Orlando’s meeting ‘kissin cousin’
Everyone knows Orlando which has three million square feet of meeting space and has the second largest convention center in the US. It is slated to draw more meetings there than in any other North American location in the next three years.
But have you heard about Orlando’s kissin’ cousin, next door Kissimmee? It’s perhaps better known as a one-time cowboy town with smaller town charm. Planners often prefer it because of its many budget-accommodations that remain close Disney and other bigger-city options.
“We offer unique advantages for the medium-to-small-sized conferences by providing the same services a large convention would expect,” Chris Long, PR rep for the Kissimmee Convention and Visitors Bureau, told Smart Meetings magazine.
The type of convention it often attracts in its 10,500-seat Silver Spurs Arena was the FHSSA Cheerleading State Championship, which brought in 10,000 attendees.
The largest meeting area in Kissimmee is the 400,000 square feet at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center.
As might be expected, the area offers a variety of outdoor activities including the famous Boggy Creek Airboat Rides and a perennial, the local family-owned Gatorland, which has shown off thousands of the critters for half a century.
By David Wilkening
David
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