New airport gives meeting planners new reason to consider southwest Florida

CONTACTS:
Jackie MacKay (407) 814-0014 or (407) 496-1770
Lee Rose (239) 338-3500

LEE COUNTY, FL – Meeting planners have a whole new reason to consider southwest Florida as a meeting venue. That's because the area made aviation history with the recent opening of a second newly constructed airport terminal built from the ground up with all of the new required security features in place.

Southwest Florida International Airport's (RSW) new 800,000-square-foot Midfield Terminal Complex opened in September 2005 to replace the 22-year-old existing airport complex. The state-of-the-art facility – the country's first to incorporate post September 11 security mandates into its design – doubled the facility's capacity and greatly increased passenger ease and convenience to one of the country's fastest growing travel destinations.

The new "Gateway to Paradise" provides meeting planners with even greater access to The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel, since the new facility features 28 gates rather than the 17 gates in the old terminal. Moreover, Southwest Airlines has begun service to the new terminal, exhancing the airport's 120 daily non-stop flights on 24 carriers to 35 U.S cities as well as Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, Montreal and Toronto.

For an artistic treat at the expanded airport, the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau commissioned well-known Florida fine art photographer Alan Maltz to create a permanent collection of his art in the new terminal. His stunning oversized photos provide the tropical backdrop one would expect of a coastal Florida destination.

Southwest Florida International Airport opened in May 1983. The original master plan projected that the airport would reach its capacity of 3 million passengers by 1995, but that number actually was reached in 1988 -- seven years earlier than predicted. The airport has served more than 5 million passengers annually since 2000, with more than 7.5 million traveling through the airport during 2005. The new terminal, which can expand up to 65 gates, has the capacity to serve 10 million passengers annually.

An affordable destination featuring a variety of traditional as well as unorthodox small meeting venues for firmly out-of-the-box functions, The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel boasts resorts and other properties with as little as 500 square feet and as much as 73,000 square feet of meeting space. Four full-service resorts offer meeting services, facilities and accommodations, including the newly opened South Seas Island Resort on Captiva Island, with 28,000 square feet of conference facilities in a private island setting on 2½ miles of pristine beach.

Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa, a AAA Four-Diamond waterfront resort that has been totally renovated, sits on the site of the former Tarpon House Inn, which once catered to business savants such as Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. Today's flexible 45,000-square-foot conference center overlooks Florida's Gulf coast, and its 40,000-square-foot spa has been named among the "Top 10 Spa Resorts in the U.S." by Conde Naste Traveler.

The nearby newly renovated Sundial Beach & Golf Resort, on Sanibel Island, sits amidst a designated natural preserve renowned for its profusion of rare seashells. Hence, conference-goers feel nurtured in nature even as they find high-tech professional facilities blending into the lush landscape. Resort staff works to make the outdoors another meeting space to complement their single-building, 10,000-square-foot facility.

At the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa in Bonita Springs, an 11,000-square-foot island pavilion awaits attendees after a 10-minute boat ride through the Estero Bay. But, meeting planners may be swayed by the 14,000-square-foot Calusa Ballroom or one of the other facilities in the resort's 73,000 square feet of space. One of the highlights of the property is a 9,000-square-foot, European-style fitness center, salon and spa.

Besides these full-service resorts, the area's top 10 meeting facilities include the Mobil Four-Star Pink Shell Beach Resort & Spa in Fort Myers Beach, featuring a 2,300-square-foot grand ballroom with 17-foot ceilings and flexible floor plans. About 17 boutique properties each with 3,500 square feet of meeting space are small in size, but big in service. And a variety of one-of-a-kind venues round out meeting planners' options. These include Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre with four facilities available for groups; the innovative homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford known as the Edison & Ford Winter Estates; Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa's decked-out luxury yacht Princess; and the 18-acre Shell Factory complex of sea-specimen museum, shell crafts shop, entertainment mecca, nature park and petting zoo.

For more information about planning a meeting on The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel, visit the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau Web site at www.FortMyersSanibelMeetings.com. For more information about the new Midfield Terminal Complex, visit the airport Web site at www.flylcpa.com.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel include: Sanibel & Captiva islands, Fort Myers Beach, Fort Myers, Bonita Springs & Estero, Cape Coral, Pine Island, Boca Grande & Outer islands, North Fort Myers, Lehigh Acres. Images are available upon request.