Florida Tips, Venues and Facts

• The first international airport built in the U.S. in more than a decade opened in Panama City last May. Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport serves Southwest, Delta and Vision airlines with flights between Panama City and Orlando, Houston, Atlanta, Memphis, Nashville, Tenn., and more.

• Jacksonville’s Riverside Avondale neighborhood was named one of the American Planning Association’s 10 Great Neighborhoods in America for 2010. Guests can go on free, self-guided multimedia tours of the district beginning at the Riverside Arts Market. The hour-long walk winds through 20 blocks. and gives information on sites such as the haunted Rochester House and the office of Leonard Skinner, the former basketball coach who inspired the name of the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.

• Seminole County had its best December since 2005 last year thanks to the Elite Club National League girls soccer showcase. More than 3,000 visited the area for the event, which made a $2.2 million economic impact for the county.

• The Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science in Tallahassee will host the world debut of 50 Baroque masterpieces on loan from Pinacoteca di Brera, a prestigious Italian museum. At times, the museum has lent a piece or two of its 16th- and 17th-century paintings to other museums, but never an entire exhibit. The exhibition runs through July 24.

• Destin was named one of the country’s 14 easy getaway destinations in 2001 by The New York Times, noting its emerald-green waters, Southern charm and family friendliness. The newspaper recommended the 2,400-acre Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort, eight miles east of Destin, for a place to stay. Vision Airlines, a new low-fare carrier, recently began nonstop service to the area’s Northwest Florida Regional Airport from 13 markets including Little Rock, Ark., Louisville, Ky., and Asheville, N.C.

• Santa Rosa Beach was recently named one of the 10 best beach destinations by Yahoo! Travel. The beach is in the heart of the Beaches of South Walton on Scenic Highway 30A.

• Legoland Florida is set to open in October in Winter Haven in Central Florida. The 150-acre interactive family theme park will be geared to children ages 2 to 12. It will have more than 50 rides and attractions spread throughout 10 themed park sections.

• The Florida Keys will soon celebrate a big milestone: the 100th anniversary of the completion of Henry Flagler’s railroad connecting the Keys to mainland Florida. Celebrations begin in early 2012. The tourist development council’s website (fla-keys.com) will have updated event listings as the centennial nears.

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Tips

Grab a Paddle: Santa Rosa County in Northwest Florida is considered the canoe capital of the world, thanks in large part to the Blackwater River State Forest. Located about 40 minutes from Navarre Beach, the park has a number of calm, inland rivers that make it suitable for beginner canoe trips.

Find Your Shell: The beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel in Southwest Florida provide visitors with some of the best shelling in Florida. Find out some of the shelling activities you can do in the area at fortmyers-sanibel.com/shelling-activities.

Get a Disney Deal: Planners booking new meetings at either Walt Disney World’s Disney Yacht and Beach Club or Disney’s Coronado Springs resorts through Dec. 15, 2011, receive free park admission after 4 p.m. and a $25 Disney Dining card for each room or attendee. The meeting must be booked by Aug. 31, and certain dates are not eligible. A two-night minimum stay is required, and a minimum of 100 rooms must be occupied
on peak night.

Fill the GAP: The Naples, Marco Island, Everglades CVB has a new online service to help planners market their events: GAP, for Group Attendance Push. Planners can download a free email template and banner ad, and customize them for their events scheduled in the area. paradisecoast.com/gap

Drive-In Church: In Daytona Beach, you don’t even have to get out of your car to go to church. Located on historic A1A is the Drive-In Christian Church, which hosts Sunday morning services at 8:30 and 10 a.m. In a city with a long history of driving and car racing, the church fits in well. People can attend services in the Little Chapel building, watch services from their cars or sit outside in a covered area. After the service, they can head across the street to the beach.

Grab Your Key: You don’t have to worry about your key getting demagnetized when you put it next to your phone at the Holiday Inn Resort in Panama City Beach, Fla. The hotel is using an RFID lock system on all doors to keep the key from demagnetizing. Also new to the resort this year is new island-inspired furniture in most of the guest rooms.

Join the Party: Fort Lauderdale turns 100 this year, and the city is hosting a number of events throughout the year to celebrate the centennial. To find out if an event is coinciding with your visit, go to sunny.org/centennial.

Hit the Trail: Visit Florida launched a statewide trails website, trails.visitflorida.com, that lists information about the state’s 100 trails and greenways. The site includes trail lengths and surfaces, maps and nearby outfitters, hotels, campgrounds and restaurants.

Do More Research: Meeting planners are always looking for more resources to help them make site-selection decisions. Visit Florida has a website dedicated to information about meeting in destinations across the state. Visit meetings.visitflorida.com to search for properties, see special offers and submit RFPs.

Strap In: Zip lining? In Florida? You don’t have to go to Costa Rica to cruise above the treetops and winding rivers while suspended to a metal cable. Florida has a number of zip-line courses, including one in Santa Rosa County’s city of Milton. Adventures Unlimited offers tours that soar over Coldwater Creek, Wolfe Creek and Spring Hill Dam.