Vacation Plans

But, oh, where to go? A trek into the jungles of Uganda to see gorillas or a jaunt to Paris for a series of cooking classes at Le Cordon Bleu?

Baby boomers, perhaps with lingering nightmares of long hauls in the family station wagon (without air conditioning) to visit Grandma, are demanding more from their leisure trips-more adventure, more cultural and educational experiences. As Rosanne Knorr reports (p. 34), experiential travel comes in all forms and to some very unusual destinations. Suborbital space, anyone?

How about Key West? Floridians do a lot of in-state traveling during the summer, giving Southwest Florida's tourism industry a much-needed boost in the slow months. Joining them are European visitors, apparently undaunted by the summers here.

But Florida faces some growing challenges to its tourism industry-both external and domestic, as Roger Williams reports on p. 22. People come to this region primarily for the beaches, the chance to relax and to visit family members. It's probably safe to assume that those with family here will continue to come.

But the tourism industry is facing competition from other destinations and environmental problems at home.

Tourists might just as well opt for the Georgia coast or Costa Rica. International tourists make up a fairly small percentage of the region's visitors, but they are a significant segment, with more currency and more time to spend it. They also have more holiday options: North Africa, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean.

Southwest Florida's challenge is to entice tourists to return, but it has developed blemishes-waterways slimy with algae, beaches mounded with seaweed, recurring bouts of red tide. Although the bureaucratic wheels are creaking into motion to deal with these problems, the average yearly visitor is more likely to see them getting worse, not better.