Sarasota Economic Development

Sarasota, Florida has eight Sister Cities. Part of our mission to improve our cities is to enhance and improve economic development ties among our communities.

Our nearest Sister City is Merida, Mexico, just across the Gulf of Mexico.  But it is difficult to travel between the two communities.

We have formed a small committee to focus on ways to improve connections. These efforts include:

Finding ways to improve air travel

Developing tour packages to encourage travel to Merida

Investigate existing cruises from Tampa to Yucatan.

For assistance in locating or expanding your business in Sarasota or in one of our Sister Cities contact:

Craig Hullinger
Vice President Economic Development
309 634 5557
sarasotasistercities@gmail.com

MORE INFO AT:

Sarasotasistercities.com

sarasotasistercities.org

facebook.com/SarasotaSisterCities

twitter.com/SarasotaSisterC

linkedin.com/in/sarasotasistercities

pinterest.com/sarasotasister

Sustainable "Green" Economic Development combines environmental improvement and traditional economic development into one discipline. Traditional economic development can be employed to increase employment while improving our environment. Economic Development and “Green” Development can be synergistic, improving our overall quality of life. 

More about Sustainable Economic Development at Sarasotasistercities.com

Introduction

Sarasota Sister Cities is engaged in a variety of Sustainable Economic Development efforts to improve Sarasota and our Sister Cities.  One of those efforts is to try to improve transportation links between Sarasota and our Sister City of Merida, Mexico. 

Merida is on the Yucatan Peninsula with the amazing Mayan pyramids and temples, the sun vacations cities of Cancun and Cozumel, and the colonial architecture and charm of Merida. It is a charming lovely safe country just across the Gulf of Mexico.

Despite its proximity, however, it is not easy to get to from Sarasota. You can fly from SRQ to Merida but it is a long trip with intervening stops. You can also drive to Miami and then fly to Merida, or fly to Cozumel from Tampa and drive five hours to Merida.  Further on in this blog are maps of connecting flights.

It would improve tourism and economic development for both regions if we had better air and sea service. Our committee will research possibilities of improvements.