The State of Florida is well known as a hugely popular travel destination and rightly so. Anyone with a family will certainly have Micky Mouse and the various other theme parks front of mind whenever an East Coast American holiday is muted. Although the mainland state of Florida has plenty to offer in a luxury context, I’m delighted that we’ll be shining a light slightly further at Connections Luxury this September.

We will be joined by the team from Florida Keys & Key West Tourism. I’m sure most of our buyers will have sent travellers to Florida and even to “the Keys” — however at Connections Luxury, we’ll be offering the opportunity to find out a lot more about the Island chain. Did you know, for instance, that “The Keys” comprises five individual islands? (Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, Pig Pine Key and Key West). And did you know that Key West is the southernmost city in the Continental USA?

As for getting to the Islands, they’re exceptionally well connected. You can fly, of course, however you can drive to Key Largo (the first Island in The Keys) in about 45 minutes from Miami, thanks to the overseas highway (US 1). Both Key West and Marathon offer airports. However our buyers might prefer to send their clients by sea on a luxurious yacht trip from Miami!

Each of the Key Islands has something slightly different to offer and it’s this diversity that I’m hoping the Florida team will be discussing with our buyers. There’s so much variety! From diving to golfing, shopping, theatre, watersports and numbers cultural activities. Any buyers with clients into fishing would do well to examine Islamorada, for example, billed as the ‘sportfishing’ capital of the world. Likewise, Key Largo is certainly regarded as one of the world’s top locations for diving. And of course all the islands offer the fabulous weather that we all associate with Florida — but with an more relaxed Island spin. As I write, the temperature in Key West is a rather warm 92 degrees Fahrenheit!

I will be impressing upon the Florida team the importance of bringing some of their weather with us for September 29th and 30th to the Four Seasons Hampshire. No pressure!

I hope you can join us. We’ve sold out all the supplier positions but if you’d like to discuss sponsorship options, please drop me a note!

Micaela.