Thousands of Beach Photos Equal One Florida-Inspired Road Trip for Lucky Winner

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Nov. 22, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Floridians' passion for sand, waves and sea life is evident in a gallery of 5,000+ photos taken and uploaded in a single morning to celebrate the beauty of all Sunshine State beaches.

As Americans gather this week for Thanksgiving, the Florida tourism industry wants them to think about springtime and summer get-togethers in the Sunshine State, using the photo gallery to pick a favorite beach from Florida's 825 miles of clean, beautiful beaches.

As a reward for viewing the photos, VISIT FLORIDA will randomly choose one viewer to win a Mazda Miata convertible and a $5,000 gift card for taking his or her own tour of Florida beaches. Casting a vote by Dec. 6 for one of the photo gallery's 825 miles of beaches will enter a viewer into the random drawing. The winner will be announced by Jan. 31.

The photos, taken by nearly 4,000 volunteers around the state on Nov. 6, show pelicans and terns fishing in the surf, sea oats in the rosy light of dawn, and shells on white-sand beaches. From Pensacola to Key West, the photos show people jogging along the shore with their children and pets, sand sculptors creating giant castles, surfers and kayakers on the water, and playful beach-lovers celebrating that their oil-spill fears were not realized in Florida -- where the beaches are as beautiful as ever.

In the first two weeks since the Nov. 6 Great VISIT FLORIDA Beach Walk, the gallery has attracted tens of thousands of viewers and nearly 4,000 votes have been cast for favorite beach miles. A qualified vote constitutes an entry into the drawing. The photos represent Florida's 825 miles of beaches, which were covered on Nov. 6 by walkers, kayakers, surfers and boaters who signed up for the Beach Walk and photo fest through Volunteer Florida.  

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

As the state's number one industry, tourism is responsible for welcoming more than 80 million visitors each year, which results in more than $60 billion in taxable sales revenue and employs more than 1 million Floridians.  For every $1 spent on tourism marketing, VISIT FLORIDA – the state's official tourism marketing corporation – generates more than $55 in tourism spending and $3 in new sales tax collections, paid by visitors, not residents.  VISIT FLORIDA promotes tourism to Florida through sales, advertising, promotions, public relations, new product development 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 American Express Travel Related Services, AirTran Airways, Disney Destinations, Dollar Rent A Car, The Hertz Corporation, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment and Universal Orlando.  To learn more about VISIT FLORIDA, visit www.VISITFLORIDA.org.

SOURCE VISIT FLORIDA

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