Palm Beaches expects record-breaking numbers this year
At a recent event in West Palm beach, Florida, Discover the Palm Beaches (DTPB) released data that shows the destination is on track for another record-breaking year.
DTPB forecasts a total of 9.5 million visitors for 2023 and visitor spending of $7 billion with continued moderate growth expected to continue in 2024. The organization also attested to the increasingly important role that the tourism industry plays in the economy and quality of life of all residents in Palm Beach County by contributing more than 85,000 jobs to the local workforce and $10 billion in economic impact.
New hotels on the way
The Palm Beaches plan on welcoming 17 new hotels with 2,372 rooms by 2026, contributing to overall destination growth as well as providing new meeting and experience options for residents and visitors.
Of the forecasted 9.5 million visitors the destination is expecting, 810,000 are expected to be international. On average
international visitation accounts for 8% of total visitation to the destination.
From January 2023 through September 2023, The Palm Beaches welcomed nearly 254,000 Canadian travellers to the destination, representing an 18.4 per cent growth from the year prior’s 214,500 Canadians and a nearly 16 per cent increase from 2019’s 219,000.
Spend for the first three quarters of 2023 achieved nearly $288M, up 2.5% from $281M in 2022 and up 22% from $236M in 2019.
“Tourism master plan”
The Palm Beach County Tourist Development Council (TDC), in collaboration with all TDC agencies, are in the final stages of selecting and announcing the consulting company that will assist in the execution of a tourism master plan.
With input from tourism partners and community members, the plan will provide a 20-year visionary roadmap to maintain and enhance Palm Beach County’s travel market position, addressing tourism-related product development needs for the region, identifying opportunities for investors and businesses, establishing workforce development and diversity initiatives, and closing the gap between demand and supply for visitors, residents, and stakeholders.
As it relates to hotel development, DTPB considers a second convention centre hotel a fundamental step to position The Palm Beaches as a competitor in the mid-tier convention and meetings market. This would allow the destination to attract and accommodate larger groups and meetings and utilizing the convention centre to greater capacity while increasing economic impact to the area exponentially.
Palm Beach County has issued a request for proposal for a second headquarter hotel in the convention centre district to create a minimum of 600 additional rooms as recommended by a comprehensive study approved by the County Commission in 2020.
