Ecotourism showcases the ecology of an area and local conservation efforts. It’s meant to generate revenue for the community with an emphasis on a low environmental impact from tourists.
While ecotourism is a selling point in the capital region, potential consumers may be stymied by limited transportation options and affordability.
Visit Tallahassee, a division of Leon County government, is funded by a local tourism development tax that is typically generated by commercial lodging. The marketing agency’s target audience is nature-based tourists.
We’re all about “keeping it real, keeping it simple, and keeping it local.” We’ll dive into tough topics but also make sure to have some fun along the way.
Visit Tallahassee Executive Director Kerri Post says nature is one of Tallahassee’s unique strengths. “We’re doing fine for who we are,” Post says. “We’re not an Orlando or Tampa Bay, and that’s okay. That’s the beauty of the state of Florida. We’re all different.”
Unlike the internationally popular Orlando four hours down the road, this area doesn’t have theme parks or similar attractions. But it boasts natural resource attractions like the St. Marks Historic Railroad State Trail and the world-renowned Wakulla Springs.
“We work with what we have here to a certain extent, not necessarily what we think should be here,” says
Capital Region Transportation Planning Agency (CRTPA) Executive Director Greg Slay.
Tallahassee City Commissioner Jack Porter also leans into the capital city’s natural beauty while acknowledging that improvements are needed to bolster the area’s ecotourism.
“I think that there’s so much that’s great about Tallahassee, but there’s a lot more that we can do to enhance the visibility of what we have to offer,” Porter says. “I do think that getting to Tallahassee for other people across the state is a big barrier; and definitely for students and even locals, getting around this area without many transportation options is a barrier.”
Large cities in the Sunshine State offer free fast-travel services, such as Jacksonville’s Skyway monorail and Miami’s Metromover. Tallahassee offers no comparable metro system.
To make matters worse, Tallahassee International Airport (TLH) is the most expensive airport in Florida.
Passengers in 2024 paid an average of $561 to depart from Tallahassee, based on research by QR Code Generator. The same data, which looked at the country’s top 150 busiest airports, put the national average at around $383.
Post says Visit Tallahassee works with airlines to incentivize more routes, but the division has “zero control” over cost.
TLH has just three airlines – American, Delta, and Silver. They offer only seven direct destinations – Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Tampa, and Washington, D.C. All other destinations require a stop, even Orlando.
“You need to have the population and the traffic to bring prices down,” Porter says. “We’re making a lot of investment in our airport that we hope will pay off in the future, but there hasn’t been a discussion that I’m aware of specifically about what can we do, if anything, to really make a dent in the cost.”
The CRTPA is now developing its Year 2050 Regional Mobility Plan. Florida’s capital region plan pinpoints transportation and roadway improvements needed over the next 25 years. The plan is updated every five years.
