EMERALD COAST ON NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC'S TOP 10 FALL DESTINATIONS

We done it again. We have got the eyes of the world.

Emerald Coast makes National Geographic’s Top 10 fall travel destinations
By DUSTY RICKETTS
Northwest Florida Daily News 315-4448 dricketts@nwfdailynews.com  
Many locals believe fall is the best time of year in Northwest Florida. Now they have a little more proof that they’re right. National Geographic’s website this week listed the Emerald Coast as one of its Top 10 fall travel destinations. National Geographic singled out Destin, Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa Island in its description of the Emerald Coast. It highlighted the area’s more than 1,080 championship-caliber golf holes and the month-long Destin Fishing Rodeo as some of the main draws. “We’re real excited about that,” said Helen Donaldson, executive director of the fishing rodeo. “I don’t think we could have asked for any better publicity for our area. That’s an international publication. People from all over the world check out that website to determine where they want to come when they go on vacation, and for us to have gotten any kind of coverage in that, money can’t buy coverage like that. “You can’t ask for better weather. The water is never prettier than it is in the fall and it’s a great destination,” Donaldson added. “Our weather starts turning perfect right there about the first of October.” Other destinations that made National Geographic’s list included the Lavaux Vineyard Terraces in S w i t z e r l a n d ; t h e Cannstatter Volkfest in Stuttgart, Germany; and Zanzibar, Tanzania. Closer to home, the three other American destinations listed were Columbus, Ohio; the White Mountains of New Hampshire; and the Shoreline Highway in Marin County, Calif. Representatives from National Geographic did not respond to messages seeking comment about the list. “Really the fall, for those who live here, is an incredibly good time because the roads are not as crowded, it’s not as hot, yet the Gulf is still very swimmable and enjoyable,” said Ted Corcoran, executive director of the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce. “There are those who feel our area is most beautiful in the fall. What better way to showcase that to folks from around the world than to experience it at its finest time of year.
“For the first-time visitor, it might be the best time to come because they don’t experience the traffic, they don’t experience the blazing heat that we have here in the summertime, and they get off-season rates of lodging and food and retail. It’s perfect,” he added.