PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Tampa Bay area leaders said last year was record-breaking for tourism.
Officials with Visit St. Pete/Clearwater said the area hasn’t seen hotel booking numbers like this since 2019.
“Filling out the restaurant multiple times within an eight-hour period is…we’ve just been growing exponentially since the start," said Tristan Lucid who works at Ryan's Island Cafe.
“In the last year it seems like it has gone up quite a bit," said Katy Lambert who works at Clearwater Beach Paddle Board and Rental Company.
Employees at local businesses in Clearwater said 2023 was a success.
“People look us up and they love it and they keep coming back," said Lindsay Zirkel who works at the cafe.
Lucid and Zirkel said they’ve noticed a rise in customers.
“It’s actually been pretty steady this year," said Zirkel.
Lambert said the area has been packed more than usual.
“We come back into the store and we’re like it feels like spring break out there and there’s a max exodus of cars and there’s just people everywhere," said Lambert.
But it’s not only something businesses are noticing... it’s showing in the numbers.
“We generated over 98 million in bed tax collections and that came through over 6 million nights stayed in our accommodations in Pinellas County alone," said Brian Lowack who is the CEO of Visit St Pete/ Clearwater.
Lowack said the area hasn’t seen tourism numbers like this since 2019.
“What we saw is people continue to come to our beaches, but also with the addition of all of the upgrades to museums, and new attractions, new players came to the destination," said Lowack.
Lowack said hotel bookings saw the biggest rise and many of the people coming to visit were from out of the country.
“Domestically, the last three years have been great, but on an international basis, we are just now getting to or are on the verge of getting to those 2019 levels," said Lowack.
Visit St. Pete/ Clearwater says the goal for 2024 will be to bring in even more tourists than in 2023. It’s something Zirkel is excited to see.
“I love it. It's great for the business, it’s great for us, we get to interact with a lot of different people, we have people from other countries come over here, we have locals, it’s just fun," said Zirkel.
