15 Stakeholder’s Vision Has Grown Into A Successful Tourism Marketing Organization With Its Exclusive Themed Transportation  

 

ORLANDO, November 01, 2022 – The year was 1992. In a small conference room, fifteen stakeholders met to discuss how they could band together to promote I-Drive and bring more visitors to their businesses. Out of this meeting, their vision grew into the creation of The International Drive Master Transit & Improvement District d/b/a International Drive Business Improvement District (“The I-Drive District”). Following thirteen years in hotel executive management positions, industry veteran, Ms. Luann Brooks, was selected as Executive Director, was handed a notepad and asked to take on their courageous vision. Created under a public-private partnership with Orange County, the City of Orlando and the businesses of the I-Drive Area, The I-Drive District was the first district of its type in Florida and now serves as a prototype for other areas. For three decades, under Ms. Brooks dynamic leadership, The I-Drive District has become the brand for the popular tourist area and helped drive visitation to 12.9 million people in 2021.

 

International Drive is currently home to 6 theme parks, 35+ attractions, 5 entertainment complexes, 600+ designer and outlet stores, 300+ restaurants, 3 stadium-style movie cinemas, 135 hotels and resorts with a total of 50,000+ rooms and one of the largest convention centers in the U.S. When International Drive was in need of its own themed public transportation in 1997, the I-Ride Trolley was introduced and now moves almost 1.5 million trips per year up and down the fourteen miles of fun. In 2010, The District answered the call for more public safety by creating the T.O.P.S. Unit (Tourist Oriented Policing Squads) in a partnership with the Orange County Sherriff’s Office. This safety initiative provides enhanced services to the 12.9 million visitors and the more than 90,000 employees who work in the area.

 

Since 2014, the International Drive Economic Impact Analysis Report has been published annually by The District and can be found on the official website, IDriveDistrict.com. This valuable Report is the resource sited in presentations about I-Drive worldwide. As The District has been growing in visitor numbers, it has also grown tremendously in residential housing. Currently home to 45 apartment home communities which house 26,000+ residents. 

 

The I-Drive District has taken on the role of keeping the Drive beautiful with the I-Drive Clean-Team who is on the road every day of the year picking up litter, cleaning Trolley stops and ensuring that The District looks its best.

 

“It is an honor to work for someone who has happily dedicated 30 years, behind the scenes, of making the I-Drive Area great and fighting to ensure its future of improvements continues. She is a pillar of our tourism industry. “– Norah White, Director of Sales & Marketing, I-Drive District

 

The District’s Governing Board is comprised of three members of local government: the Orange County Mayor, the Orange County District 6 Commissioner and the City of Orlando District 6 Commissioner. Current Board members are:

 

 

The District is served by a five-member Advisory Board: three members are appointed by Orange County and two are appointed by the City of Orlando. Members must be a District property owner, an owner-appointed representative, or an employee of a property owner

 

Chairperson 

 

The list of accomplishments over the past 30 years is too great for one release. You are invited to visit the official websites listed below to discover many more past, present and future projects: 

 

Congratulations to Ms. Luann Brooks and the I-Drive District team for 30 years of unwavering service to International Drive.

 

Note to Editors: For questions, or for a link to the complete photo gallery of high-resolution photos, please email marketing@IDriveDistrict.co