Floridians Rally to Show Truth about Florida's Coastline

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Nov. 4, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida volunteer organizations and beach-lovers across the state are preparing for what may well be the world's biggest beach rally -- the Great VISIT FLORIDA Beach Walk this Saturday, Nov. 6. This weekend over 2,000 individuals and teams are signed-up – with more on the way – to participate across Florida's 34 beach counties and 825 miles of beaches. The beach walkers will photograph, video and Tweet virtually every mile of Florida's coastline, six months after the oil spill.

This weekend's statewide Beach Walk and photo fest will show the world that Florida's 825 miles of beaches are as gorgeous as ever, in photos uploaded in real time to the internet by volunteers who will walk or paddle and shoot photos all along the Sunshine State beaches.

The collective online photo gallery is viewable at www.VISITFLORIDA.com/BeachWalk. Viewers can vote on their favorite of the 825 beach miles and be entered into a sweepstakes for their own Florida beach trip with the chance to win a Mazda Miata and $5,000 gift card. There will also be an interactive map displaying the photos taken that morning along each of the 825 beach miles.

"It's a very eclectic group of volunteers," said Wendy Spencer, CEO of Volunteer Florida, which is working with VISIT FLORIDA, the state's tourism marketing organization, to create the Beach Walk. "There is so much excitement about this event that we are confident we will have a great turnout in support of our state and all our beaches."

These individuals include Scout troops, surfers, service organizations, tourism businesses, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Keep Florida Beautiful volunteers, kayakers, firefighters, and wildlife conservation organizations.

Special events are happening across the state and include:

• A beachfront pig roast in St. Pete Beach
• Calusa Blueway Paddling Festival participants shooting beach photos from their kayaks and canoes
• Free kites to be flown by Beach Walkers in Levy County
• Tommy Tant Memorial Surf Classic surfers and spectators shooting photos in Flagler
• St. Augustine Attractions Association sending 16th Century Spanish soldiers to join the Beach Walk
• Grand prizes given in drawings to Beach Walkers in Daytona
• A seaside wedding in Santa Rosa Beach
• Elementary school walkers in Escambia County
• The Florida Seafood Festival in Apalachicola with seafood lovers as participants
• Sand-sculpting lessons in Sarasota
• Scores of beachfront hotels and restaurants serving as volunteer hubs

“The great support we’re seeing statewide for the Beach Walk shows how much Floridians love their beaches,” said Chris Thompson, President and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA. “This event celebrates what we love about Florida and helps support our state’s economy. The online photo gallery will show how beautiful Florida’s 825 miles of beaches are -- and put to rest any concerns from this summer’s oil spill.”

Volunteer Florida, the Florida Lottery and the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association partnered with VISIT FLORIDA, the state's tourism marketing agency, to host the Beach Walk.

MEDIA: For additional information, contact Laura Cassels at (850) 205-3839 or at [email protected]

As the state's number one industry, tourism is responsible for welcoming more than 80 million visitors each year who spend in excess of $60 billion, generating 22 percent of the state's sales tax revenue and employing nearly 1 million Floridians.  For every $1 spent on tourism marketing, VISIT FLORIDA – the state's official tourism marketing corporation – generates more than $147 in tourism spending and $9 in new sales tax collections, paid by visitors, not residents.  VISIT FLORIDA promotes tourism to Florida through advertising, new product development, promotions, public relations, sales and visitor services programs.  As a public/private partnership, VISIT FLORIDA serves more than 4,000 tourism industry businesses, including major strategic alliance partnerships with AirTran Airways, American Express Travel Related Services, Disney Destinations, Dollar Rent A Car, The Hertz Corporation, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment and Universal Orlando.  To learn more about VISIT FLORIDA, please go to www.VISITFLORIDA.org.

SOURCE VISIT FLORIDA

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