Sunshine Matters

I am pleased to share that after many months of collaboration VISIT FLORIDA has launched America’s first state trails-tourism website offering comprehensive information about more than 100 of the Sunshine State’s trails and greenways.  Found at trails.VISITFLORIDA.com, this special micro-site assists visitors worldwide with planning and booking their outdoor adventures by providing detailed descriptions of Florida’s trails by city, activities, trail length or surface, as well as links to the individual trail websites and interactive maps showing the exact plot of a given trail so users can see nearby outfitters, hotels, campgrounds and restaurants. 

Developed by VISIT FLORIDA in partnership with trails experts from the Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Greenways and Trails and the East Coast Greenway Alliance, the new website also provides visitors with the opportunity to compare selected trails, create a trip planner and benefit from tips provided by VISIT FLORIDA’s Outdoors and Nature Insider Kevin Mims.  Mims travels the state posting pictures, videos, blog entries and articles about his outdoor adventures, along with answering questions posed by his Facebook and Twitter followers.

“VISIT FLORIDA is committed to continuously increasing its relevance to visitors by providing improved resources that make planning a vacation to the Sunshine State a better experience,” said Will Seccombe, Chief Marketing Officer at VISIT FLORIDA.  “With so many of our visitors adding outdoor adventures to their travel plans, we knew developing a content-rich, user-friendly trails website that includes insights from our Outdoors and Nature Insider would allow travelers from around the world to more easily explore all the Sunshine State’s hiking, biking, paddling and equestrian opportunities.”

The public demand for trails has increased tremendously over the last several years.  Many Florida and national statistics point to the public’s growing desire for trails and the experiences they offer:

• The Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway and eight state trails had the highest annual visitation ever in 2009 with over 4 million visitors, generating an estimated economic impact of $95 million (Source: FDEP Office of Greenways & Trails)
• 67% of Florida visitors include nature-based activities in their travel, and 80% of Florida residents suggest nearby natural, cultural and historical sites to out-of-state friends or family when they visit (Source: VISIT FLORIDA Research)
• 52% of Americans would like to bike more and 46% would bike to work if designated trails were available (Source: Bikes Belong Coalition, 2008)

Florida is meeting this high public demand through a connected statewide system of trails that has made the Sunshine State a trendsetter:

• Florida was recognized in 2008 by American Trails, a national non-profit organization, as the inaugural recipient of Best Trails State in America for its commitment to an outstanding statewide system of greenways and trails
• Florida residents and visitors have access to more than 8,000 miles of land-based trails and nearly 4,000 miles of water trails including the congressionally designated Florida National Scenic Trail and 29 national recreation trails
• Florida is home to the Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail, the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail, the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, and the longest segment of the East Coast Greenway – an ambitious national trail project extending from Calais, Maine to Key West

“Trails will now be featured traveler destinations for Florida visitors, alongside beaches, resorts, golf courses and themed attractions,” explained Chris Thompson, President and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA.  “The creation of this website allows us to promote the state’s award-winning greenways and trails on a much grander scale than ever before.”

The new website is a joint project of VISIT FLORIDA, Florida’s Office of Greenways and Trails, the East Coast Greenway Alliance and other trails experts including the Florida Trail Association, Florida Department of Transportation, Florida Greenways and Trails Foundation, Florida Bicycle Association, Florida Paddling Trails Association, Rails to Trails Conservancy, Bike Florida, the U.S. Forestry Service, and the Florida Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus.

“The new site brings together trails and tourism in a way that hasn’t happened before,” points out Jim Wood, Assistant Director of Florida’s Office of Greenways and Trails. “Now people can learn about all kinds of services near a given trail that lets them book entire trail vacations. The new site raises the visibility of trail towns for visitors while at the same time we’ll be pushing the threshold of what trails mean to communities.”

Wood adds that as word about the site gets around Florida, he’s getting emails from trail managers to make sure their trails are included. “VISIT FLORIDA has set no limits to the number of trails the new site can include, so we’ll keep adding to the list,” he says.