PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Area is seeing an increase in tourism. A new report from Visit St. Pete-Clearwater shows record-breaking tourism numbers for March.
"We are all very very grateful for the tourists, we definitely need that type of help out here right now," said Jewlz Miranda, a resident of Clearwater.
Miranda works at The Salty Crab on Clearwater Beach and said she's noticed an increase in the number of tourists walking through the restaurant's doors.
"It's definitely been busier than we were expecting because of everything going on lately," said Miranda.
"March we were up 8% over last March and proud to say it was the highest grossing tourist development tax collection month in the history of Pinellas County," said Brian Lowack, CEO of Visit St. Pete-Clearwater
Lowack said 2023 already had record breaking tourism numbers, but this Spring is showing even more.
"They want to be in paradise, we have it here. And I think coming off a slow winter and fall, now people are anxious to get out," said Lowack.
Leaders said the increase is exciting, considering a new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, that shows inflation is up.
Tourists said a big reason why they are visiting the Tampa Bay Area is because there are a lot of free activities to take advantage of.
"The beach itself, they wont charge you any money. The most you're going to be spending out here if you're trying to have a free day would basically be parking. Parking is a little bit harder, but you can go to the beach, the pier, the scenery, it's beautiful," said Miranda.
Jeanne McKellar is visiting Clearwater Beach from New Jersey and thinks a lot of people come because the area is conveniently located.
"It has everything and we walk everywhere so we don't have to worry about who's driving, getting a designated driver, because everything is right here and we can just walk," said McKellar.
Lowack expects the record tourism to continue through the rest of the year and into 2025.
"We're always looking to push the limit so we are staffing up, putting more resources and things that work. Leading into next year, we want to focus on these large scale events coming here," said Lowack.
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