Destination Florida partners with Kingdom Tours to provide vacation deals to the Sunshine State; popular online travel magazine joins forces with leading tour wholesaler to offer special Florida travel packages

Business Wire, Nov 4, 1996

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 4, 1996--Destination Florida (DF), the interactive travel magazine for Florida-bound travelers, will join forces with Florida Vacation Network, a division of Kingdom Tours, to provide unique Florida vacation packages, updated weekly, on its World Wide Web site at http://www.goflorida.com.

Destination Florida is a free-to-use online magazine that combines comprehensive travel information with feature stories culled from some of Florida's top journalists and was recently selected as a "Member's Choice" award-recipient from America Online customers. Visitors to the popular Website will now be able to make secure booking arrangements while using Destination Florida to plan their trip. The packages, created by Florida Vacation Network, will reflect the demographics and psychographics of DF visitors, will be available for booking on Destination Florida's site in Dec. 1996.

Users who book a Kingdom Tours package will receive e-mail confirmation and will have access to a 24-hour a day customer support line. "We are excited to provide visitors to the Destination Florida site with not only the broadest range of Florida-related travel information, but also a variety of vacation deals with our newly formed online partnership with Kingdom Tours," said DF General Manager Julie Anderson.

Ross Mantione, president of Kingdom Tours, said "We created the Florida Vacation Network division to meet the needs of a new and growing set of customers who are looking to manage their own vacation information and booking plans."

Kingdom Tours is one of the largest producers of Florida vacation products and features 135 hotels and attractions in its offerings. Major industry partners include Walt Disney Attractions, Universal Studios Florida, Sea World of Florida, USAir, Avis, and Planet Hollywood. Kingdom Tours is a member of the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA).

Destination Florida's departments and regular features include Things to See and Do (arranged geographically as North, South, Central and The Keys), The Scene (a one-stop information resource page), Hot Deals (special offers and discounts available through DF), monthly contests, and What's Hot, (a guide to the new, the cool, the unexpected and sometimes, even the cheap.)

Destination Florida is a joint venture of Knight-Ridder Inc. and The Tribune Co. which, between them, own seven Florida newspapers. Additional content is provided by Pineapple Press and regional E.W. Scripps newspapers. DF General Manager Anderson is based in Orlando at the offices of The Orlando Sentinel. Its Executive Editor/Producer, Jane Wooldridge, is the former style editor and assistant travel editor of The Miami Herald.

For further information on Destination Florida, send an E-mail to info@goflorida.com.

CONTACT: The Fontayne Group

Jon Evans, 310/452-1225

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