Tourism
With its white sandy beaches and warm temperatures, for many years Anna Maria Island was considered a "hidden gem," the sleepy island providing a rare slice of "Old Florida." In the past decade, tourism development has been targeted as a key economic goal by island, county and state officials and millions of tax dollars have been invested to draw visitors to the island with national and international advertising and publicity efforts. This success has not been without its downsides of congested traffic, noise, litter and parking complaints during peak tourist seasons. This influx of visitors has prompted developers to shift many of the original 1950s- and '60-era houses into large multi-family rental units, a subject of local controversy.
Another key part of the tourism strategy has been to promote Anna Maria Island as a beach wedding destination. An ongoing advertising and publicity campaign boldly refers to the island as the "wedding capital of Florida." The Chamber of Commerce hosts an annual Wedding Festival, and local companies have cropped up to cater to the business of beach weddings, including a floating wedding chapel.
Read more about this topic: Anna Maria Island
Famous quotes containing the word tourism:
“In the middle ages people were tourists because of their religion, whereas now they are tourists because tourism is their religion.”
—Robert Runcie (b. 1921)