While efforts
to attract more business and industry to the region continue,
tourism remains the engine that drives the economy, not just here
but across the state. Volusia County, which is served by three
convention and visitors bureaus, has enjoyed healthy tourism numbers
in recent years, having made a solid rebound following the
hurricanes of 2004.
“Tourism
continues to play a vital role in the vitality of our economy,” said
Sharon Mock, president and CEO of the Daytona Beach Area Convention
and Visitors Bureau. “As our area evolves and our product improves,
we can look forward to a bright future with a high ratio of repeat
visitors along with many new visitors.”
Mock’s
counterparts in west and southeast Volusia County agree.
Renee
Tallevast, executive director of the West Volusia Tourism
Advertising Authority sees increasing interest in the River of Lakes
Heritage Corridor that features cultural heritage and outdoor
recreation of 14 communities along the St. Johns River. “The
Heritage Corridor offers a collection of diverse communities, small
town cultural and historic treasures, and spectacular natural
Florida beauty and wildlife,” said Tallevast.
Debra Boyd,
executive director of the Southeast Volusia Advertising Authority is
just as optimistic. “Our area continues to be a favorite among
visitors from across the state and around the world,” she said.
Numbers
compiled by Mid-Florida Marketing & Research confirm the huge impact
tourism has on the local economy. Evelyn Fine, president of the
firm, has studied tourism trends in the region for decades. She
offered a statistical snapshot of 2005, the most recent year for
which figures are available. She reports eight million visitors,
with total expenditures by those visitors of $4.2 billion.
Much of this
money is spent on accommodations, driving the lodging industry to
employ a workforce of 3,000 people with a payroll exceeding $53
million. Property taxes paid by the lodging industry (including time
shares) total $25.5 million. When looking at the entire tourism
industry in the area, employment figures top 42,000, with a payroll
exceeding $500 million.
Visitors do
more than just spend money and stimulate employment. They also make
a major contribution to sales tax revenues. According to one
economist, visitors pay approximately 40 percent of the overall
sales taxes collected locally. Local schools are a good example of
the economic contribution made by tourists. Visitors have
contributed more than $61 million of the revenue raised from a local
half penny sales tax that took effect in 2002.
“We are
fortunate to live in an area that offers a positive visitor
experience
and in a state that is the envy of the world when it comes to
tourism,”
stated Bob Davis, a former hotelier and current president of the
Volusia
County Hotel-Motel Association. “Tourism’s contribution to the
community
speaks for itself and contributes to the quality of life for us
all.”
Longtime
tourism leader Jim Bazemore agrees. “The investment in upgrading
area hotels has been substantial and it shows,” he said.
“Accommodations are better than ever and when the expansion of the
Ocean Center is complete, our meeting and convention facilities will
be among the best in the South.” Bazemore’s family established
Perry’s Ocean Edge Resort in the 1940s which recently underwent a $9
million renovation.
The county
government-operated Ocean Center, the convention and entertainment
complex, is in the middle of a major expansion that will double its
size and add to the appeal of Daytona Beach and Volusia County among
meeting planners and booking agents.
Like Volusia
County, the state also benefits from a robust tourism industry.
Visit Florida is the state’s official source for travel planning for
the Sunshine State. It is not a government agency, but the operating
company of the Florida Commission on Tourism, which is a
private/public partnership made up of top state government officials
and representatives of the Florida tourism industry. Its travel
research team reports the visitor count for 2005 exceeded 83
million, up from approximately 73 million in 2000. Visitor
expenditures increased from $48 billion to $62 billion during the
same time. Employment in the tourism industry statewide increased
from 842,900 in
2000 to 948,700 in 2005 and sales tax revenues increased from $2.9
billion to $3.8 billion.
For those who
like to track trends, Visit Florida reports that tourism activity
follows the calendar. That is to say that the first quarter attracts
28.9 percent of our visitors; the second quarter tally is 27.3
percent; the third quarter tally is 25.4 percent; and the fourth
quarter tally is 19.4 percent.
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