TAMPA, Fla. — 2023 has been a great year for Tampa Bay’s tourism industry.
“This last year was another record setter,” said Santiago Corrada, president and CEO of Visit Tampa Bay.
Our area hit $1.1 billion in hotel taxable revenue—that’s according to Visit Tampa Bay.
That number has skyrocketed from years past.
“The economy is being fueled by the demand that continues to increase,” said Corrada.
Part of this year’s success comes from several events that took place in Tampa.
“We had the biggest convention summer of our history this year,” said Corrada.
Visit Tampa Bay said there were 20 major events this summer.
“All of the groups combined had an economic impact of over $68 million over that three month period. So very, very successful summer,” said Corrada.
Major touring artists made stops in Tampa in 2023 including Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran and The Jonas Brothers.
“Our industry contributes a heck of a lot to our local economy. It puts people to work,” said Corrada.
He believes 2024 will be another busy year full of events for Tampa Bay.
“We have a two-night concert by Drake. He announced a second night. We have Billy Joel and Sting together. Only place they’re singing together is here in Tampa,” said Corrada.
“We know what conventions and groups are meeting here next year. So next summer I dare to say may be even better than this summer,” he added.
For 2024, Visit Tampa Bay told ABC Action News that the competition to bring more visitors to our area is fierce.
“We don’t have a monopoly on tourism. We don’t have a monopoly on conventions and events. You’ve got to compete with other cities around the country,” said Corrada.
Visit Tampa Bay is launching their biggest out-of-state marketing campaign to keep up.
“We will do incredibly well next year. But we have to always be on our toes. We have to always be at the top of our game,” said Corrada.
Several local attractions are expanding and restaurants are opening up that will also help attract more visitors.
“We’ve got expansions at the aquarium and at the zoo and at the art museum and at the performing arts center,” said Corrada.
