of the more natural ways of selling the region, which has some of the best beaches in Florida.
“Because it is further north it has only an eight-month season from April until the end of October, but fits in well for someone going to New Orleans for the jazz or touring the historic south out of Atlanta.
“It is a perfect combination for a flydrive in the south as it is a 4-5hr drive from Atlanta. If they wish, clients can also return by air through the Georgia gateway from Florida’s Pensacola Airport, near the border with Alabama,” she added.
Broomfield said Florida is where most Britons first get their confidence to drive in the US, so she expected more repeat visitors to take this route.
She added that the more northeastern resorts of Jacksonville, St Augustine and Amelia Island would also be among the destinations visited on next year’s educationals.
Funway Holidays managing director Stephen Hughes said: “The northwest Florida Panhandle is a drive too far for most people just going to Florida. But it is increasingly being discovered by those looking at linking Mississippi and New Orleans with a stay in Florida,” he added.
VISIT Florida is planning a 2000 campaign to draw industry attention to the Panhandle area of Florida, which forms part of the undiscovered north central region of the Sunshine State.
The tourist organisation is including it in its Superfam itinerary for around 80 agents early next summer and it will also feature in a new-product educational tour for operators. The area has most of the ingredients that attract people to Florida – excellent beaches, natural landscapes, historic attractions and a good climate.
But some operators are reluctant to feature the region because of its distance from Miami and the mid-state resorts of Orlando and the Gulf Coast resorts, which attract the vast majority of visitors.
However, its geographical isolation from Florida’s hot spots could be seen as a way forward into other markets.
With the Panhandle bordering several southern states, some operators are including it in more independent itineraries as a beach-resort stay combined with New Orleans, Atlanta or parts of Mississippi.
Visit Florida sales and marketing manager Europe, Sue Broomfield, said: “This is one of the more natural ways of selling the region, which has some of the best beaches in Florida.
“Because it is further north it has only an eight-month season from April until the end of October, but fits in well for someone going to New Orleans for the jazz or touring the historic south out of Atlanta.
“It is a perfect combination for a flydrive in the south as it is a 4-5hr drive from Atlanta. If they wish, clients can also return by air through the Georgia gateway from Florida’s Pensacola Airport, near the border with Alabama,” she added.
Broomfield said Florida is where most Britons first get their confidence to drive in the US, so she expected more repeat visitors to take this route.
She added that the more northeastern resorts of Jacksonville, St Augustine and Amelia Island would also be among the destinations visited on next year’s educationals.
Funway Holidays managing director Stephen Hughes said: “The northwest Florida Panhandle is a drive too far for most people just going to Florida. But it is increasingly being discovered by those looking at linking Mississippi and New Orleans with a stay in Florida,” he added.
florida Panhandle
Location: the tip of northwest Florida facing the Gulf of Mexico and bordering Georgia and Alabama.
Beaches: fine, powdery white sands along the Gulf of Mexico.
Main resorts: Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach, Destin and Panama City.
Sample attractions: historic Pensacola Village; Gulfarium, Fort Walton; Museum of Man in the Sea, Panama City.
Other towns of interest: the old seaport of Apalachicola, Tallahassee and its historic district.