{"id":259322,"date":"2026-05-05T15:30:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T15:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/259322\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T15:30:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T15:30:15","slug":"as-tourism-surges-in-florida-a-ceo-spotlights-career-pathways-for-students-starting-at-uf-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/259322\/","title":{"rendered":"As tourism surges in Florida, a CEO spotlights career pathways for students \u2014 starting at UF News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Florida welcomed a record 143.3 million visitors<\/a> to its beaches, theme parks and influencer-inspired destinations last year, reinforcing tourism as one of the state\u2019s largest economic drivers. For every dollar spent by a visitor, 99 cents stays in Florida\u2019s economy, with 59 cents going toward wages<\/a>. Knowing this, UF students are eying tourism-based careers, gaining insights from industry CEOs during National Travel and Tourism Week from May 3 to 9.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s a great career in this,\u201d said Scott Taylor, the chief executive officer of the R&R Brands hospitality and entertainment group and a past chair of the University of Florida\u2019s Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute<\/a>, or EFTI. \u201cHospitality is all about people first, which every business should be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor, a UF alum and two-time Gator100<\/a> recipient, is passionate about supporting the next generation of tourism and hospitality entrepreneurs. He remains deeply engaged with EFTI \u2014 UF\u2019s leading tourism hub, which allows industry leaders to work alongside academics to study travel, hospitality and related fields.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The institute is housed within the University of Florida Department of Tourism, Hospitality & Event Management<\/a>, where more than 600 students were enrolled in the spring and about 60 graduated last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The program also offers partnerships with about 150 internship sites, including high\u2011profile institutions such as Universal Destinations & Experiences, Marriott Vacations Worldwide and NASA. Alumni have pursued careers in travel and event operations at the White House, worked in parks and recreation departments across various communities, and participated in conference planning at luxury hotels.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe continue to create awareness about EFTI so people understand that the hospitality industry impacts every industry,\u201d said Taylor, who spent most of his career revitalizing brands with untapped potential. \u201cI built my career on going into places that people didn\u2019t want. I left incredibly profitable restaurants to take on challenges in struggling markets where I believed I could make an impact.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Taylor now leads a Baton Rouge-based company with more than 100 restaurant locations across seven states and 3,000-plus employees. He collaborates with his team members to set a vision and identify their true north \u2014 whether it is food, service, guest experiences or facilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the 80-20 rule for me,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cIt\u2019s 80% you and 20% how I can support you with your plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

While EFTI members like Taylor offer support to UF through scholarships, internships and fundraising, Taylor said working directly with students is the most rewarding part of his involvement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you asked any one of us on the board the things we look forward to the most when we come to Gainesville, it\u2019s to sit with the students,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cWe all want to pass down our tribal knowledge of what it’s like to work in the industry from the ground up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor also interacts with students as a lecturer in the department, as do other current and retired senior executives for nonprofit organizations and corporations like The Walt Disney Company. These mentors help students navigate changes in the tourism industry, driven by AI and the growing demand for personalized experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t see it [AI] replacing a server,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cPeople go to restaurants for human interactions. But AI will enhance how you look at guest loyalty, guest behavior \u2014 really understanding how you surprise and delight. I think it’s going to drive how business operators run their businesses and leverage marketing dollars effectively, focusing on engagement rather than a traditional blanket approach.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

As the tourism and hospitality sector adapts, Taylor believes that UF\u2019s tourism program distinguishes itself through competitive admissions, demanding coursework and networking opportunities \u2014 setting its students up for success well beyond graduation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something about putting yourself in a highly competitive environment and succeeding in it,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cThat experience sets you up for long-term success.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Florida welcomed a record 143.3 million visitors to its beaches, theme parks and influencer-inspired destinations last year, reinforcing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":259323,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-259322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259322\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}