Interview: Miami Tourism CEO Explains the Essence of Destination Branding

Sometimes people in the tourism industry give Bill Talbert, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, a hard time about how easy his job must be promoting palm trees and beaches. Marketing Miami wasn't always so straight forward. During a presentation at the Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) conference this summer, Talbert held up an original copy of the November 23, 1981 issue of Time. The “Paradise Lost” cover story chronicled the rise of the drug trade in Miami, sparked by Cuba’s Mariel Boatlift in 1980, and its severe impact on the local visitor economy. South Florida tourism was plagued with that identity throughout the 80s. However, the cocaine crisis inspired the Miami Vice television show in September 1984, which shifted Miami's identity from a drug-riddled crime capital to a really, really sexy drug-riddled crime capital. Based on the neon and tropical visuals, the show eventually had a major impact