Google's Street View Trekker to Feature Florida's 825 Miles of Beaches in 360-Degree Photos

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (July 24, 2013) – A beach-walking camera team from VISIT FLORIDA, the state's official tourism marketing corporation, is making a four-month odyssey to capture stunning images of the Sunshine State's 825 miles of beaches using Google's Street View Trekker technology.  These 360-degree images will be integrated into Google Maps, giving potential visitors around the globe to experience interactive views of Florida's world-renowned beaches before they ever leave home.

For a preview, paste this link into your browser:  http://bit.ly/1bfahx5

Florida Gov. Rick Scott said, “This technology from Google will allow anyone in the world to see how vast and beautiful Florida's beaches are, which will create more opportunities for tourism.  While this technology will better connect the world to Florida's beaches, there's no substitute for the real thing.  For anyone who's interested in Florida's beaches, this will ultimately be a great tool so they can better plan for their next trip to the Sunshine State.”

The imagery will be collected by two-person teams trained by Google Maps experts. Carrying the Street View Trekker, the teams will walk roughly 50 miles of beaches each week.  The Trekker is a wearable backpack with a camera system on top.  Its 15 lenses are angled in different directions to capture a complete picture of a location, and the images are then stitched together into 360-degree panoramic views.  The completed imagery, scheduled for release next year, will enable viewers to digitally explore Florida shorelines step by step.

“With 825 miles of beaches, Florida is the world's definitive beach destination,” said Will Seccombe, President and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA.  “Partnering with Google Maps to document the beauty and diversity of Florida's beaches and coastline using this amazing technology will allow people to see parts of the Sunshine State they may never have discovered on their own.”

“VISIT FLORIDA loves to engage with our visitors through interactive storytelling, and there's no better way to tell the Sunshine State story than through this incredible partnership opportunity with the world's largest search engine,” said Paul Phipps, Chief Marketing Officer for VISIT FLORIDA. “I've seen some of the early footage that's being shot and it's absolutely breathtaking. I can hardly wait for everyone to see the final images.”

For additional information, contact Laura Cassels in Tallahassee, Fla., at lcassels@VISITFLORIDA.org or (850) 205-3839.

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As the Sunshine State's No. 1 industry, tourism was responsible for welcoming 91.4 million visitors in 2012 who spent $71.8 billion, generating 23 percent of the state's sales tax revenue and employing more than 1 million Floridians. For every $1 spent on tourism marketing, VISIT FLORIDA – the state's official tourism marketing corporation – generates more than $258 in tourism spending and $15 in new sales tax collections, paid by visitors, not residents. VISIT FLORIDA promotes tourism to Florida through sales, advertising, promotions, public relations and visitor services programs. As a public/private partnership, VISIT FLORIDA serves nearly 12,000 tourism industry businesses, including 2,700 invested Partners, 9,200 web affiliates and major strategic alliance partnerships with Disney Destinations, Dollar Rent A Car, The Hertz Corporation, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment and Universal Orlando. To learn more about VISIT FLORIDA, please go to www.VISITFLORIDA.com or follow the corporate blog at www.SunshineMatters.org.