Tampa, FL (July 24, 2024) – Hillsborough County's tourism industry just saw its best June in history with record numbers in both Tourist Development Tax (TDT) collections and taxable hotel revenue. TDT figures for the month, reflecting May collections, reached $5,400,066, and taxable hotel revenue was $90,046,768.

While summer months traditionally draw fewer visitors to the Tampa Bay region, President and CEO of Visit Tampa Bay, Santiago C. Corrada, says it's been quite the opposite. In fact, he says, June's strong showing can be directly attributed to the destination being a top-choice 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.”

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. The premier association for destination professionals, Destinations International, held their largest annual convention ever with 2,000 travel and tourism professionals gathering at the J.W. Marriot Tampa Water Street July 16-18.  With the Florida Governor's Conference on Tourism on the horizon in August, Visit Tampa Bay is gearing up to welcome more than 2,000 additional top tourism industry professionals, travel experts and state leaders to the heart of Florida's Gulf Coast.

In collaboration with more than 900 partners, Visit Tampa Bay aims to provide a one-of-a-kind Tampa Bay experience to visitors from every background, while supporting an industry that has generated more than 59,000 jobs, $535 million in state and local taxes, and nearly $9 billion in total economic impact for Hillsborough County last year. 

 

ABOUT VISIT TAMPA BAY

The heart of Florida's Gulf Coast beats in Tampa Bay. Visit Tampa Bay encourages adventure with a relaxing vibe to create vacation experiences that are authentically Tampa Bay. As a not-for-profit corporation certified by Destinations International's Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP), we work with hundreds of partners to tell the world the story of Tampa Bay. Treasure awaits. For more information, visit our website.