The Greater Daytona Region Earns an A+ for Accessibility
Traveling around and in and out of the region is easy.
While Greater Daytona is known for its multiple assets — an amazing talent base, top-notch education institutions, enviable quality of life amenities and successful businesses, among them — it boasts one that both individuals and companies desire — accessibility.
In This Article
Leading Lanes
The region sits at the crossroads of Interstates 4 and 95, and three U.S. highways and eight state routes run through the region. Residents love that these roads allow them to drive to Orlando within an hour and Jacksonville in about 90 minutes, not to mention how easy it is to travel to Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.
Additionally, these major roads are advantageous for companies in the logistics and transportation industry, as businesses are looking to find efficient routes to transport goods.
For companies that ship goods by rail, freight service is available through Class I carriers CSX and Norfolk Southern and the short-line carrier Florida East Coast Railway.
Residents can use SunRail, a rail service that runs 49+ miles through four counties, including Volusia, and has 16 stations.
The region offers ready access to seaports. For example, the Port of Jacksonville (Jaxport) is only 90 miles to the north, while Port Canaveral is 75 miles to the south, and the Port of Tampa is accessible via I-4.
“The beautiful upgrade to the terminal gives passengers a great first impression of the Greater Daytona area once they land here.”
Joanne Magley, Daytona Beach International Airport
Taking Flight
Business travel is made easy in Greater Daytona thanks to the presence of Daytona Beach International Airport (DAB), which was named Florida’s 2021 Commercial Service Airport of the Year by the Florida Department of Transportation. The airport is also popular for leisure travel.
About 750,000 passengers used DAB annually before COVID-19, and the airport generated an economic impact of more than $2 billion in the fiscal year 2019. In addition, commercial service is available from American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, and the airport’s short screening waits (less than five minutes) and parking available just steps from the terminal mean fewer hassles for passengers.
The airport has also been working to make improvements for area residents and other passengers. It recently completed a $14 million renovation project, its first major upgrade since opening in 1992. Much of the renovation involved improvements to the terminal building, including updating all technology and installing new carpets and terrazzo tile floors, new overhead lighting, refurbished escalators, new furniture, a water fountain feature, new ticket counters, LED arrival/departure display boards, and a restaurant and bar area.
“The beautiful upgrade to the terminal gives passengers a great first impression of the Greater Daytona area once they land here,” says Joanne Magley, director of air service, marketing and customer experience for DAB. “And for departing passengers, it’s nice that you don’t need to arrive at DAB more than an hour before your flight because parking is easy, security is quick and all the boarding gates are close by.”
Additional Air Travel
The region also offers a wealth of corporate and general aviation facilities, including DeLand Municipal Airport, Ormond Beach Municipal Airport, New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport and Pierson Municipal Airport, as well as the Massey Ranch Airpark in Edgewater and Spruce Creek Fly-In in Port Orange, both airport residential communities.
“We are actually a busy general aviation airport with about 160,000 operations a year,” says Adam Lo Bianco, interim manager of New Smyrna
Beach Municipal Airport. “We serve private jets that arrive here from all over the country, and (we) are celebrating our 75th birthday throughout 2022.”
Lo Bianco says the airport provides a total economic impact of more than $170 million annually, and on-site tenants include a pair of airplane maintenance/restoration companies — American Aero Services and Baker Aviation. Also on the grounds is the Epic Flight Academy pilot training school that partners with Daytona State College to provide a degree program.
No matter your destination — whether it’s in downtown Daytona Beach or across the world — you can find your way there, thanks to the region’s transportation assets.
Greater Daytona Region Volusia County
This digital edition of the Greater Daytona Region Volusia County is sponsored by Team Volusia Economic Development Corporation.
