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A new Brightline Orlando Station at the Orlando airport connects the destinaiton via high-speed rail to South Florida’s stations in Miami, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and West Palm Beach.
Orlando was named Cvent’s top meeting destination in North America for 2023. But there’s more to come — Orlando has debuted several new offerings that make planning and meeting in Orlando easier than ever before.
Just one example: The new Brightline Orlando Station, located at Orlando International Airport’s (MCO) Terminal C. On Sept. 22, the high-speed rail service began operating out of Orlando, connecting the destination to South Florida’s stations in Miami, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and West Palm Beach. The new rail service is transforming business travel to Orlando — within its first two weeks of opening, Brightline doubled train service between Orlando and Miami and is now running 30 trains daily. Planners can bake the travel into the meeting experience by hosting an event in one of Brightline’s in-station meeting spaces or adding onboard entertainment for attendees’ trip to or from Orlando.
Michelin has recognized a total of 46 Orlando-area restaurants for its outstanding F&B offerings.
Once attendees roll into the station, they’ll find themselves surrounded by an exciting array of hotel and dining options, including the Conrad Orlando, which debuted in December with 433 rooms and 40,000 square feet of indoor meeting space. The hotel is part of an impressive, 10,000-room resort complex, Evermore Orlando Resort, which offers a wide variety of stay experiences, from single homes and flats to villas and guestrooms. Other new additions to Orlando’s already vast hotel inventory include the Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando, The Grand Bohemian Hotel Orlando, and JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes.
For its culinary scene, Orlando has been highlighted by Michelin. A total of 46 restaurants have been recognized for its outstanding F&B offerings, including four starred venues, 11 Bib Gourmands, and 31 Recommended, confirming what WalletHub also found to be true in 2023: Orlando is the “Best Foodie City” in the U.S.
“With new openings and amenities, and team’s commitment to service, Orlando provides groups of all sizes everything needed to create memorable and productive meetings and conventions,” said Casandra Matej, president and CEO of Visit Orlando in a press release.
The Orange County Convention Center continued to expand its space and services in 2023, including the launch of the Orlando Health Virtual Care Center.
Orange County Convention Center Continues to Evolve
Following Orlando’s spirit of constant evolution, the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) has also experienced growth in 2023. Orlando Health and Visit Orlando partnered to launch the Orlando Health Virtual Care Center inside the OCCC’s West Building. Here, attendees can consult with on-site providers about medical conditions during large conventions, ensuring that they won’t need to be pulled away from the event’s action to receive minor care.
This is just one part of a larger initiative the OCCC is embarking on to expand its offerings. In 2024, OCCC will begin a $560-million completion project of its North-South Building, including an enclosed, air-conditioned connection between the North and South concourses that includes 60,000 square feet of meeting space, an 80,000-square-foot ballroom, and a grand entrance to the North-South Entrance along Convention Way.
“We are thrilled to begin work on completing our North-South Building which will allow us to meet the growing needs of our clients,” said Mark Tester, OCCC’s executive director in a press release. “As an economic driver for the community, this project will provide the center with connectivity and meeting space to host more events and continue to infuse the local economy with new money and expanding business opportunities.”
