KEY TO CHANGE

Change is afoot in Florida, as ecotourism is being made a priority

- PAUL MCGUINNESS

THINK OF FLORIDA AND YOU'LL LIKELY conjure up images of Miami Vice, David Beckham's football club or theme parks like Walt Disney World and Universal Studios.

But drive an hour south along US Route 1 through the Everglades National Park, and you’ll hit the Florida Keys, an archipelago of tropical islands that stretches nearly 200km towards Cuba, forming a barrier between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. They are, in essence, parts of an ancient coral reef exposed when sea levels receded, and are today home to some 80,000 people.

The third-largest barrier reef in the world has become intricately intertwined with the locals’ way of life. As well as the commercial and recreational fishing industries that rely on it, the abundance of tropical marine life that lives there is key to the tourism industry. And for the people who call the Keys home, the reef provides the first line of defence against fierce storms.

To the locals, the reef’s survival is interwoven with their own. They are witness to a world-changing on their very doorstep, recalling in shocked tones the damage to the reef in recent summers. It is painfully obvious that something has to be done, which is what’s behind the Florida Keys Tourism Council’s new Eco-Experience Trail.

Carol Shaughnessy is a PR representative for the council and a long-time local resident. We chat over coffee on the waterfront of a luxurious colonial-style resort, a fitting location to discuss the delicate balance between indulgence and sustainable tourism.

“There is an increasing drive to both experience the natural world and support it,” she tells me. “Almost all of our coral restoration entities, for example, have voluntourism programmes where vacationers can learn about coral restoration. If they’re divers, they can enter an in-water coral nursery and assist scientists.”