A hybrid electric passenger plane, AI cancer diagnosis and the nation’s largest rock music festival are among the developments shaping four core industries in North Central Florida.

As EVOLVE marks its 10^th anniversary, we look at how aviation/aerospace, tourism/hospitality, healthcare and manufacturing have evolved—and where they’re headed.

Aviation and Aerospace

Aviation and aerospace are rocketing the area’s economy, prompting former U.S. Senator, astronaut and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson to say the Jacksonville region “has become the center for space technology.”

JAXUSA Partnership, the regional economic development organization serving Northeast Florida, notes that the area “has a global leadership role in space and defense technology” due to the presence of Northrop Grumman, the largest private employer in St. Johns County, as well as Boeing, Redwire Space, Kaman Aerospace, Collins Aerospace and other companies.

The region’s talent pool is enhanced by the presence of Naval Air Station Jacksonville and Naval Station Mayport, said Randy Bradley, vice president and site leader for the St. Augustine plant. Navy personnel who served in Jacksonville “consistently want to be here after their service is complete,” Bradley told JAXUSA.

Jacksonville is also home to Cecil Air and Spaceport, only the eighth licensed commercial spaceport in the U.S., and the first in Florida authorized for the horizontal takeoff and landing of space vehicles. The spaceport opened a new, $8.9 million, 126-foot air traffic control tower and mission control center in 2021.

Keith Norden, president and CEO of the Team Volusia Economic Development Corporation, noted that “Over the past decade, the aviation and aerospace industry has evolved into a hybrid ecosystem where commercial companies like Boeing, SpaceX and Blue Origin work in partnership with the U.S. Space Force and NASA, leading to a notable increase in the number of launches each year.

“As a result, here in Central Florida we have seen a massive influx of smaller companies in support of the industry, to evaluate their prototypes, launch new satellites, and assist with manufacturing the parts needed to help expand the horizon for aviation and aerospace.”

The area’s “talent pipeline,” Norden notes, includes Daytona’s Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, “one of the most prestigious aerospace and aviation universities in the world.”

The Space Coast, centered around NASA operations in Brevard County, “continues to grow,” Norden said, with the Daytona region now “located at the northern point of the Space Triangle.”

In 2025, Boeing, one of the world’s largest aerospace manufacturers, opened an engineering facility within the Cici & Hyatt Brown Center for Aerospace Technology at ERAU. French company Aura Aero opened a facility at ERAU’s Research Park, and in 2028 will begin manufacturing its 19-seat ERA, which it intends to be the world’s first hybrid electric regional aircraft.

Tourism and Hospitality

A yin-yang dynamic is at play in the tourism/hospitality industry of East Central Florida.

The Volusia County-owned Ocean Center, located in the heart of Daytona Beach’s beachside, is a 9,300-seat venue working to revitalize its concert scene

Meanwhile, tourist officials in adjacent areas say visitors to their locales are now seeking the quieter joys of natural and historical attractions.

The Ocean Center, said general manager Lynn Flanders, recently marked its 40^th anniversary and is investing approximately $40 million in capital improvements over the next five years. Upgrades include refurbished dressing rooms and restrooms, new flooring and new seating (replacing some arena seats that have been present since opening day). Funding comes from the Tourist Development Tax on overnight stays.

While the Ocean Center continues to host conventions, expositions and competition events, in July 2025 the Volusia County Council signed an agreement with Danny Wimmer Presents, a booking firm and producer of “destination music festivals,” to revitalize the Ocean Center as a “must-play” venue for touring acts.

Danny Wimmer Presents also is the producer of Welcome to Rockville, which moved to Daytona International Speedway in 2021 and is “North America’s largest rock music festival,” said Lori Campbell Baker, Executive Director of the Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. This year’s event will feature more than 160 bands.

In August 2025, Danny Wimmer Presents and the speedway signed a 10-year agreement to keep the annual Welcome to Rockville festival at the track through 2035.

Rock fans will have many accommodations to choose from: Additions over the past decade, Campbell Baker said, include the Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach, the Daytona Grande Oceanfront Resort, the Max Beach Resort, The DAYTONA and the Renaissance Daytona Beach Oceanfront.

Meanwhile, “West Volusia has undergone a quiet but significant transformation over the last decade,” said Georgia Turner, Executive Director of the West Volusia Tourism Advertising Authority. “Focus has shifted toward ‘Old Florida’ charm, ecotourism (such as the manatee haven of Blue Spring State Park) and specialized trail systems that connect its historic towns.”

Flagler Beach tourism is “seeing more demand for authentic, outdoor and nature-based experiences,” said Amy Lukasik, Executive Director of the Flagler County Tourism Development Office.

Propelled by expanded non-stop commercial air service in Jacksonville and new accommodations, Florida’s Historic Coast “has experienced strong tourism growth” as “travelers increasingly seek destinations that offer history, culinary experiences, nature and walkable communities,” said Susan Phillips, President and CEO of the St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & the Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau.

Lukasik and Phillips each say their offices have evolved from traditional marketing into strategic destination management organizations. “We’re not just focused on attracting visitors, but on shaping the overall visitor experience, supporting community priorities, and ensuring tourism growth aligns with quality of life and long-term sustainability,” Lukasik said.

Healthcare

Changes in healthcare are being driven by two kinds of growth: innovations in medical technology and sheer population growth.

Rob Deininger, President and CEO for AdventHealth’s East Florida Division, said, “The biggest change over the last decade has been the pace of growth across our region. Communities are expanding quickly, and the need for physicians, hospital care and specialty services grows right alongside them. Our responsibility is to stay ahead of that curve so families can receive care within their community rather than having to travel elsewhere.”

AdventHealth has responded with significant expansion. In 2023, it opened the 100-bed AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway hospital, doubling Flagler County’s inpatient capacity. The company has also expanded AdventHealth Fish Memorial in Orange City and AdventHealth Daytona Beach.

Deininger said AI “is already playing an important role in how we deliver care, but we approach it thoughtfully. Technology should support caregivers and strengthen the connection between physicians and patients – not replace it.

“In our East Florida Division, AI tools review nearly 50,000 imaging scans each year to identify early-stage cancer . . . often before symptoms appear. That’s especially important because lung cancer rates in our region have historically been higher than the state average.”

Halifax Health is also tracking population growth alongside gaps in services and technology. “Ultimately, our goal is simple: to ensure our residents have access to high quality healthcare close to home,” said Jeff Feasel, President and CEO.

Over the last decade, Halifax Health “has undergone major growth in partnerships, infrastructure and clinical innovation,” Feasel said. Halifax Health first partnered with UF Health to bring heart and vascular surgeons to the hospital, and now that partnership also includes 12 UF Health specialties such as neurosurgery, trauma surgery, orthopedic surgery, plastic surgery and urology, among others.

In 2024, Halifax Health earned national recognition as the first health system in the U.S. to treat cancer patients using the Accuray Radixact® System with VitalHold™ technology. In June 2025, Halifax Health opened its $10 million Halifax Health | UF Health Neurosciences Center.

Manufacturing

The contribution of Florida’s manufacturing to the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has surpassed tourism, agriculture and transportation, according to a 2023 report by Florida’s Department of Commerce. Florida’s manufacturing GDP grew from $43.5 billion in 2014 to $73 billion in 2022, a 67.8% growth rate that surpassed all other manufacturing states.

“Over the past decade, manufacturing in the Volusia area has become more specialized, more technology-driven, and more closely tied to high-value sectors such as marine products, defense, aerospace and medical devices,” said Lou Paris, Volusia County’s Economic Development Director. With more than 450 manufacturing companies, “the area has moved further away from commodity-style manufacturing and deeper into precision, regulated and innovation-linked production.”

Along with Aura Aero, Paris cited such existing manufacturers as Sparton, makers of sonobuoys used for underwater warfare, and boat-maker Boston Whaler.

B. Braun, whose Daytona Beach plant makes nearly a quarter of the IV fluid used in the U.S., “became nationally important during the 2024 supply disruption,” when the facility “ramped production by 20% to help stabilize supply,” Paris said.

These companies “bring not just jobs, but higher-value production,” he said.

According to JAXUSA, leading advanced manufacturers in the Jacksonville area include Johnson & Johnson Vision (the contact lens maker was ranked No. 48 on the 2025 Fortune 500 list), Anheuser-Busch, BAE Systems, Baker Hughes, Medtronic and Northrop Grumman. Those companies are buoyed by the region’s “transportation infrastructure, competitive business climate and access to talent,” with the latter fueled by the area’s high number of retiring veterans, JAXUSA said.