Despite the four powerful hurricanes that hit Florida in the past six weeks, many tourist hot spots, including Miami and Fort Lauderdale, were relatively unscathed. "People might think all of Florida is underwater, but it's not," said Cathy Keefe of the Travel Industry of America (TIA), a trade group based in Alexandria, Virginia.
Fueling this misperception is the near-constant media coverage of the hardest hit areas. Images of roofs being ripped off houses, docks crumbling from crushing surf, palm trees toppling, and torrents of water rushing down side streets have scared off many travelers who might have otherwise taken advantage of Florida's affordable off-season rates.
The full impact of this hurricane season on Florida's tourism industry has not yet been fully assessed, but officials are bracing for a substantial hit. In fact, based on 2003 figures, the TIA estimates that even a one percent decline in visitors this year would mean a 5.4-billion-dollar loss in revenue.
Until Charley, the first of 2004's Florida hurricanes, struck on August 13, Florida was on track to generate at least 48 billion dollars in tourist revenue this year.
Hoping to combat the financial loss, Visit Florida, the state's official tourism bureau, is seeking 30 million dollars for an aggressive TV and Internet marketing campaign to showcase those parts of the state that are unharmed—and anxious for visitors.
For their part, travel companies are slashing their already low off-season rates. The Holiday Inn Plantation/Sawgrass near Fort Lauderdale, for example, is offering an "antihurricane" package. The deal includes a two-night stay, parking, and breakfast. Prices start at $159 for two.
Midwest Airlines Vacations has an air- and hotel-inclusive package to Orlando from $379 per person, while United Vacations has a similar deal to Key West from $564 per person. (For more Florida deals, see National Geographic Traveler's A-List.)
Once Hurricane Jeanne touched ground in Florida on September 25, the state surpassed the record set in 1964, when three hurricanes struck in less than two months, according to Frank Lepore of the National Hurricane Center. (Statistically, Florida's hurricane season, which begins in June, should have peaked by September 10.) The only other state to endure four hurricanes in a single season was Texas in 1886, according to the National Hurricane Center.
At press time no storms posed a hurricane threat to Florida or surrounding areas. Though Tropical Storm Lisa is on the horizon, Lepore said, it appears to be heading north over the ocean without threatening any areas of the coastal U.S. or Caribbean.
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