @NBA and @MLS are back! And even without fans in the seats, they could be helping Orlando bring tourism back, too. Why the @NBABubbleLife and Orange County's mask mandate are attractive to visitors from around the country on @WFTV at 5pm.
— Lauren Seabrook (@LSeabrookWFTV) July 21, 2020
"They're also reporting they'd be happy if the destination they're considering would require mask wearing in public. Also, they reported they would avoid destinations where there were concerns that maybe that was not the case."
Read: The bubble awaits: NBA teams set to start Disney arrivals
So far, there’s been no spread of COVID-19 inside the Disney bubble. The players have been tested about six times and every test has been negative.
Seventeen major conventions are booked for the Orange County Convention Center between now an the end of the year.
Orange County and the Department of Health has also established newly assembled strike teams that will be looking out for places that give COVID-19 an easy environment to spread. See the full story below:
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