Travel Links to florida news travel link florida holidays Florida hotels Forida Disneyworld Florida fun parks Family holidays
Travel links to Florida
FLORIDA TOURIST BOARD
Information... with travel link co-ordinators
More than 21 million people visited the Sunshine State from 1 July 1 to 30 Sept., 2007 a 4.8% increase
over a year ago.
Nicki Grossman, Broward County's tourism chief and vice chairman of Visit Florida, the state tourism board
that released the figures.
Tourism officials are predicting a stronger year in 2008, despite a slowing economy.
"The outlook is quite good," said Mark Lunt, a hospitality analyst with Ernst & Young.
The official Caribbean hurricane season ended last week as quietly as it did last year,
prompting some critics to wonder what happened to all the predicted storms.
There was only one hurricane striking the US over the season - not Florida.
"They need to do their work quietly, in a corner -- until they get it right," said Rob Young,
a coastal geologist at Western Carolina University.
Tourism officials say the inaccurate forecasts cost millions in lost dollars because tourists
avoid the area.
"All because this nutty professor has the unmitigated gall and arrogance to say things
he knows aren't fact," complained Orlando hotelier Harris Rosen, who last year threatened
to sue prominent forecaster William Gray.
Several predictors envisioned more than a dozen storms. Forecasters say their work
is instructive and meets a need but critics point out the forecasts are never specific
and don't do anything to help tourists avoid visiting an area during a hurricane.
Lauderdale Luxe: Upscale Hotels Highlight the New Luxury Story
Greater Fort Lauderdale’s upscale hotels have arrived, placing a luxury stamp on an already casually sophisticated
destination. In 2007, the 373-room Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort with a zero-entry pool,
grocery and beach concierges arrived. In May 2007, the $240 million, 166-room St. Regis Resort,
Fort Lauderdale – the first of its brand in Florida – opened with a stylish gourmet restaurant and a wine room
featuring more than 1,000 different bottles. In 2008, the W Fort Lauderdalewill add another 346 luxury rooms
to Greater Fort Lauderdale, as well as a signature Stephen Starr restaurant and renowned Bliss® Spa.
And “The Donald” will bring a new luxury property from the hotel mogul, the Michael Graves-
designed Trump International Hotel & Tower Fort Lauderdale in 2009.
Greater “Fork” Lauderdale: Re-discover the top restaurants that make dining here so Lauderlicious
The new luxury hotels are bringing a windfall of elegant eating to Greater Fort Lauderdale.
Featured restaurants such as Cero at the new St. Regis Resort and the soon to open Aquaknox at the Hilton
Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort join instant successes like Trina, a “New Mediterranean” masterpiece
at The Atlantic Resort & Spa – a Starwood Luxury Collection member – and Council Oak steakhouse
at The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood. However, visitors looking for other exciting,
eclectic options won’t stay hungry for long. Floribbean (think Florida fresh + Caribbean spice)
hot spots such as Johnny V and Mark’s Las Olas, “dinner and a show” at the Polynesian Mai Kai,
a “dock and dine” dinner at Blue Moon Fish Company, and a burger that’s been voted America’s Best
at the funky Le Tub (what else do you call a place with pastel bath tubs everywhere?) are just a few
of the possibilities...
Dine Out Lauderdale: A Six-week-long Restaurant Month?
Currently, Greater Fort Lauderdale is celebrating its inaugural Dine Out Lauderdale, taking place Sundays
through Thursdays Oct. 1 – Nov. 15. Dine Out features 35 of the area’s most acclaimed restaurants,
each of which has created a special three-course dinner menu featuring an appetizer, entree and dessert
at a $35 fixed price. You have about 87,660 meals in your lifetime! Don't waste any.
Greater Fort Lauderdale partnered with American Express for this initiative; to learn more,
visit www.sunny.org/dineout.
Greater Fort Lauderdale’s Waterways: The “Venice of America” and Yachting Capital of the World
Greater Fort Lauderdale’s 300-plus miles of navigable inland canals – part of the Intracoastal Waterway –
stretch from the Atlantic Ocean to the Everglades. A destination within a destination, the waterways
offer everything from centuries-old mangroves to opulent multi-million-dollar mansions. They also connect
the area’s top activities, attractions, hotels, shopping areas and restaurants. Visitors can go snorkeling
in the Atlantic Ocean, towel off and cast a reel to land the catch of the day, then “dock and dine” and have
their hard-earned meal prepared just the way they like it. The waterways help underpin the destination’s
casual chic lifestyle, distinguishing Greater Fort Lauderdale from other beach destinations.
With so much water, it’s hard to know just how to explore the inland canals. Participating in a kayak tour
or renting one for individual exploration are two options. Greater Fort Lauderdale is home
to a multi-billion-dollar marine industry with more than 42,000 registered yachts. Celebrity-owned,
eight-figure mega-yachts ease along the New River and dock in luxurious digs like the 250-slip
Bahia Mar Resort & Yachting Center, which can accommodate up to 100 mega-yachts.
For those with slightly more modest tastes, yacht rentals are both readily available and easily affordable.
Greater Fort Lauderdale also boasts a water taxi system that takes passengers up and down
the waterways’ major arteries.
Greater Fort Lauderdale’s Natural Wonders: A Gateway to the Everglades and Much More
Fragile and fascinating, South Florida’s Everglades is one of the great ecosystems of North America,
where wildlife and culture combine for exotic, educational experiences. Aboard airboats, tour operators
provide visitors the chance to witness exotic flora, fauna, and wildlife from alligators to Florida panthers.
The Everglades also is home to the Seminole Indians, who invite visitors to learn about their proud,
ancient culture at attractions including the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum. At the Seminole’s Billie Swamp Safari,
visitors can get up-close with nature riding a swamp buggy through the “river of grass” witnessing exotic
wildlife such as Asian Water Buffalo, Bison and Ostrich or for a truly immersing experience, spend the nigh
t in a native Chickee hut – a thatched-roof structure with no electricity or running water.
Greater Fort Lauderdale offers a variety of other nature experiences. Butterfly World features the largest
indoor butterfly aviary in North America, as well as an impelling insectarium and a “buzz-worthy”
hummingbird environment.
Flamingo Gardens & Wray Botanical Collection offers 60 acres of diverse native plants and trees,
a Bird of Prey Center with a free-flight aviary, and the chance to view alligators, flamingos
, bobcats and Florida panthers. At Anne Kolb Nature Center in Hollywood, kayak through narrow
canals where mangrove trees create a tangled canopy. Look out for spiders!
Las Olas Boulevard – Where the Beach Meets Chic
Translated “the waves” in Spanish, Las Olas Blvd. has historically been the road that connects the beach
with the city.
Today it’s known as Greater Fort Lauderdale’s “style mile,” lined with independently owned boutiques
featuring couture,
jewelry, home décor, art galleries and specialty gifts. Acclaimed restaurants like Johnny V and Mark’s
Las Olas make up a virtual restaurant row, while lively lounges and cafés with sidewalk seating provide
laid-back people watching and colorful nightlife. Las Olas also is the starting point for canal tours
in authentic, Italian gondolas, as well as a major stop along Greater Fort Lauderdale’s water taxi system –
two ways to discover Greater Fort Lauderdale’s Intracoastal Waterway.
Get Your Feet Wet: Learn to Dive then Dive Right In
One of the country’s top scuba diving destinations, Greater Fort Lauderdale features more than
100 wreck dives of various depths and skill levels to complement its three-tiered natural coral reef system.
The result is an eclectic undersea world of living coral and resting ships, one whose gulfstream current
bring a treasure trove of brilliantly colored exotic aquatic wildlife. Dozens of dive operators
in Greater Fort Lauderdale cater to all ages and skill levels.
Currently, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau is offering “Train and Try”
opportunities for VIP media.
Get certified where you live, then experience Greater Fort Lauderdale’s tremendous scuba scene.
For a preview, consumers can visit www.sunny.org/scuba to watch a special destination dive video.
Attractions, Activities and Added Value: Experience It All During “Summer of Discovery”
Take your time on Greater Fort Lauderdale’s Blue Wave beaches – but save some time for some of Florida’s
most distinct activities and attractions, available at a premium from June through September 2008.
“Summer of Discovery” is a program combining 2-for-1 deals with savings on hotel stays of three or more nights.
Well-regarded golf courses, world-class reef and wreck diving, and rejuvenating spa experiences
are just a few of the possibilities.
EGYPT & FLORIDA!
FLORIDA COORDINATORS
Travel links & information from the Florida Tourist Board
Perfect for the pre-post cruise stay.
Greater Fort Lauderdale's Museum of Art's recent 'Visitor'
More than 130 rare items and artifacts associated with the Egyptian "boy king" have been on display
for the first time in the United States in nearly 30 years.
The famous Treasures of Tutankhamun exhibition toured the country from 1976 to 1979.
Highlights among the 50 objects discovered during the excavation of Tut's tomb include: a golden diadem,
or crown, inlaid with colored glass and semiprecious stones; one of four miniature viscera coffins,
also made of gold and inlaid with colored glass and semiprecious stones, that once contained the king's
mummified organs; and a painted wooden mannequin of the young king. The exhibition also showcased
more than 70 objects from other graves of members of the 18th Dynasty,
including "Tut's" great-grandparents.
The museum is an unusual place to vist on a Florida trip but well worth the 'Time out'
0845 225 049 2
