Latest news with #VisitSt.Pete-Clearwater
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Yahoo
Egmont Key State Park reopens after months of recovery from hurricanes
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — One of Tampa Bay's most beloved islands has reopened to the public after months of cleanup and recovery from last year's hurricanes. Egmont Key State Park quietly reopened last Friday, officials with Visit St. Pete-Clearwater said. Devastated Redington Beach homeowners in limbo after broken deals Reachable only by boat, the secluded island at the mouth of Tampa Bay is primarily a wildlife refuge but can also be a 'personal refuge' for visitors, the Florida State Parks website states. Many visitors enjoy fishing, swimming, picnicking and viewing the island's wildlife, including a large population of gopher tortoises. The 440-acre remote island also has a significant history as it is home to Fort Dade and a light house built in 1858. According to Visit St. Pete-Clearwater, the island's lighthouse was one of the last government-operated lighthouses in the U.S. and still serves as an active navigational aide to ships entering Tampa Bay. Several parks and beaches in Pinellas County were closed for months after officials said they suffered 'catastrophic' damage from Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Trees toppled onto buildings and hundreds of picnic tables washed away at the nearby Fort De Soto campground, which fully reopened in February after an extensive cleanup. With Wednesday's announcement that Egmont Key State Park is back, officials invited visitors to 'Swim. Explore. Relax. But please leave nothing but your footprints.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
January's tourist development tax reaches record for the month while bouncing back from hurricanes
The Brief January's tourist development tax in Pinellas County was $8.29 million, according to Visit St. Pete-Clearwater – a record for the month. This January's tourism development tax beat the previous record in 2023 by about $4,000. While it did grow overall, St. Petersburg and Clearwater carried most of the weight in January. LARGO, Fla. - Pinellas County is bouncing back in a massive way from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, surprising even some local leaders. Big picture view According to Visit St. Pete-Clearwater, January's tourist development tax, also called the hotel bed tax, money for projects like beach renourishment, was $8.29 million. That's a record for the month. READ: One of Treasure Island's major parking lots remains closed as spring break season gets underway "Demand has held strong since the storm incidents this past fall," Eddie Kirsch, the director of digital and data for Visit St. Pete-Clearwater, said as he presented January's numbers to Pinellas County's Tourist Development Council on Wednesday. "For the third year in a row, the tourism development tax surpassed $8 million in January," he said. This January's tourism development tax beat the previous record in 2023 by about $4,000. Follow FOX 13 on YouTube "It's amazing to me that our January collections in 2025 were better after two hurricanes not too long ago," Pinellas County Commissioner Brian Scott, the Chair of the Council, said. "That's amazing to me and is great news." By the numbers It follows a record December for the TDT too. While it did grow overall, St. Petersburg and Clearwater carried most of the weight in January. St. Pete's TDT grew by nearly 34% compared to last January, totaling about $1.5 million. Clearwater, including its beach, grew by 16%, with more than $2 million. Events like the St. Petersburg Power and Sailboat Show in downtown helped add to those numbers. St. Pete Beach, Treasure Island and Madeira Beach's TDT fell by almost 35% this January compared to last. While hotel demand was up almost 17% compared to last January, outpacing Hillsborough and Sarasota, Kirsch said, council members pointed out other factors could be contributing to that too. MORE: Pinellas hospitality industry welcoming Spring Break visitors after devastating hurricanes "Another thing that I think has helped the hotels out quite a bit are the vacation rentals. There are a lot of those that are closed down and hotels are more available than them," Phil M. Henderson, Jr., the president/CEO of StarLite Cruises, said. Dig deeper Kirsch said more groups visited in January, and there were more daytrips than in the past. He said they're also hoping to reopen about 1,400 hotel rooms by the spring and summer. They hope to keep the momentum going through spring break and the rest of the year. READ:DeSantis stresses spring break safety as Clearwater Beach hotspot prepares for rush "With a later Easter, there's a longer spring travel period that, hopefully, we're able to take advantage of, and we're paying close attention to the hotels and projects that are reopening to make sure that as those start to reopen, we're focused on driving demand and getting those back open," Kirsch said. They're also looking into how locals staying in hotels with FEMA's Transitional Sheltering Assistance program may have factored into the data. Kirsch also credits Visit St. Pete-Clearwater's marketing, though, to the record numbers. More than double the visitors this January said they saw some sort of promotional advertising for the area before their trip. The Source The information in this story was gathered using Visit St. Pete-Clearwater data. WATCH FOX 13 NEWS: STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app:Apple |Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter
Axios
04-02-2025
- Business
- Axios
St. Petersburg to join Michelin Guide in latest Florida expansion
The Michelin Guide and its coveted stars are coming to Pinellas, the county's tourism board announced Tuesday. Why it matters: Restaurants from St. Petersburg to Tarpon Springs will now be eligible to appear in the Michelin Guide and for award recognition — any of which would put Pinellas on the map for culinary excellence. State of play: The guide expanded to Florida in 2022, becoming the fifth U.S. destination after New York, D.C., Chicago and California. But only Tampa (the city, not the Tampa Bay region), Orlando and Miami were eligible for Michelin honors. How it works: Florida's tourism board and the local tourism agencies representing those cities shelled out close to $1.5 million total over three years to expand the guide to the Sunshine State, the Miami Herald reported in 2021. Visit Tampa Bay's payments of about $116,000 per year for three years brought the guide to Tampa, per the Tampa Bay Times. Visit St. Pete-Clearwater, Pinellas County's tourism arm, wasn't part of the deal — until now. Driving the news: The agency announced Tuesday that it had signed a XX-year contract with Michelin that will make Pinellas restaurants eligible for the next round of awards, which are typically handed out at a springtime ceremony. A news release from the agency didn't disclose how much Visit St. Pete-Clearwater paid the guide for the expansion. The agency is funded by the county's 6% tourism development tax on hotel and rental-home accommodations. What they're saying: "This inclusion now gives us the chance to show off our award-winning beaches and award-worthy culinary experiences as we set out to change the perception of what beach cuisine can be," Visit St. Pete-Clearwater President/CEO Brian Lowack said in the release. The big picture: The Florida expansion also includes Greater Fort Lauderdale and the Palm Beaches, Michelin announced. Between the lines: The money helps offset the cost of making the guides, which are printed and available online, per the Herald. But the payments don't sway the inspectors who hand out the awards, Michelin says. The goal for the tourism agencies was to attract more international travelers to the Sunshine State. Those tourists stay longer and spend more, a representative from Miami's tourism arm told the Herald. Zoom in: Tampa wasn't awarded stars the first year, but since then five restaurants have received one star each: Ebbe, Lilac, Koya, Kōsen and Rocca. Streetlight Taco, Rooster and the Till, Gorkhali Kitchen and Psomi have received the Bib Gourmand designation, which honors good food at a great value. The guide includes 29 Tampa restaurants in total, including institutions like Bern's Steakhouse and Columbia.
