I would personally like to invite you to join us for the Tampa Bay Trade Mission to Chile scheduled for December 1 – 5, 2014. This mission marks the first official activity of the Tampa Bay Export Alliance, a partnership between the Tampa Hillsborough EDC and Pinellas County Economic Development, and it’s an opportunity to show strong regional support for Copa Airlines and its non-stop service to Panama City and points beyond. The Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce has worked closely with Tampa International Airport and our regional partners, including the EDC, to win the Copa business and this mission makes the strongest possible statement regarding community support. I will be going on the trip along with Ron Christaldi, the Chair-elect of the GTCC.
Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, Hillsborough County Commissioner Lesley “Les” Miller, Jr. and Pinellas County Commissioner Karen Seel will set the bi-county tone of the initiative by leading the delegation to this vibrant Latin American country.
Our entire Hillsborough County economic development “A” team will join us, including the EDC, Tampa International Airport, Port Tampa Bay and Visit Tampa Bay. Pinellas County Economic Development is working to bring its partners in Pinellas County, and the Tampa Bay Partnership will join the delegation as well. The Tampa Bay Export Alliance is partnering with Copa as the official mission carrier. During the visit, our regional visitor bureaus will be launching an in-country marketing campaign to drive even more tourism, business and passengers to Tampa Bay. These missions are a perfect example of how laser focused and closely aligned we are in developing our international opportunities.
In addition to our business and political ambassadors, the EDC will have approximately 15 companies taking part in an official United States Commercial Service Gold Key Matchmaker meeting with potential partners and buyers in Chile. These companies represent some of our region’s major employers, manufactures and exporters. These are the companies that fill our planes, use our ports and directly support our efforts to grow both.
This mission will also feature a “Doing Business in Tampa Bay” event in partnership with Select USA. This is the opportunity for us to sell our community to potential businesses that are looking at establishing a US presence. It is important that they get the opportunity to meet some of you, the business leaders, and learn about the Tampa Bay business community.
On a recent advance trip, Lorrie Belovich, the EDC’s Director of International Business Development and Deborah Wilkinson of the Tampa Bay Trade and Protocol Council met with the Embassy team, Chile Copa representatives, AmCham Chile, Trade Chile and many other partners who are very eager to welcome us and learn more about Tampa Bay. Both the U.S. Ambassador and the Mayor of Santiago are rolling out the red carpet for our delegation.
I hope you will consider joining us and help fly the international flag of our community, and the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce.
CLICK HERE to view the mission brochure.
To register, please visit the link below: www.rsvpbook.com/tampabayexportalliance
With best regards,
Mr. Bob Rohrlack
President & CEO
Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce.
Tampa Bay Chamber 