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Travel Briefs - July 2006
» TheTradeShow, a Travel Retailing and Destination Expo, debuts Sept. 10-12 in Orlando to connect suppliers and travel agents. The event at the Orange County Convention Center will bring together the American Society of Travel Agents and several other industry organizations, along with travel professionals from all over the country, for three days of education and business meetings.
» In October, Gov. Jeb Bush and about 700 other government and business leaders from the Southeastern U.S. and Japan will gather at the new Rosen Shingle Creek Resort & Golf Club for the 30th annual joint meeting aimed at promoting trade, commerce, investment and relations between the two regions.
» W Fort Lauderdale Hotel & Residences, scheduled to open in 2008 with 517 rooms, will be the first W property in Florida and the first condo-hotel for the luxury chain.
» The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex announced plans for a $60-million attraction called "The Shuttle Launch Experience," which will simulate the effects of blasting into space aboard the space shuttle and is expected to open in early 2007. KSC is also showcasing an exhibit called "The Lost Spacecraft: Liberty Bell 7 Recovered" through Sept. 4
» Walt Disney World opened Expedition Everest in April at Animal Kingdom.
» SeaWorld Orlando has opened its new Shamu show, "Believe," which combines the grace of the killer whales' performances with the acting and personality of the trainers.
» Orlando-based Fairfield Resorts has opened the first of eight planned Vacation Therapy spas nationwide -- this one at its Ocean Walk Resort in Daytona Beach. Ocean Walk is a vacation ownership resort with 710 condominium-style units.
» Orlando now ranks second nationwide in attracting large trade shows, according to Tradeshow Week magazine, bumping Chicago to third after it held second place for 11 years, and following Las Vegas, which bumped Chicago from the top spot in the 1990s. According to the magazine, Las Vegas hosted 44 big trade shows in 2005, Orlando, 26, and Chicago, 20.
Business Beat - Week of May 3rd
