What a surprise! That might be the sentiment group members express the next time you take them to Northwest Florida, known for its sugar-white beaches but prized for its lesser-known treasures.
No matter where you land on the peninsula’s "panhandle" region, which includes the capital city of Tallahassee and the state’s westernmost metropolis, Pensacola, the unexpected is waiting just beyond the familiar activities and attractions.
Even the area’s photogenic beauty can come as a shock to some.
"When planners come down, they often say, ‘I didn’t know it was this beautiful here,’" reports Pamela Watkins, CTIS, director of sales and special events for the Beaches of South Walton TDC. "They are just awed and amazed, and they want to find a way to make it work for their groups."
Pensacola
Pensacola’s military history often gets top billing on visitor itineraries, and that’s certainly no surprise. Not only is the city home to one of the world’s largest air and space museums—the National Naval Aviation Museum—but it is home base for the Blue Angels, the Navy’s fast-flying and often death-defying jet squadron, who practice their aerial maneuvers in the skies over the museum from April to November. Continuing the tradition of flight, the museum is scheduled to open a $100 million flight academy in late 2011.
But the foundation for all things military goes way back in Pensacola, which was a strategic presence in the Civil War and even predates St. Augustine’s founding by five years.
"I think people are surprised to learn that America started in Florida," says Laura Lee,
director of communications for the Pensacola Bay Area CVB. "We have a lot of cool historic venues that welcome groups, like Historic Pensacola Village, which is home to the oldest church in Florida and other period buildings."
Despite the many years stacked behind Pensacola, Lee says 2011 might be one of the best years ever to visit.
"It’s the 150th anniversary of the Civil War," she notes, pointing to Fort Barrancas—today part of Naval Air Station Pensacola—and Fort Pickens, both Civil War strongholds.
"It’s also the centennial of naval aviation," she adds. "The Naval museum is open to group events, and it would be a special time to meet there."
Also pretty special is Pensacola’s array of meeting venues, from the Crowne Plaza Pensacola Grand Hotel downtown to a beachfront "campus" of hotels that includes the Pensacola Hilton Gulf Front, the Hampton Inn Pensacola Beach Gulf Front, the Hotel Indigo and a new Holiday Inn coming in February.
Emerald Coast
On the beautiful beaches of the Emerald Coast, your group might do everything but relax and enjoy the beach. Here, the sands of Destin, Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa Island are a launch point for a host of active adventures, and all the action begins just beyond the breaking surf.
Instead of having to take a boat out to deep waters, snorkelers might be surprised to find they can view a host of reef clusters—home to basket sponges, purple sea whips, vibrant yellow angelfish and six-foot manta rays, among other creatures—thanks to the proximity of the Hundred Fathom Curve. This underwater boundary delineates the end of the Continental shelf and the beginning of deep ocean waters. Offshore from the Emerald Coast, though, the curve takes a detour closer to the shore, bringing deep-sea treasures in with it.
The same phenomenon is a boon to fishing enthusiasts, who enjoy speedy deep-water access and a bigger variety of game fish than other areas of the Sunshine State. Groups that take offshore and inshore fishing excursions can even bring their catches to local "fish-friendly" restaurants that do the cooking.
Many hotels offer the same service, including the Emerald Grande at HarborWalk Village, which hosts regular "catch and cook" parties.
"You should see us in red snapper season," says Frank Sandro, the property’s director of sales.
The condo-style property offers close to 3,000 square feet of meeting space.
Other meeting venues on the Emerald Coast include the Palms of Destin Resort & Conference Center, hosting groups of up to 425, and the Emerald Coast Convention Center, checking in at 35,000 square feet.
Beaches of South Walton
Pamela Watkins has seen her share of jaws drop. The director of sales and special events for the Beaches of South Walton TDC says open-mouthed wonder is the general reaction when someone first catches sight of the white-sand beaches on this part of the Gulf Coast. But there’s a very good reason the sand is so spectacular.
"Our beaches are 99 percent quartz, and that sand has taken millions of years to flow from the Appalachian Mountains into the Gulf," Watkins says. "And there are two sandbars out there that catch the shells. That’s why it’s so nice to walk on our beach. It doesn’t hurt your feet."
While visitors do a double take at the shoreline, meeting planners might have the same reaction at the conference facilities here. Breakout sessions can be planned at oceanfront gazebos, quaint post offices or within the storybook cottages found in the town of Seaside, one of 15 coastal communities offering such unconventional gathering spots.
Larger groups, meanwhile, will feel at home within resort-based meeting space found at properties like the WaterColor Inn and Resort, the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa and Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort, which recently added new team-building programs, including zip lining.
When it comes to getting people’s attention, though, for Watkins it all comes back to the great outdoors and the things people can do there, from hiking and golf to water sports of every kind, including the latest craze—YOLO boarding, a type of stand-up paddleboarding that is popular atop the area’s calm, and very rare, coastal dune lakes.
"We have an 85 percent return rate on our leisure visitors, and a lot of it has to do with our pristine environment," Watkins says. "Forty percent of our land will never be built on; it’s either state forests or state parks and preserves. That’s why a lot of our groups come back. They love it, and they don’t want it to change."
Panama City Beach
"Change" was the big word in Panama City Beach last summer, as the city went from drive market to international air destination with the May opening of Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, offering direct flights into the area via Southwest and Delta. Cities served include Baltimore/Washington, Houston, Nashville, Memphis, Atlanta and Orlando.
The airport’s initial success was obvious at press time, as more parking spaces were being added and the rental car fleet expanded, and the long-term outlook is just as positive.
"The new airport is expected to generate about $80 million in new state revenues over the first 20 years," says Dan Rowe, president and CEO of the Panama City Beach CVB. "Also, this will really help us from a meetings and conventions standpoint; low-fare air service from destinations around the country is huge."
The area’s new status as a fly-in destination isn’t the only surprise here, though. The airport is LEED-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council and also was developed in conjunction with the West Bay Preservation Area, a monumental nature preserve that protects 40,000 acres, including 33 miles of undeveloped shoreline and an additional 44 miles of tributaries and creeks.
It’s all part of an emphasis on the area’s natural gifts, despite ongoing transportation and hotel development.
"The ecotourism opportunities that exist here are out of this world," Rowe says. "You go to a lot of beach destinations, and you never get out on the water. Here you can go pontoon boating, you can go snorkeling at St. Andrews State Recreation Area. A half-hour away, Econfina Creek is great for kayaking and canoeing."
Tallahassee
Ornate government buildings, canopy roads, moss-draped oaks and museum after museum make Tallahassee one of the most gracious of Southern cities, not to mention one of the busiest.
But groups that expect meeting facilities to be as serious as a senate session are in for a treat because one of the area’s newest meeting venues dates back to the 17th century. In 1650, Mission San Luis de Apalache was the western anchor of the Spanish mission system stretching from the Apalachicola River to St. Augustine. Ongoing excavations have uncovered a Spanish fort, religious complex, council house and several homes, while a newly constructed visitor center offers a 250-seat banquet hall with a courtyard, a 125-seat theater and classrooms for small gatherings.
"It’s the only mission remaining that’s been completely reconstructed," says Kerri Post, senior marketing director of Visit Tallahassee. "It’s a huge historic site, a hidden gem and perfect for groups."
Closer to this century, groups can gather at the Brokaw-McDougall House, an elegant antebellum home that hosts up to 200 banquet style, or the Historic Capitol, which has been restored to its 1902 appearance and features an impressive stained-glass dome.
For more traditional gathering places, look no further than Tallahassee’s many hotels with meeting space, including the Hotel Duval, the Doubletree Hotel Tallahassee and the Ramada Inn and Conference Center.
