COVID-19 Information and Resources for Tourism Partners

You must maintain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, and at the same time, have the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.

The above quote is in reference to the book Good to Great, by Jim Collins and “The Stockdale Paradox” named after Admiral Jim Stockdale. You can read the full excerpt here.

As we face our current reality of the impact that the COVID-19 Pandemic is having on the tourism industry and all aspects of our daily lives, Visit Lake (tourism) and Elevate Lake (economic development) will be here to support and provide resources and reliable information to our local industry partners. We will work closely with all of our partners to ensure a strong support program to welcome visitors to “Real Florida. Real Close.” as soon as we can.

This page is to be used as just one of many resource pages that you can access for information regarding local, state and national news, tourism industry resources and more. We understand that this is a difficult time for our businesses and residents. Please do your part to take this situation seriously and implement the necessary precautions to help minimize impact,

Important Request of Industry Partners: We strongly encourage our tourism partners to begin tracking cancellation data and other similar data that tells the story of the economic harm our industry is currently experiencing. Gathering this data now is important and may help us speed up our recovery. Additionally, please participate in the Department of Economic Opportunity business damage assessment survey.

We encourage our partners to follow @VisitLakeFL Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and tag us in your stories and posts so we can share your content. Also, use the hashtag #ShareMyLake on Instagram for us to repost your photos.

As always, if you have any questions or thoughts regarding this page, or if we can be of assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact our office at 352-742-3918 or email us at visitlake@lakecountyfl.gov.

COVID-19 Information

Lake County, FL COVID-19 Website – For the current news and updates regarding Lake County messages and responses to COVID-19.

Florida Department of Health | COVID-19 website – This includes Florida specific information, trends, emergency management and Executive Orders from Governor DeSantis. For any other questions related to COVID-19 in Florida, please contact the Florida Department of Health hotline in Lake County by calling (352) 742-4830. The Call Center is available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. Inquiries may also be emailed to COVID-19@flhealth.gov.

CDC COVID-19 Resource Page – For current news, resources and information from the national Centers for Disease Control

Tourism Industry Resources

Visit Lake FL | Partner Portal

VISIT FLORIDA |COVID-19 Resources and Information for Businesses

VISIT FLORIDA | Current Travel Safety Information for Travelers

Destinations International | COVID-19 Travel Industry Resource Page

US Travel Association | COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness and Response

Reopening Resources

Phase Two: Safe. Smart. Step-by-Step. Plan for Florida’s Recovery.

Governor Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order 20-139, which brings all Florida counties except Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach into Phase 2 of the Safe. Smart. Step-by-Step. Plan for Florida’s Recovery effective Friday, June 5th.

PHASE 2 – Business Activity

Restaurants may operate at 50 percent capacity inside and full capacity outside with appropriate social distancing. Bar areas may be open with seated service.

As of Friday, June 26, 2020, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation has suspended on-premises consumption of alcohol at bars statewide. For more information, click here.

Retail establishments may operate at full capacity and are encouraged to maintain appropriate social distancing and sanitation protocols.

Gyms may operate at full capacity and are encouraged to maintain appropriate social distancing and sanitation protocols.

Entertainment businesses, including but not limited to movie theaters, concert houses, auditoriums, playhouses, bowling alleys and arcades, may operate at 50 percent capacity with appropriate social distancing
between groups and appropriate sanitation.

Pari-mutuel facilities may seek to operate with a written request from the County Mayor or if no mayor the County Administrator to the Secretary of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) and the approval of the DBPR Secretary.

Personal services businesses, including but not limited to tattooing, body piercing, acupuncture, tanning and massage, may operate with appropriate safety guidelines as outlined by the Department of Health.

PHASE 2 – Encouraged Individual Activity

Individuals over 65 or with underlying medical conditions are strongly encouraged to avoid crowds and take measures to limit the risk of exposure to COVID-19.

All individuals that work in long-term care facilities should be tested for COVID-19 on a routine basis.

All persons in Florida are encouraged to avoid congregating in groups larger than 50.

Additional requirements for individuals traveling to Florida – Executive Orders 20-80 and 20-82 are extended with exceptions for persons involved in commercial activity and students traveling for the purpose of academic work, internships, sports training and any other activity or program approved by the educational institution. Executive Order 20-139 supersedes Executive Order 20-86.

Florida’s state universities developed a task force to create a framework to re-open Florida’s campuses in the fall and universities will present their plans on June 23, 2020.

For more information, view the Phase 2 guidelines and the Executive Order at ReopenLake.com

Additional Reopening Resources

U.S. Travel Association Industry Guidance for Promoting the Health and Safety of All Travelers

American Hotel & Lodging Association – “Safe Stay” Industry-wide Hotel Cleaning and Safety Standards Initiative

Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association Operating Guidance

Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association Reopening Best Practices

Florida Attractions Association Reopening Florida’s Attractions Resource Website

Orange County Government’s Regional Economic Recovery Task Force

Orlando Health Business Ready Resource Website

Business & Employee Resources

Elevate Lake COVID-19 Business Resources website – The Office of Elevate Lake, the economic development office of Lake County, is continuously working to provide the most up-to-date information and resources available to local businesses and employees during this time. Visit their website for more information and resources that may be available to you or email Elevate Lake at info@elevatelake.com.

CARES Act

National Restaurant Association | “CARES Act” Executive Summary for Restaurants

FRLA | Small Business Owner’s Guide to the “CARES Act”

Southeast Tourism Society | “CARES Act” Summary

Marketing Resources

Google My Business Essentials During COVID-19

VISIT FLORIDA Small Business Toolkit

Destinations Florida Tourism Strong Recovery Marketplace

Facebook Small Business Grants Program

Employee Resources

CareerSource Florida

CareerSource Central Florida