Untitled Document

The Original Florida
Natural North Florida . . . Discover the Difference The "Original Florida" Tourism Task Force Our landscape is well suited to relaxing recreation. The historic Suwannee River, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico at the edge of The Original Florida region, travels the entire length of our area. The beauty and the deeply Southern tradition that the river expresses enhance the surrounding counties. Cypress trees and powerful Live oaks, draped with Spanish moss, join the towering pines used for our lumber and paper product industries. Forests and wildlife management areas allow for camping, hiking and hunting. The salt waters of the Gulf and the fresh waters of our lakes and rivers provide seafood for our commercial fishing industries, as well as offering a means of recreation for many part-time fishing enthusiasts. Together, our landscape and natural resources unite in unique beauty and profitability. Our natural resources are plentiful, and we use them to our best advantage, taking care to remember that we have a responsibility for their conservation. The primary natural resources of The Original Florida region are its space, its climate, its water, and its coastlines and wetlands. Secondary resources include phosphates, limestone, various sands and several species of pine mixed with oak and other hardwoods. In other parts of the country, there is an ongoing deterioration of some of the natural resources. In The Original Florida, our resources flourish and beg to be developed ... but developed properly, in wisely designed efforts In 1991, the U. S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration funded the North Central Florida Rural Tourism Study for the 7,000 square miles of the 16 county Planning Council region. The study was completed in November 1992, and by mid 1993, the Tourism Strategic Plan for implementation was in place. The “Original Florida” is a tourism marketing program which operates under the auspices of the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council, headquartered in Gainesville. The Planning Council originally appointed representatives from each of the participating counties to oversee and direct the tourism promotion effort. The members have varied backgrounds which they bring to the program, but they share one thing in common--the desire to carve out their share of the number of tourists who visit Florida each year, and to do so without harming the very (natural) resources which are the mainstay of the area’s attractions. The Original Florida consists of Alachua, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor and Union Counties. The Original Florida includes the University of Florida and a wealth of cultural facilities in Gainesville, such as the Harn Museum, Florida Museum of Natural History and the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings home. Beautiful pristine Gulf of Mexico communities such as Steinhatchee and Old Town are a part of the region as well as the storied Suwannee and Santa Fe Rivers. Tubing and canoeing is spectacular on the crystal clear Ichetucknee River and the world’s #1 freshwater diving spot is at Ginnie Springs. In fact, the region has a virtual wealth of springs and great diving spots. History runs deep in the region with elegant mansions in downtown Madison; the Stephen Foster Folk Cultural Center Park in White Springs and quaint bed and breakfast inns scattered throughout the region. Historical homes and courthouses are found in every corner of The Original Florida. From Madison to Micanopy, the US 90 – US 441 corridor is full of wonderful antique and collectible shops. Our festivals and events are some of the best in the nation, drawing visitors from through the United States. The Original Florida is home to the Olustee Battle Re-Enactment, the nation’s second largest annual Civil War re-enactment. Here you can rediscover what made Florida so attractive to the settlers of our country. The individual counties fund The Original Florida marketing program. Staffing assistance is provided by the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council. Accomplishments of The Original Florida are varied Establishment of a Fulfillment Center located in Lake City, Florida Through the Columbia County Tourist Development Council, The Original Florida Task Force was able to establish a Fulfillment Center to respond to the over 600 inquiries The Original Florida marketing generates each month. www.originalflorida.org Email: origfla@isgroup.net	The Original Florida Video Production of a 12-minute video for Public Television stations. In 2002, The Original Florida is producing a second video for distribution. This project is being made possible with a grant from Visit Florida, the state marketing company. Establishment of the Canadian Par Program Lodging establishments and businesses in the region expanded their participation in a campaign promoting "January" as "Canadian Month." A total of eighteen area lodging establishments as well as other tourism-related businesses participated in the promotion. Participating organizations throughout The Original Florida region offer discounts on lodging to Canadian citizens during the month of January each year. The North Florida Visitors Guide Perhaps most notably, The Original Florida group produced a 76-page, full-color North Florida Visitors Guide. The magazine promotes tourism activities, lodging, restaurants and other pertinent information on not just the 11 counties in The Original Florida group, but also the other five counties promoted by Visit Florida as being in the North Central Region of the state. Proclaimed as the first regional, rural based tourism guide in the state, the North Florida Visitors Guide was funded through support of The Original Florida Task Force, two grants from Visit Florida and additional financial assistance from the Alachua County Visitors and Convention Bureau. The Suwannee River Water Management District and their graphics designer, Berry Shafii, contributed a significant amount of time and expertise to assist in creation of a camera-ready final product of the magazine. Original Florida Brochure The Task Force also printed an additional 300,000 map brochures. The brochures are being distributed at each of the five Florida Welcome centers, Lake City Welcome Center, Alachua County Welcome Center, each of the eleven county chambers of commerce, area hotels and lodging establishments, and several real estate agencies, resulting in an increase of 79% in the number of brochure distribution points. Individual County Rack Cards In order to meet demand for brochures at the five Florida Welcome Centers, the organization agreed to print a rack card for each participating county in The Original Florida Tourism Task Force. It is anticipated that 100,000 rack cards will be provided for each county, thus allowing for distribution of the materials in a cost-effective manner to take advantage of rural tourism initiative provided by Visit Florida Web site Finally, the Task Force was successful in its efforts to completely redo the Internet web site of The Original Florida, including the necessary software and program enhancements to begin measuring the number of visits to the web site.www.originalflorida.org Photo Library A photo library has been established at the Lake City Welcome Center. Currently over 1,000 pictures are in the library. The library will eventually consist of photographs, slides, and digital images of the entire region. The library will be used to fulfill media requests, for print ads, collateral material and trade show productions. In addition, each county will have access to the entire library for their own use and will receive a CD of their own county. Eventually the library will also be able to respond to film production requests. Familiarization (FAM) Tours The Original Florida has had 10 Group FAM tours and hosted many individual writers resulting in More than 1,000 articles, reaching an audience exceeding 85 million readers with an advertising equivalency in excess of 1.5 million dollars. In 2002 The Original Florida Task Force hired Hayworth Creative to develop “the med” FAM Tours of the Region. To date we have successfully completed 4 new FAM Tours - “Naturally North Florida” (highlighting our nature venues); “Romantically North Florida” (highlighting weddings and romantic getaways); “Natural Fresh North Florida” (highlighting our AgriTourism); and “Mansions, Museums and More” (highlighting our plantations, mansions, museums and historic districts) Program Contact: Dr. Stephen Holland University of Florida Department of Tourism, Recreation and Sport Management 300 FLG P.O. Box 118208 Gainesville, FL 32611-8208 (352) 392-4042 Fax (352) 392-7588 sholland@hhp.ufl.edu

The Original Florida

Natural North Florida . . . Discover the Difference

The "Original Florida" Tourism Task Force

Our landscape is well suited to relaxing recreation. The historic Suwannee River, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico at the edge of The Original Florida region, travels the entire length of our area. The beauty and the deeply Southern tradition that the river expresses enhance the surrounding counties. Cypress trees and powerful Live oaks, draped with Spanish moss, join the towering pines used for our lumber and paper product industries. Forests and wildlife management areas allow for camping, hiking and hunting. The salt waters of the Gulf and the fresh waters of our lakes and rivers provide seafood for our commercial fishing industries, as well as offering a means of recreation for many part-time fishing enthusiasts. Together, our landscape and natural resources unite in unique beauty and profitability.

Our natural resources are plentiful, and we use them to our best advantage, taking care to remember that we have a responsibility for their conservation. The primary natural resources of The Original Florida region are its space, its climate, its water, and its coastlines and wetlands. Secondary resources include phosphates, limestone, various sands and several species of pine mixed with oak and other hardwoods.

In other parts of the country, there is an ongoing deterioration of some of the natural resources. In The Original Florida, our resources flourish and beg to be developed ... but developed properly, in wisely designed efforts

In 1991, the U. S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration funded the North Central Florida Rural Tourism Study for the 7,000 square miles of the 16 county Planning Council region. The study was completed in November 1992, and by mid 1993, the Tourism Strategic Plan for implementation was in place.

The “Original Florida” is a tourism marketing program which operates under the auspices of the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council, headquartered in Gainesville. The Planning Council originally appointed representatives from each of the participating counties to oversee and direct the tourism promotion effort. The members have varied backgrounds which they bring to the program, but they share one thing in common--the desire to carve out their share of the number of tourists who visit Florida each year, and to do so without harming the very (natural) resources which are the mainstay of the area’s attractions.

The Original Florida consists of Alachua, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor and Union Counties.

The Original Florida includes the University of Florida and a wealth of cultural facilities in Gainesville, such as the Harn Museum, Florida Museum of Natural History and the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings home. Beautiful pristine Gulf of Mexico communities such as Steinhatchee and Old Town are a part of the region as well as the storied Suwannee and Santa Fe Rivers. Tubing and canoeing is spectacular on the crystal clear Ichetucknee River and the world’s #1 freshwater diving spot is at Ginnie Springs. In fact, the region has a virtual wealth of springs and great diving spots.

History runs deep in the region with elegant mansions in downtown Madison; the Stephen Foster Folk Cultural Center Park in White Springs and quaint bed and breakfast inns scattered throughout the region. Historical homes and courthouses are found in every corner of The Original Florida.

From Madison to Micanopy, the US 90 – US 441 corridor is full of wonderful antique and collectible shops. Our festivals and events are some of the best in the nation, drawing visitors from through the United States. The Original Florida is home to the Olustee Battle Re-Enactment, the nation’s second largest annual Civil War re-enactment. Here you can rediscover what made Florida so attractive to the settlers of our country.

The individual counties fund The Original Florida marketing program. Staffing assistance is provided by the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council.

Accomplishments of The Original Florida are varied

Establishment of a Fulfillment Center located in Lake City, Florida

Through the Columbia County Tourist Development Council, The Original Florida Task Force was able to establish a Fulfillment Center to respond to the over 600 inquiries The Original Florida marketing generates each month.

www.originalflorida.org

Email: origfla@isgroup.net

The Original Florida Video

Production of a 12-minute video for Public Television stations. In 2002, The Original Florida is producing a second video for distribution. This project is being made possible with a grant from Visit Florida, the state marketing company.

Establishment of the Canadian Par Program

Lodging establishments and businesses in the region expanded their participation in a campaign promoting "January" as "Canadian Month." A total of eighteen area lodging establishments as well as other tourism-related businesses participated in the promotion.

Participating organizations throughout The Original Florida region offer discounts on lodging to Canadian citizens during the month of January each year.

The North Florida Visitors Guide

Perhaps most notably, The Original Florida group produced a 76-page, full-color North Florida Visitors Guide. The magazine promotes tourism activities, lodging, restaurants and other pertinent information on not just the 11 counties in The Original Florida group, but also the other five counties promoted by Visit Florida as being in the North Central Region of the state.

Proclaimed as the first regional, rural based tourism guide in the state, the North Florida Visitors Guide was funded through support of The Original Florida Task Force, two grants from Visit Florida and additional financial assistance from the Alachua County Visitors and Convention Bureau. The Suwannee River Water Management District and their graphics designer, Berry Shafii, contributed a significant amount of time and expertise to assist in creation of a camera-ready final product of the magazine.

Original Florida Brochure

The Task Force also printed an additional 300,000 map brochures. The brochures are being distributed at each of the five Florida Welcome centers, Lake City Welcome Center, Alachua County Welcome Center, each of the eleven county chambers of commerce, area hotels and lodging establishments, and several real estate agencies, resulting in an increase of 79% in the number of brochure distribution points.

Individual County Rack Cards

In order to meet demand for brochures at the five Florida Welcome Centers, the organization agreed to print a rack card for each participating county in The Original Florida Tourism Task Force. It is anticipated that 100,000 rack cards will be provided for each county, thus allowing for distribution of the materials in a cost-effective manner to take advantage of rural tourism initiative provided by Visit Florida

Web site

Finally, the Task Force was successful in its efforts to completely redo the Internet web site of The Original Florida, including the necessary software and program enhancements to begin measuring the number of visits to the web site.www.originalflorida.org

Photo Library

A photo library has been established at the Lake City Welcome Center. Currently over 1,000 pictures are in the library. The library will eventually consist of photographs, slides, and digital images of the entire region. The library will be used to fulfill media requests, for print ads, collateral material and trade show productions. In addition, each county will have access to the entire library for their own use and will receive a CD of their own county. Eventually the library will also be able to respond to film production requests.

Familiarization (FAM) Tours

The Original Florida has had 10 Group FAM tours and hosted many individual writers resulting in More than 1,000 articles, reaching an audience exceeding 85 million readers with an advertising equivalency in excess of 1.5 million dollars. In 2002 The Original Florida Task Force hired Hayworth Creative to develop “the med” FAM Tours of the Region. To date we have successfully completed 4 new FAM Tours - “Naturally North Florida” (highlighting our nature venues); “Romantically North Florida” (highlighting weddings and romantic getaways); “Natural Fresh North Florida” (highlighting our AgriTourism); and “Mansions, Museums and More” (highlighting our plantations, mansions, museums and historic districts)

Program Contact:

Dr. Stephen Holland

University of Florida
Department of Tourism, Recreation and Sport Management
300 FLG P.O. Box 118208 Gainesville, FL 32611-8208
(352) 392-4042 Fax (352) 392-7588

sholland@hhp.ufl.edu