Meeting-goers in Eastern Florida find everything from rockets to wildlife refuges
Cape Canaveral and East Central Florida are selling convention-goers on its unusual nature: rockets blast into space here but they do it in the middle of an enormous wildlife refuge.
The area is the home of NASCAR and the famous Daytona International Speedway but it also has 100 miles of beaches.
“Planners could be more educated about our area,” said Bonnie King, assistant director of the Space Coast Office of Tourism, which includes the Cape.
Popular places for group rentals in the area include the Daytona International Speedway which has six venues and 215,000 square feet of event space.
But the Daytona area is also known for its golf and is home to the Ladies Professional Golf Association, which has 3,500 square feet of meeting space.
Shuttles at nearby NASA are set to be discontinued in 2011 but there are many moon-and-space-related activities, say Space Coast tourism officials, such as simulators showing footage shot by astronauts.
This contrasts with the Canaveral National Seashore, the longest stretch of undeveloped beach on Florida’s east coast.
If nothing else, some convention-goers learned here to take up surfing at places like the Four Points by Sheraton Cocoa Beach, which has lessons and beach rentals all under one roof.
By David Wilkening
David
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