November 6 -

Naples, FL - Despite Wilma's best efforts, there's no keeping a great town down…especially when incredible food and wine are involved! As testament to that fact, the White Truffle Event culinary celebration begins next Thursday, November 10, at the Bellasera Hotel, and continues through the weekend as Naples' first big post-hurricane event.

The white truffle has been the treat of royalty since the time of ancient Greeks and Romans. Now, Southwest Floridians can experience a taste of culinary royalty as three master chefs from the Italian Institute for Advanced Culinary and Pastry Arts - including founder, Executive Chef John Nocita - share their secrets through a series of cooking classes and dinners which will feature more than 100 delicacies from every region of Italy, as well as specialty wines paired with each menu. Guests will find Bellasera's richly-appointed Tuscan-themed setting ideally suited for the event.

Limited seating is still available. Call 239-649-7333 for more information or click here to visit their website. Media are invited for interviews or cooking demonstrations. Please call above contacts to arrange appointments.

October 27 -
NAPLES, MARCO ISLAND AND THE EVERGLADES TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE RECOVERY PROCEEDS RAPIDLY AFTER HURRICANE WILMA

Naples, Fla. - (October 26, 2005) - The Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau reports that the tourism infrastructure in Collier County is recovering quickly from Hurricane Wilma with many hotels and attractions already open or with plans to open by this weekend. All area beaches are open with only minimal erosion impacts. For more information on the destination visit www.paradisecoast.com or call the storm update hotline at 1-800-785-8252.

• The majority of resorts, hotels and attractions are re-opening as soon as electrical power is restored.
  Structural damage to hotels was minimal with repairs already complete or underway.
• The most noticeable effect of Hurricane Wilma is downed trees. Area crews were quickly removing landscaping debris this week.
• All floodwaters in the Naples and Everglades City areas have receded.
• ·Power restoration in the greater Naples area was the region's main challenge. Florida Power & Light crews are in the area with power coming on to more customers each day.
• The City of Naples and Collier County are making progress with broken water mains in the Naples area, but a boil water notice remains in effect pending full repairs.
• Most attractions fared well with the exception of the Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens, which suffered extensive damage from falling trees at its historic location.
• Beaches are in excellent shape with only a small amount of sand loss reported.
• The natural dunes lining the shores of Naples and Marco Island's beaches did their job beautifully, holding sand that otherwise would have been washed out to sea.
• Southwest Florida International Airport and Naples Municipal Airport are OPEN.
• Shelling is nothing short of fantastic along all Collier County beaches in the wake of Wilma.
• Marco Island Ski & Watersports will resume shelling tours to Cape Romano on Thursday, October 27 - the barrier island site (accessible only by boat) where Hurricane Wilma first made landfall.

• Approximately 25% of Naples area inland hotels have power and are fully operational, including The Inn on Fifth, the Lemon Tree Inn, Bellasera Hotel, DoubleTree Guest Suites, The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples, Comfort Inn at I-75 and Quality Inn & Suites Golf Resort.
  
  Most of these are currently sold out with emergency response workers but rooms will open up soon after power crews finish their work and leave the area.
• Naples area beach resorts will all re-open this weekend, including The Ritz-Carlton, Naples re-opening at noon Friday, October 28; Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club re-opening on Saturday, October 29, LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort re-opening Sunday, October 30, Registry Resort & Club and Edgewater Beach Hotel re-opening Thursday or Friday. All report minimal damage say that landscape debris cleanup is going well.
• · Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens will be CLOSED for at least three weeks and possibly longer. Zoo exhibits suffered extensive damage from falling trees. The zoo is in dire need of financial assistance to recover from the impacts of Wilma. With so much to rebuild with no source of revenue, the Zoo has accelerated its plans to take charitable donations. Naples Zoo was approved by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) public charity earlier this month.
  
  Anyone wishing to help speed the recovery efforts can make a tax deductible donation to Naples Zoo by sending or delivering a check made payable to "Naples Zoo" at 1590 Goodlette-Frank Rd, Naples FL 34102 or making an online donation at www.napleszoo.com.
• The historic Naples Pier is open. The pier had only very minor damage to a few boards and was repaired within one day.
• Naples Municipal Airport re-opened Wednesday, October 26. Some damage to hangers and other buildings onsite.

• Power has been restored to over 80% of the island as of Wednesday, October 26.
• Three of Marco Island's four beachfront resorts are OPEN, with the fourth, the planning to re-open on Friday, October 28.
• Marco Island Marriott Resort Golf Club & Spa is open.
• Radisson Suite Beach Resort on Marco Island is open.
• Marco Beach Ocean Resort is open
• Hilton Marco Island will reopen Friday, October 28
• Olde Marco Island Inn & Suites is open
• Marco Island Lakeside Inn is open
• Pelican Bend Restaurant and Marina is CLOSED - Chickee bar and marina severely damaged.
• Marco Island Ski & Watersports reports that their tour boat Calusa Spirit and their waverunners are all undamaged. They will resume shelling and waverunner tours Thursday, October 27 from in front of the Marco Island Marriott and Hilton Marco Island. They will do shelling tours to Cape Romano, the site of Hurricane Wilma's landfall.

• There was some flooding in town as Wilma came ashore on Monday, October 24 due to approximately 4 feet of storm surge and rain. However, all waters have receded.
  
  Power was restored to the entire town Tuesday evening, October 25.
• The Ivey House Bed & Breakfast is OPEN with rooms available and has no damage. 239-695-3299
• City Seafood restaurant and retail seafood market - OPEN with stone crabs available.
• Everglades Airpark - Airport runway is open, VFR only, no tower and no fuel.
• Everglades National Park Gulf Coast Visitor Center - CLOSED for up to two weeks while park crews asses the Ten Thousand /Wilderness Waterway region of the park.
• Big Cypress National Preserve - CLOSED pending park assessment.
• Clyde Butcher's Big Cypress Gallery was undamaged except for trees down on the property - it will be CLOSED pending removal and power restoration.
• Smallwood's Store on Chokoloskee had some roof damage but the structure is still standing - the historic store and former trading post celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2006. It is closed pending repairs.
• Outdoor Resorts on Chokoloskee suffered damage and is CLOSED.

October 24 -
RESORTS OF PARADISE COAST
- NAPLES, MARCO ISLAND, AND THE EVERGLADES -
PREPARE TO REOPEN AS HURRICANE WILMA SUBSIDES

Naples, FL (October 24, 2005): Resorts along the Paradise Coast of Naples, Marco Island, and the Everglades are already making plans to reopen - many as soon as later this week - following a direct hit by category three hurricane Wilma.

"With property reports better than expected, we are now joining forces to reopen our beach resorts to visitors this week. Many of our inland hotels report no, or only minor, damage and remain open," noted Jack Wert, Executive Director of the Naples, Marco Island, and the Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau. "We are grateful that our neighbors, visitors, and hospitality partners weathered the storm without more serious incident."

Reports from individual properties include:

• The Ritz-Carlton, Naples, expects to reopen at noon on Friday, October 28. The beach-front property is awaiting only grounds clean-up and power restoration. Guests were evacuated to the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples, which remained open and undamaged.
• The Registry Resort & Club will also welcome guests later this week.
• The Radisson Suite Beach Resort on Marco Island, which sustained roof damage, will reopen once repaired.

Many local attractions, such as the Naples Pier, were unscathed. However the Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens lost several exhibits due to fallen trees.

Water is receding rapidly after flooding in downtown Naples as a result of the storm surge, which was estimated at up to five feet. Emergency management officials are completing a countywide damage evaluation, and expect to report preliminary findings later this week. County-wide power outages and extensive debris, including fallen trees, remain a challenge to overcome.

Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers is open, with flights expected to resume on Tuesday, October 25, 2005.

For more information on the Paradise Coast, visit www.paradisecoast.com. Recovery updates will be posted daily beginning Tuesday, October 25, 2005.

October 22 -
Naples, Marco Island and Everglades Prepare for Wilma

Delta Airlines has announced all flight from Naples Airport are canceled starting noon Sunday, October 23. Flights will not resume until noon Tuesday, October 25.

Operators are on duty at to assist with finding available hotel rooms in Collier County. Call 1-800-785-8252. Hotline operators are also providing numbers for other areas to the north for evacuees.

Please visit http://www.paradisecoast.com/emergency for more information.

October 21 -
Collier County's Paradise Coast, including Naples, Marco Island and the western Everglades, is busy making preparations for possible impacts from Hurricane Wilma.

Since the storm has slowed down, the time period allotted for area evacuations has been extended. A mandatory evacuation for coastal residents and visitors west and south of U.S. 41 is in effect as of Friday, October 21 at 12 noon, with evacuation completion targeted for 8 a.m. Sunday morning. Public shelters will open in Collier County at 8 a.m. Sunday. For complete information on shelters visit www.colliergov.net or call the Collier County hurricane information line at 239-774-8444.

"Hotel rooms at the area's inland hotels are at a premium, but there is a lot of fluctuation in availability as some people are changing plans, canceling reservations and deciding to leave the County, rather than evacuate from their homes to area hotels," said JoNell Modys, communications manager for the Greater Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB).

The CVB activated its Hotel Hotline number, 1-800-785-8252, on Tuesday, October 18 to assist people interested in reserving hotel rooms. Since that time, the majority of calls have been from area residents seeking information on rooms outside of the area. As a public service, the CVB has provided its hotline operators with numbers to reach hotel information lines in other areas of the state from Sarasota north through Jacksonville, as well as VISIT FLORIDA's statewide accommodations hotline.

The Greater Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau is the official tourism management and marketing agency for Collier County, Florida, funded entirely by the Collier County tourist development tax. The CVB provides information and free visitors guides for consumers, travel agents, tour operators and meeting planners online at www.ParadiseCoast.com or by calling 1-800-2-ESCAPE or 239-403-2384.