What on Earth is the ‘Sunshine State’?
How Florida became the tourist landing pad.
Florida. What is it that makes you so popular? Is it ruler-cut grass lawns? Is it the golf resorts as far as the eye can see? Or the lack of food portion control? Is it even the Disney parks? Whatever it is… it works. The so-called Sunshine State does exactly what it says on the tin, it's always sunny (except from when it's not) and this is an attractive feature to anyone who resides outside of the US. It applies especially to residents of the UK who enjoy their fair share of rain and cloudy skies.
I visited Florida in October 2022, and it's safe to say that it’s bigger than it looks in the pictures. In fact, everything you look at is at least three times the size of what we have over in the UK, things from the electricity pylons to the cars to the food are larger and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Florida enjoys tourism all year round, there are 12 main theme parks in Orlando (I checked) that cater for just about everyone. Spending two weeks there you will find that even that duration of time is not enough and that is even if you’re doing things every day.
The roads in Florida are also huge and allow for speedy travel around. It is also quite the experience driving down I-Drive (International Drive) and seeing all that you can do there. If you have ever envisioned America or seen it in 90s gangster films, I-Drive is probably something close to that. There aren’t many things that you can’t do in Florida, this isn't restricted to automatic weapon gun ranges which are marketed as “fun for all the family”. This possibly is one of the starkest differences to the UK as it's difficult enough to buy an energy drink, let alone an automatic weapon.
Florida no doubt profits greatly from the Disney parks and Universal Studios which boast days worth of adrenaline-fuelled action. However, like any place in the world, there is more to it than toddlers shooting AR-15s and wearing Mickey Mouse shaped headbands. There is remarkably a fair amount of culture in Florida, they certainly love their car shows and I did just what you would expect any tourist to do and went ahead and visited one.
The car shows alone are a good explanation for any potential tourism, even for the non-car fanatics, these displays are absolutely worth the time and attention. It’s a loud event so perhaps not suitable for small children but still hours of fun nonetheless. America’s car culture certainly shows on the roads too, I don’t believe I spotted one ‘dirty’ car in the two weeks I was there. I met one of the owners of the many cars at the show and showed him an image I had taken of his car as he pulled up which he thanked me graciously for. I believe that this may be one of the reasons for Florida’s popularity — the innate sense of community you feel when you’re there. Florida is definitely welcoming of tourists. Strangers that I have never met before were talkative and helpful, perhaps it was my British accent but I’d like to think that's just the residents of Florida for you.
The beaches of Florida are also not to be forgotten, more notably Miami is a wonderful place for relaxing on the beach. Definitely superior to the beaches in the UK, Florida beaches are not only cleaner but there is the benefit of not having to worry about your food being stolen by seagulls, maybe they are just more polite. The sunsets are also a good way to finish off any day, we do get the occasional nice sunset in the UK but not like the ones the Floridians are graced with.
In summation, there is no wonder that Florida is a tourist magnet with all that it has to offer. From its soft sandy beaches to the thrills of the theme parks, Florida really does have everything you could possibly want all in one place which makes it so unique. It really does give a sense of royalty and luxury. The only real downside to Florida is the price of the holiday itself. Once you factor in travel, food and park tickets (if that's your thing) you can be talking thousands of pounds! The cost is of course worth it for some of the best experiences you can ever have, all possible in the Sunshine State.
