William D. Talbert, Director of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) was recently passing through Paris to promote the Miami destination. He presented us with news and tourism projects in the famous town of Sunshine State.
What are the innovations and tourism projects in Miami?
The new quarters. South Beach is already well known, the hub of Miami with its beautiful beaches, but Miami is not just South Beach… The city has really developed since the 2000 s and has so much more to offer! Beyond downtown, you now have Wynwood's neighborhoods with their famous Wynwood walls covered with beautiful graffiti, Midtown, but also the famous Design District which has an impressive number of luxury boutiques today. And it's not by chance, because Miami will move increasingly towards high-end tourism.
Transport. A huge project is underway, namely a Miami/Orlando train line with only 2 stops, in Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach. It'll take only 2:45 to go from Miami to Orlando! It's a lot of time compared to the plane or car ride. The first part of the line, which will go to Palm Beach, should open in 2017 and the second half of Palm Beach in Orlando should be ready in 2018. And little more: There will also be wifi on the train.
It's shopping. We are also an important shopping destination with many giant shopping malls such as Aventura Mall, Dadeland Mall… And soon, very new: The biggest mall in the United States will open in Miami! It represents an investment of $ 2 billion and will also be a recreational and entertainment place. There will be, for example, a ski trail inside the mall, as in Dubai.
Relations with Cuba have improved… Do you expect to develop tourism with the island?
Not really… Miami is becoming a luxury destination and Cubans do not have the means of this kind of tourism…. However, Miami being the world's cruising capital, we are interested in cruise ships that will be growing in Cuba as a result of the opening of the country. As we are not far away, we will try to attract this new flow of travelers to our city. It also seems that the Chinese will soon open a direct line between their country and Cuba. We follow this very closely because we hope to make Miami discover the Chinese at the same time…
