PENSACOLA, FL—Hundreds of new hotel rooms reportedly are coming to the inland portion of the Pensacola Bay area, with the growth spurt prompted partly by a tourism trend that revolves around shopping. Ed Schroeder, vp/tourism development for the Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, said the hotel industry knows better than anyone else that the number-one tourism activity is shopping. According to reports, over the next couple of years, at least eight hotels will be online in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties—seven in Escambia and one in Santa Rosa. Besides tourists, targeted guests include business travelers. Escambia County has just under 6,000 hotel rooms, Schroeder said. The new hotels will add roughly 700 rooms, an increase of about 12%. Santa Rosa County Tourist Development Council and Navarre Beach Area Chamber of Commerce did not have the countys hotel numbers available, said reports. Three of the hotels are planned for development around University and Cordova malls. All across the country, malls are building themselves to be lifestyle centers, he said, referring to University Malls plans for a makeover into an open-air lifestyle center, noting developers are building around the shopping. In the past, hotels such as the Hampton Inn and Fairfield Inn have been built near malls. “Now, were seeing a new wave of hotels,” Schroeder told local media. “Whats exciting is that these are strong three-star properties. Theyre national brands with much better services.” Schroeder added the wave of inland hotel development also can be attributed to the proximity of three hospitals, a college and a university. Country Inn and Suites reportedly plans a 2008 opening for its hotel at 2607 Wilde Lake Blvd. near the Pine Forest Road and Interstate 10 intersection.
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