Florida Trend | Florida's Business Authority

Travel & Tourism Business Briefs - June 2007

Theme Parks --
» Universal Studios Orlando will open a new attraction based on "The Simpsons" cartoon, TV's longest-running series, in spring 2008.

Hotels/Resorts --
» The Fairfax, a 49-unit fractional ownership project designed by Todd Oldham, will open in early 2008 in Miami as a condo/hotel. It includes a members-only club with a rooftop pool and bar.

» Pink Shell Beach Resort & Spa on Estero Island near Fort Myers has capped off a multimillion-dollar renovation with the opening of its Captiva Villas condo/hotel.

» Developers have broken ground on the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and a companion Hilton Hotel at Bonnet Creek in Orlando near Walt Disney World.

Destinations --
» Palm Beach County has approved plans for a 25-story, 400-room Westin Hotel and a 20-story condominium tower connected to the Palm Beach County Convention Center. Ocean Properties of Delray Beach is the developer. The project is scheduled to open in 2010.

» In Panama City Beach, several resorts combined forces this year to form the Pro Family Spring Break Coalition, which pushed for hotels to limit room reservations to people age 25 and over.

» Kissimmee Convention & Visitors Bureau has launched a campaign to attract Hispanic visitors from New York, Miami and Puerto Rico. Last year the destination counted 97,000 from New York, 88,000 from Miami and 54,000 from Puerto Rico.