News from April 2005
Repeat visitors
New research commissioned by Visit Florida shows that Florida continues to enjoy a very high repeat visitor rate,
this year measuring 92 percent among domestic visitors. From a survey of 465 domestic visitors to Florida in the previous 12 months, conducted in February 2005, we see that 41.9 percent had a prior vacation in Florida within the 12 months preceding the most recent trip. Another 17.2 percent could be called lapsed visitors, as their last vacation in Florida was 1-3 years prior to their current vacation. Only 7.6 percent reported that they had never been to Florida on vacation before this recent vacation. Enjoying a strong customer franchise is great but it also presents a stronger challenge of how to grow the market.
Posted on 12 April 2005
Kissimmee Lake Front
Kissimmee’s lakefront is to be transformed into a type of Church Street Station with a restaurant and an event pavilion or an upscale residential neighborhood with a small grocery or a pub.
Local officials are evaluating the plans designed to transform the pituresque little spot.
The 2 proposals submitted are ...
Geech Partin’s Cowboy Saloon on the first floor of the old Columbia Hotel on Broadway. The 3,600-square-foot venue would feature bluegrass and "cowboy" music, an antique-filled saloon, vintage chandeliers and Osceola pictures and memorabilia. The saloon would be named after a prominent Osceola rancher who died in 1994.
Osceola Trading Co., an antique shop similar to the Buffalo Trading Co. that was next to the Cheyenne Saloon at Church Street Station.
Cracker Joe’s Dance Hall and Bar-B-Que in the Roy E. Hansel power plant building. Snow’s team wants the city to pay about $2 million to move the building across the street and renovate it, he said.
Lake Toho Pavilion, an 18,000-square-foot Victorian pavilion for art shows and concerts.
Lake Toho Yacht Club, which would be rebuilt and turned into a 7,000-square-foot seafood restaurant.
Kissimmee Hotel, modeled after the Tropical Hotel, a defunct Kissimmee landmark.
Or..
Monument Park on Lake Tohopekaliga, which includes an entertainment district, a community park and a bigger park for events near the area currently used for fishing tournaments.
Drawings show boat slips and a promenade surrounded by multistory buildings. In its proposal, the company calls Monument Park "a center of action, a meeting place, the place to see and be seen."
The park will have an interactive fountain, banners, flags and plantings surrounded by restaurants, pubs and non-chain retail stores, the plan shows. The marina would be expanded.
Condominiums priced from $220,500 to $392,000 are a large component of this project. So is a condo-hotel complex.
The committee is to meet with both parties on Friday to get more information. It will make a recommendation to the Community Redevelopment Agency, which will advise the City Commission.
Posted on 12 April 2005
Hope for Floridian Driving Licenses
A bill that would grant foreigners the right to hold a Florida driving license for 6 years is currently making its way through the Florida legislature.
Senator Rudy Garcia, who unsuccessfully introduced a similar bill last year has made amendments and is trying again. Under the bill, foreigners would need to have owned or leased a house in Florida for at least six months in the last five years. The license would be stamped in red with the words "For Driving Purposes Only" and could last for the duration of a persons visa. Currently licenses expire after six months. We will be watching this closely and will report any news on this item as it happens.
Posted on 26 April 2005
Florida Third Largest State by 2030
The American Census bureau have projected that Florida will be the third most populated state by 2030 if growth rates continue at current levels. An influx of 11 million residents will swell the states population from 17 million to 28 million, surpassing New York. The elderly will make up 27.1% of the population and will be responsible for 40% of the growth.
The relocation of these baby boomers reflects a nationwide move from the North and Midwest into the South and West. The figures project the overall population in the North and Midwest decreasing over the same period by 7%. Within Florida itself, latest figures have shown that the population has grown by 9.6% overall in the last 4 years. Flagler County has grown the most quickly, followed closely by Osceola which has experienced a growth of 30.9% in 4 years. This level of growth will provide unique challenges to the State interms of accommodating the new residents and ensuring they have appropriate services and facitlites. The face of Florida may well have to change over the coming years.
Posted on 29 April 2005
