Paradise Coast bucks the trend
The combination of the Everglades, Marco Island and Naples has proven to be an irresistible combination for hundreds of thousands of tourists in the last six months.
Breaking even pre-2008 levels, the destination is enjoying an unprecedented run of success in attracting the tourist dollar. Visitors to the area can enjoy a wide variety of activities from wildlife, excellent cuisine, first-class beaches and some of the best golf courses in the USA.
Robert Pfeffer, director of sales and marketing of the Marco Island Marriott Resort & Spa said: "There is little doubt that the results for the area, including are own property, have been outstanding over the past nine months. We at Marriot have put an enormous amount of time, money and effort into ensuring that our visitors get the very best experience and this extends to our golf courses which have seen higher bookings that at any time in our history. More recently we have announced the overhaul of our spa pool facility which is second to none.’
Marriot has added to its existing golf facilities, the challenging Rookery course with the acquisition of the Hammock Bay golf course. "Golfers will now enjoy our award-winning tropical resort amenities with a combined 36 holes of championship golf," said Rick Medwedeff, general manager of Marco Island Marriott. "This expansion really accentuates our commitment to becoming a world-class leader in golf experiences."
The good results are not confined to the Marriot, as Jack Wert, Paradise Coast CVB executive director explained. "We have stellar success in the recent past and the reasons for this are many fold. Firstly our hotel and amenity partners have continued to invest in making sure Paradise Coast remains a top class destination for all age groups.
"In addition we continued again with our partners to market the destination and invest heavily in marketing even when the economy was at its lowest. Our ability to keep our name in front of potential visitors throughout the past four years is now beginning to pay dividends. We are confident that this strategy has worked and will continue to work in the future."
The Paradise Coast region is the venue for TravelMole’s 2012 Race to Paradise, the competition where all travel industry golf events can participate for free. For further details contact [email protected]
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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