Tourism setback? Visitors to Volusia down 5 months in a row
A red-hot visitor influx at the World’s Most Famous Beach over the past two summers continued to cool in July.
Typically a peak month for beachgoers against the backdrop of the July 4th holiday weekend, it marked the fifth consecutive month of declining tourism numbers countywide.
In Volusia County, tourism tax collections from hotels and lodges, also known as bed taxes, were down 13.6% for the county's three tourism advertising authorities for July, the most recent figures available from the Revenue Division, compared with the same month a year ago.
Tourism officials, hoteliers and industry observers characterize the decline as the result of multiple factors that range from evolving travel habits as the nation moves beyond the pandemic, economic uncertainty, the impact of back-to-back tropical storms as well as the publicity generated by polarizing political issues that have put Florida in the national spotlight.
In Volusia, tourism declines started in March
In Volusia County, it’s the fifth straight month of declines in a trend that started with a modest 0.94% dip in overall collections in March, followed by year-over-year downturns of 8.89% in April, 5.8% in May and 11.5% in June, according to county records.
During that same period, collections for the Halifax Area Advertising Authority that encompasses the core beachside tourist areas of Daytona Beach were down by 2.32% in March, 11.1% in April, 7.58% in May, 16.1% in June and 16.3% in July.
In case you missed it: In Daytona Beach, summer tourism cools compared with red-hot 2022. Why?
For the first 10 months of the fiscal year that started on Oct. 1, countywide collections are down 3.3% compared with the same period a year ago, with Halifax down by 4.93%.
For perspective, the bar is set exceptionally high to match the booming post-COVID visitor influx of the past two summers.
For the fiscal year that concluded on Sept. 30, 2022, record-high overall tourism bed-tax collections of $33.7 million countywide were more than 20% higher than the previous year, which also set a record.
More: Volusia tourism leaders celebrate record 10.6M visitors in 2022
The county collects a 6 percent tourism tax on hotels and lodges with half of the revenues going to fund the county-run Ocean Center convention complex in Daytona Beach. The other half goes to the county’s three tourism ad authorities to market their respective areas — the Daytona Beach/Halifax area, Southeast Volusia and West Volusia — as tourist and special event destinations.
The latest July bed tax figures also eclipse collection totals for the same month in pre-COVID 2019.
In that month, overall collections were $2.8 million, compared with $3.3 million in July 2023, representing a 20% increase.
“I don’t think it’s a decline,” said Bob Davis, president of the Lodging & Hospitality Association of Volusia County, of the recent figures. “We had a grand slam summer last year, people were finished with COVID, they wanted to come out, not only to Daytona Beach, but all over Florida. We all had record seasons.
“This year, people stayed home, whether it was the heat, the expense. I do think some of the new state laws did affect hospitality, but again, that was all over, it didn’t just happen here. We never had a season like the year before. There’s not anything bad about what’s going on now.”
‘A hodgepodge of factors’ contributing to declines
The importance of the pre-COVID comparison was echoed by Scott Smith, hospitality professor and director of graduate studies at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.
“That’s the benchmark everyone is looking at, it’s 2019,” said Smith, who worked as director of convention services in the early 1990s at the Daytona Marriott, the hotel that is now the 744-room Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort. “That’s considered the go-back-in-the-time-machine time that was pre-COVID.”
This year’s softening summer of Florida tourism reflects the changing mindset of travelers as tourism destinations have reopened worldwide, Smith said.
By comparison, the state had little competition over the past two summers when it was among the first destinations to reopen as the pandemic eased, Smith said.
This year, for instance, American summer travel to Europe was estimated to increase by 55%, according to statistics from travel insurance company Allianz Partners. Many potential visitors also are concerned about the state of the economy, Smith said.
“It’s a hodgepodge of factors that are absolutely causing this,” Smith said. “I can’t point to one thing in particular.”
Downturns also affecting other destinations
Whatever the reason, other destinations in Central Florida also are experiencing declines.
In Orange County, home to the state’s famed Orlando theme parks, monthly collections dipped by 5% year-over-year in July, the fourth straight month of declines, according to figures from Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond. For the fiscal year, collections are still tracking ahead of last year’s record pace.
In Brevard County, July collections were down by 2.7% compared with the same month a year ago. In June, however, the county logged an 8.8% year-over-year increase, said Peter Cranis, executive director of the Space Coast Office of Tourism.
For the first 10 months of the fiscal year, Brevard collections are up 12.5%, a performance that Cranis attributes to the return of the destination’s cruise industry and visitors attracted by the active schedule of Space X rocket launches.
In Daytona Beach, the impact of back-to-back tropical storms Ian and Nicole derailed a string of record-setting monthly collection totals for the Halifax district that started in March 2021.
“There have been a few factors that have impacted Florida tourism in the Daytona Beach area such as hurricanes and sargassum and seaweed,” said Lori Campbell Baker, executive director of the Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We also know that some folks have been venturing beyond our destination, doing bucket-list trips abroad.”
A lot of factors 'beyond our control'
To combat such headwinds, the CVB has planned promotional pushes aimed at both leisure travelers and the group business sector, Baker said.
“Our award-winning ‘Beach On’ campaign is resonating strongly and we are showcasing our beaches along with our arts and culture, trails and green spaces, restaurants and microbreweries, attractions, and shops,” she said.
The CVB also is actively promoting new additions to the destination such as the Riverfront Esplanade along Beach Street, new service from Avelo Airlines at Daytona International Airport, the anticipated openings next year of both the Daytona Aquarium & Rainforest Adventure and the Renaissance by Marriott Daytona Beach Oceanfront hotel, Baker said.
“With meetings and conventions, we continue to concentrate our efforts on need periods and Sunday through Thursday meeting patterns in order to fill gaps between weekend business,” she said.
After back-to-back record-setting summers, this summer’s performance isn’t overly concerning to Rob Burnetti, general manager of the 212-room Shores Resort & Spa in Daytona Beach Shores,
“We’re coming off a couple of record years, so that’s easing some of the concern,” Burnetti said. “A lot of the factors are beyond our control, but the business is still healthy and growing over time.
“It’s like the stock market in a way, sometimes there’s a correction over time and then it comes back. I think that’s the situation this market is in.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Tourism down? Decline of visitors to Volusia marks 5 straight months
