TREASURE ISLAND—VISIT FLORIDA, the state’s official tourism marketing corporation, named the Treasure Island & Madeira Beach Chamber of Commerce as its newest Certified Travel Information Center on August 21, announced Chamber President Missy H. Hahn.

“This makes our office the first and only state-certified Travel Information Center on Treasure Island,” noted Hahn, “and we are proud to meet VISIT FLORIDA’s standards of outstanding service to the visitors who come to our community seeking ways to make the most of their time here.”

In order to qualify for certification, the Chamber had to be a Marketing Partner with the state and display its brochure in one of the Official Florida Welcome Centers. Additional qualifications require that the office be open at least five days a week, have parking accommodations available to the public, be ADA compliant, and either be a public entity or be backed by a local visitors’ bureau or governing body. The Chamber also had to pass an on-site inspection by a VISIT FLORIDA representative.

“This is an exciting recognition for our Chamber,” noted Hahn. “It provides us with more opportunities to put Treasure Island and Madeira Beach ‘on the radar’ of a larger number of people seeking to visit the Pinellas Suncoast. Individual staff members can become State Certified Information Specialists, we can display signage identifying us as a Certified Travel Information Center, and we will have access to a State of Florida network of tourism professionals help us brainstorm in areas of operations, marketing, public relations, and more.”

For further information, contact the TIMB Chamber at 727-360-4121 or send an e-mail to news@islandneighborschamber.org.