Hillsborough County’s tourism industry just experienced its best June in history, setting records in both Tourist Development Tax (TDT) collections and taxable hotel revenue. TDT figures for the month, reflecting May collections, reached $5,400,066, while taxable hotel revenue soared to $90,046,768. Although summer typically draws fewer visitors to the Tampa Bay region, Santiago C. Corrada, President and CEO of Visit Tampa Bay, noted that this June’s exceptional performance is due to the area’s growing appeal as a premier destination for large-scale conventions and meetings.
“I can’t overstate how important conventions and meetings are to the local economy,” said Corrada. “As an example, two major conventions – the Global Special Operations Foundation’s SOF Week in early May and the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated’s Grand Conclave in late June – drew almost 50,000 attendees combined with an estimated economic impact of nearly $40 million. Our record-setting June can be directly attributed to our ability to not only attract, but successfully host these events. And we’ve worked alongside our partners to make Tampa Bay a premiere choice for convention goers and meeting professionals as well as the leisure traveler.”
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A huge month of conventions and events help Tampa thrive
The hotel occupancy rate for June was also robust, coming in at 71.3%, a 2.7% increase over the same period last year. RevPAR increased 6% compared to June 2023, reaching $103.51, with ADR averaging $145.11, beating last June’s numbers by 3.3%.
The summer of conventions in Tampa Bay continues with Destinations International holding its largest annual convention ever at the J.W. Marriott Tampa Water Street from July 16-18, drawing 2,000 travel and tourism professionals. Next, Visit Tampa Bay is gearing up for the Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism in August, expecting another 2,000 top tourism industry professionals, travel experts, and state leaders. In collaboration with over 900 partners, Visit Tampa Bay aims to deliver a unique Tampa Bay experience while supporting an industry that generated over 59,000 jobs, $535 million in state and local taxes, and nearly $9 billion in economic impact for Hillsborough County last year.
Tampa is now readying for another major boost when Comic Con returns to the Convention Center this August.
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