Traveler Safety During Hurricane Season in Key West, FL.
The
official visitor website of the Monroe County Tourist Development
Council, the agency responsible for tourism marketing
in the Florida Keys & Key West, has established new
information sections designed to protect the health and
welfare of travelers to the Florida Keys.
A
new "Visitor Safety" section provides phone numbers
and links to law enforcement, medical facilities and an
exclusive toll-free multilingual visitor assistance line,
sponsored by the TDC.
A
special "Hurricane Info" component provides details
on how the tourism industry interfaces with local emergency
management officials in the event a tropical cyclone threatens
the islands.
"We
believe our website should not only let visitors know about
the appeal of a Florida Keys vacation, but it should be
a source of information to assist if something unexpected
happens," said Harold Wheeler, director of the tourism
council. "These new pages provide important details
travelers can access and download before they travel to
our region." The
new Keys pages are linked to the home page via highly visible
icons at www.fla-keys.com.
The
hurricane section also provides a primer on tropical cyclones;
details forecast tracking maps and explains why the entire
state of Florida was not devastated during the 2004 hurricane
season. It also details steps emergency management officials
take to protect lives and property. Links from the site
takes web users to other information resources such as the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National
Hurricane Center.
"It
is refreshing to see a tourism council being so honest and
proactive to provide pertinent information to keep their
visitors safe," said Max Mayfield, hurricane center
director. "Many coastal areas of the U.S., islands
in the Atlantic and Caribbean are popular with vacationers
and have the potential to be impacted by a hurricane. Much
of the information on the Keys site will also be of good
use for people headed to those regions."
The
official Atlantic hurricane season is June 1 to
November 30.
(Source:
The
Florida Keys & Key West Tourism Council) |
