Three Florida chefs talk culinary trends, from fermented foods and Asian bowls to exotic spices.

Today’s meeting professionals are looking for creative ways to help meeting attendees experience enhanced wellness. From offering platters of tasty greens on the buffet, yoga on the beach, and motivational speakers and alternative medicine gurus talking about healthy living, wellness is a new and increasingly popular menu item for groups in destinations like Central West Florida.

Northwest Florida—or Florida’s Panhandle—which includes the Emerald Coast, Pensacola, South Walton, Panama City Beach and Tallahassee, among other beach towns—features a host of teambuilding activities for groups, from outdoor pursuits like stand-up paddleboarding to painting in an art gallery.

From boating to bird-watching and everything in between, countless experiences in Florida's Space Coast and Daytona Beach ensure that meetings won’t be all work and no play. The Space Coast, known for its spectacular launches at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, also has some of the best beaches across the globe, where groups can explore diverse natural habitats.

All over southwest Florida along the Gulf Coast, historic venues and other enticing spots abound to host groups. From the European-inspired Ringling Museum of Art with its views of Sarasota Bay to the 1908 Heitman House in Fort Myers on the Caloosahatchee River, to the NGALA Wildlife Preserve in Naples, a variety of sites offer memorable settings for once-in-a-life time events. 

Northeast Florida—also known as Florida’s First Coast—is made up of such dynamic destinations as Jacksonville on the great St. Johns River, the beach community of Ponte Vedra and historic St. Augustine, the oldest continually occupied European settlement in North America. It’s also home to Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach and the Palm Coast, all of which offer great accommodations, great restaurants and great fun for meeting groups.

Mexico’s 32 states promise tremendous diversity when it comes to flavors and specialties. In Cancun, much of the cuisine is inspired by neighboring Yucatan, including many dishes made with pork, such as cochinita pibil or lechon. Executive Chef Juan Zahoul Retes at The Grand at Moon Palace Cancun and Executive Chef Sergio Zarate of the Grand Fiesta Americana Coral Beach Cancun share their takes on the local culinary scene.

Caribbean chefs are putting their stamps on the culinary delights of their islands, garnished with influences from all over the world.

The Dominican Republic has long been popular as a vacation destination with high-end accommodations, modern infrastructure (including eight international airports) and long sultry stretches of beach that promise—and deliver—a plethora of sun-soaked activities enjoyable for all ages. What remains a bit of a mystery is that this magical island, discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492 and rich with history, also offers numerous venues that deliver flexible and interesting event space options in the meeting-popular cities of Santo Domingo, Punta Cana and Puerto Plata.

Thirty-nine diverse cities and towns make up the Palm Beaches, spanning more than 2,300 square miles across 47 miles of beautiful Atlantic Ocean beaches. In addition to the beach, there’s 125 miles of the Intracoastal Waterway. With so much water, swimming, boating, fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling, paddleboarding and myriad other activities on the beach are all right there for the asking.