BA flight puts resort back in limelight

Tampa

BA flight puts resort back in limelight

Although it’s within a comfortable two-hour drive from Orlando, Tampa often gets overshadowed by Florida’s theme park capital.

The Gulf Coast resort city is probably more widely known as home to Busch Gardens theme park and as a growing port for cruiselines serving the Gulf of Mexico.

Up to now, it has largely been a stopping-off point for the vast amount of traffic travelling from Orlando to the more popular West Coast beach resorts of Clearwater and St Petersburg.

But Tampa has been undergoing a multi-million-dollar investment to attract more Florida visitors with new shopping, entertainment and resort facilities.

In addition British Airways’ thrice-weekly service from London to Tampa is helping to give it wider recognition as a destination in its own right.

However, Tampa’s new modern infrastructure is designed to blend in with the attractions of its charming old town district and natural habitat of white-sand coastline, wilderness parks and lakes.

On the Hillsborough River, for example, you can take a worthwhile, full-day guided canoe trip run by a familyconcern that travels through part of a 16,000-acre wilderness to experience bird and marine life in their natural surroundings.

&#42 Tampa/Hillsborough Convention and Visitors Association is represented in the UK by Destination Marketing. Tel: 020-7978 5222.

Tampa: the home of Busch Gardens theme park

Tampa highlights

&#42 Ybor City was once known as the Cigar Capital of the World, and is now mixture of artisan galleries and shops.

&#42 Centro Ybor in Ybor City, a $45 million entertainment complex, offers 200,00sq ft of restaurants, retail outlets, movie theatre and comedy club. As a nightspot it has a Spanish tapas bar, Johnny Rockets’ 1950s-style diner, Italian cafe, margarita bar and the Big City Tavern.

&#42 The Garrison Seaport Centre is a $35m leisure complex on the Channelside District, due to open this autumn.