Be a Tourist in Your Own City with Local Businesses
Be a Tourist in Your Own City with Local Businesses
National Tourism Week is celebrated the first week of May. This year, it takes place from May 1st through May 7th, and reminds us of the importance of traveling and seeking escape from our normal lives. Lucky for Southwest Florida residents, paradise can be found literally in our backyards. Here’s how you can celebrate National Tourism Week in your own city with the help of local businesses.
Unbeknownst to many of us, Southwest Florida’s art galleries and the art and artists they represent has led our area to be voted the #1 art market in the United States. Practice being a tourist in your own city by visiting the local galleries and performing venues like Prado Stadium 12, Centers for Performing Arts Bonita Springs and Artis—Naples. Here, you’ll be able to indulge in the artistic beauty that’s a hidden gem in our community.
Should you feel so inspired by the local art and music scene that you want to bring it to your next event or right into your home, then look no further than Jay and Kay’s Organ & Piano Co. or Z-Bop Unlimited.
In addition to the arts scene, Southwest Florida is also rich in its history. Edison & Fort Winter Estates date back to 1885 when Thomas Edison first visited Southwest Florida and purchased the property to build a vacation home. You can explore the property’s twenty acres of gardens with more than 1,700 plants and over 400 species from six continents.
ECHO Global Farm is making history every day as it teaches small-scale, sustainable farming methods to combat world hunger. Here, you’ll experience farming at its most creative, with unique demonstrations, plants and techniques being used to help farmers and urban gardeners in developing countries.
Even though you’re looking to be a tourist in your own city, Naples Zoo allows you to explore the greater area and beyond with exotic animals surrounded by the mature trees and exotic plants of a historic tropical garden founded in 1919. You will be very close to the animals - often just three or four steps away!
To get up close and personal with the wildlife that also calls Southwest Florida home, check out Airboats & Alligators. Here, you’ll view Florida’s creatures in their natural habitat while experiencing the thrill of an airboat. Birds and alligators flourish in the mangroves, making it a birders heaven and a photographer’s paradise. A trip on the Naples Princes or Pure Florida are also a fantastic way to take in the views our area has to offer that tourists come far and wide to witness. You’ll watch the dolphins play in the boat’s wake and take in the multi-million-dollar homes that line Port Royal.
You don’t have to be a Vegas tourist to test your luck! The Seminole Casino Hotel Immokalee and the Bonita Springs Poker Room offer a can’t-miss gaming experience and try your luck as you enjoy some delicious eats and watch the local sports teams play.
In fact, you also don’t have to travel to a major city to catch Major League Baseball! The Minnesota Twins Baseball Club – CenturyLink Sports Complex calls Southwest Florida home, and it’s also the home to two Twins' minor league affiliates, housing both the Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels of the Single-A Southeast League and the Rookie level Florida Complex League Twins. The Mighty Mussels’ home games have fun for all ages and specialty nights almost weekly.
Thousands of people travel to Southwest Florida year after year to experience what’s known as the “Golf Capital of the World”, so you can’t beat the classics of playing a round of golf during National Tourism Week! The area is home to 130 public and private courses, and some favorites to locals and tourists alike include Worthington Country Club, Spanish Wells Golf and Country Club, Pelican’s Nest Golf Club at Pelican Landing, Estero Country Club at The Vines, The Colony Golf and Country Club and Raptor Bay Golf Club. Offering a 18-holes of golf on a miniature level, Golf Safari Mini Golf is where millions of adventures have enjoyed playing putt-putt for over 30 years.
About SWFL Inc.
At SWFL Inc., we help businesses in Lee, Collier and Charlotte Counties promote their services, build strong relationships in the community and connect with new customers. For more information, contact us.