Tampa Bay hails record-breaking 2021
Rebounding from the pandemic with unprecedented taxable hotel revenue results, Visit Tampa Bay announced record-setting calendar year 2021 numbers.
It delivered industry-leading growth and productivity.
The year-end numbers show revenue in excess of $758 million, an increase of over $50 million or a 7.1% increase on the previous best numbers set in 2019.
Ranking the top 25 markets across the U.S., STR, Inc. rated Tampa Bay as the leading destination in occupancy numbers for 2021, when indexed against 2019, beating out Miami by 1.6% to take the top spot.
It ranked a notable third in Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR).
Additionally, Tourist Development Taxes collected by Hillsborough County in January (for hotel stays in December) totaled $4,495,484, a 32.8% increase over the previous record for January, set in FY 2020.
This takes Tourist Development Taxes collected for the first four months of VTB’s fiscal year to $15,460,998, a 25.3% increase over the same period in FY 2020.
For the month of December, STR also showed that Tampa Bay was in the top three destinations for occupancy in both its leisure and meetings competitive sets.
"Our recovery is well ahead of schedule and the news from a visitor perspective is overwhelmingly positive," said Santiago C. Corrada, President and CEO of Visit Tampa Bay.
"Our team and partners have worked tirelessly to beat expectations and bring economic growth to our community. The past twelve months have seen Tampa Bay shine brighter and bolder."
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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