A collective sigh of relief can be heard across Florida as Hurricane Dennis left the majority of the state largely unaffected in his path. Visit Florida,…
A collective sigh of relief can be heard across Florida as Hurricane Dennis left the majority of the state largely unaffected in his path. Visit Florida,, reports the state`s major metropolitan areas of Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville were unscathed by this weekend`s storm. All attractions in those areas are open for business and ready to greet visitors. The space shuttle Discovery remained on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral over the weekend as NASA started its countdown.
Florida is a strong, resilient and safe destination, as demonstrated during last year`s summer storm season, claims Bud Nocera, president and chief executive officer of VISIT FLORIDA. In spite of four hurricanes last year, Florida amazingly broke a tourism record hosting more than 76 million visitors. Our visitors` safety is of utmost importance. Armed with modern technology and lessons learned, Florida is prepared now more than ever to deal with hurricane season. Our visitors can rest assured that they`ve made the right decision when they visit the greatest vacation destination in the world.
Hurricane Dennis blew ashore Sunday between Pensacola Beach and Navarre Beach as a Category 3 storm with sustained winds of about 115 – 120 m.p.h. The storm`s impact was much less than anticipated with the western Panhandle region encountering downed trees, isolated power outages and some damaged homes. All and all, given the strength of Dennis, we were pretty fortunate, said Ed Schroeder, V.P. of Tourism Development for the Pensacola Bay Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. All roads are open and residents are returning to Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key. It appears our beach hotels may be available for visitors as early as this weekend. Governor Jeb Bush is scheduled to tour the hardest hit areas of Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties. Approximately 2,600 Florida National Guard members are currently in the area assisting with cleanup.
The Florida Keys welcomed back residents and visitors to the Lower Keys and Key West on Monday after a minor brush with Hurricane Dennis over the weekend. Vacationers to Key Largo, Islamorada and Marathon returned to the island destinations on Sunday following evacuations in lieu of the storm. U.S. 1, the Overseas Highway from Florida City to Key West, was left in good shape. Authorities in the area said the storm had little impact on structures. Most damage was associated with flooding, downed trees, debris and a few power outages. Visitors to the Keys are urged to check with their accommodations in advance to ensure they have returned to operative status. Some Keys attractions and visitor offerings are currently closed but plan to return to normal operations within the next few days.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
