Community Corner

2012 Record Year for Tourism in Pinellas

A record 5,435,000 visited Pinellas County in 2012 and which resulted in a record $7.8 billion in economic impact.

According to officials with the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, 2012 was a record year for tourism in Pinellas County. 

Last year, expenditures for visitors increased 7.6 percent, according to county tourism officials. This increase led to the total economic impact of tourism to the St. Pete/Clearwater area to top $7.8 billion for the first time ever, a news release said.

That is an increase of more than $521 million from 2011. 

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A look at the 2012 tourism numbers:

  • Overnight visitors to Pinellas increased by 200,000 to a record 5,435,000 in 2012, which is a 3.8 percent increase from 2011. 
  • Pinellas saw more than 1.1 million first-time visitors last year.
  • Room rates jumped eight percent.
  • Hotel occupancy rates averaged 70 percent.
  • Expenditures for visitors increased 7.6 percent, which resulted in $7.8 billion in county economic impact. 
  • The number of Canadian visitors to the area increased 4.7 percent and Europoean visitors increased by 7 percent. 

"We are extremely happy to see such positive numbers," says DT Minich, VSPC Executive Director in a news release. "The strong growth in our top domestic and international markets proves that our sales and marketing efforts are on target, and we look forward to working with our local tourism partners to continue this success throughout 2013 and beyond." 

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High Bed Tax Numbers Continue

January brought in more than $2.2 million in bed tax revenues, which according to the TDC, is a 14.48 percent increase year-over-year.

This is the third month this fiscal year that saw double-digit increase, and with a quarter of the year now in the books, tourist development tax collections are outpacing 2012's record totals by nearly 12 percent, with more than $7.6 million collected. Early reports from February and March suggest high expectations for tax gains in those months as well, a news release said. 

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