Record-setting recovery: Pinellas tourism thrives after storms

Resiliency is the capacity to withstand or recover quickly from challenges, which objectively describes Pinellas County’s tourism industry.

Visitors contributed a record $8.29 million to local tax coffers in January, just three months after Hurricanes Helene and Milton decimated the area. That number will likely continue trending higher as tourism officials await over 1,400 rooms reopening – most by the end of the summer.

St. Petersburg helped offset beachfront losses as bed tax revenue – a 6% surcharge on overnight stays – in the city soared by 34% year-over-year. The county’s Tourist Development Council heard the encouraging statistics Thursday morning.

“It’s amazing, to me, that our January collections in 2025 were better after two hurricanes, not that long ago,” said County Commission Chair Brian Scott. “That is amazing to me. Great news.”

While January’s tourism tax revenue only topped the 2023 benchmark by 1.65%, several hotels and vacation rentals remain offline or have shuttered indefinitely. The latter category’s collections were down by 41%, and overall room supply dipped by 5.6% year-over-year.

In addition, bed taxes plummeted by 35% in St. Pete Beach, Treasure Island and Madeira Beach. However, the county’s largest municipality compensated for its neighboring coastal communities.

In November 2024, St. Peterburg generated $1 million in tourism taxes for the first time in history. That number increased to nearly $1.5 million in January.

A graphic highlighting the number of temporarily closed properties set to reopen this year. Screengrab.

Eddie Kirsch, director of digital and data for Visit St. Pete-Clearwater (VSPC), led the presentation. He said demand for hotel rooms remains strong, and the vacation rental market is “still continuing to recover.”

Several other cities saw dramatic year-over-year increases. Clearwater and Clearwater Beach’s tourism tax revenue grew 16% to over $2 million. Collections in Tarpon Springs, Palm Harbor, Dunedin and Oldsmar spiked 25.5% to nearly $500,000.

Multiple other metrics also highlight the local tourism industry’s resiliency. Hotel occupancy in January was 79% (+23.6%), and the average per-room cost was $185 (+6.1%).

Overall demand and revenue increased by 16.7% and 23.7%, respectively. Kirsch noted the local demand outpaced Hillsborough and Sarasota Counties and competitive markets statewide.

Kirsch said VSPC is “really starting to see a decrease in people coming as just couples, and more people coming as groups of friends, extended families or even groups of couples.” Russ Kimball, CEO of the Sheraton Sand Key Resort, agreed with that assertion and credited gatherings for helping propel his business.

Kirsch said there was a surge in regional visitors on day trips. He highlighted how 87% of people surveyed – “by far a record” – recalled seeing “some form of promotional advertising” before their trip.

Kirsch said that number is typically in the 40% range and credited VSPC’s post-storm “Still Shining” marketing campaign. The visitor’s bureau has since transitioned to showcasing inland attractions that complement the coast, which is already paying dividends.

Brian Lowack, CEO of VSPC, explained the tourist tax revenue pattern he has seen evolve through fiscal year 2025’s first quarter. It began with a 30% drop in Helene and Milton’s immediate aftermath.

“Month two, we were flat, essentially,” Lowack said. “Month three, we were up 8%. Now, in month four, we are up again. So, when we speak to trends post-storms, things are trending in the right direction.”

Having over 1,400 rooms reemerge throughout 2025 should further fuel the tourism industry. Kirsch said VSPC excluded hotels without a reopening date from the list.

In addition, he noted that Pinellas has 27 hotel projects either in the final planning stages or under construction. Those will provide over 2,300 new rooms by 2027 and 3,277 by 2034.

St. Petersburg will see 649 new rooms despite the Tampa Bay Rays pulling the plug on the Historic Gas Plant District’s $6.7 billion redevelopment. Kirsch said several hotels scheduled to open in 2026 will now welcome guests in 2027, “which does make a little bit more sense” due to the hurricanes pushing back plans.