Spring break is coming up, and it’s expected to be a busy one. As always, Florida is a hubspot for tourists and Pinellas County is no exception.
Robin Miller, President/CEO of the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber, said spring break is one of the main economic drivers for the area.
“These small businesses and medium businesses that are surrounding our resorts along the beaches of Pinellas County depend wildly on the traffic that comes from a spring break season or any other type of holiday season,” said Miller.
With heavy reliance on the tourism industry, the influx of revenue from vacationers ensures that local businesses have money available to sustain operations during quieter months.
In 2023, nearly 16 million visitors came to Pinellas County. The total economic impact of tourism for the county was nearly $11 billion with more than $6.5 billion in direct visitor spending, according to Visit St. Pete/Clearwater.
“Travelers should book parking now if they are planning to use our garages any time over the next several weeks, and they should arrive at the airport two hours before their departure.”Emily Nipps, Tampa International Airport director of communications
Brian Lowack is president/CEO of the organization. He said that tourism has not only rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic, but has exceeded pre-pandemic numbers. Lowack expects a busy spring break this year, with heavy beach traffic and fewer parking spaces available.
That means tourists might want to find a different form of transportation.
"Whether you're staying on the beach, and you want to get over to downtown St. Pete, to go explore Central Ave, all the restaurants and the Pier and the museums, you can take the SunRunner direct shot,” said Lowack. “Or if you're staying downtown and you want to get to the beach, jump right on, you're there in 25 minutes."
The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority is also offering free parking at a number of pickup locations and a free shuttle service that takes visitors to the Clearwater Marina.
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Emily Nipps, director of communications at Tampa International Airport, said they expect to see a record-breaking number of passengers this year.
“Travelers should book parking now if they are planning to use our garages any time over the next several weeks, and they should arrive at the airport two hours before their departure,” said Nipps.
Tampa International already broke its single-day passenger record last week, with more than 93,000 passengers passing through the airport on Feb. 25. Airport officials expect between 90,000 and 100,000 passengers every Saturday and Sunday during the 38-day spring break travel period, with more than 100,000 expected on March 9 and 17.
A recent survey conducted by AAA sheds light on how state residents plan to spend their time. Over a quarter (29%) of Floridians plan to take a spring break trip. Some of the most popular destinations include the beach (30%), theme parks (23%), international vacations (17%) and ocean cruises (15%).
“We get a good amount of traffic, especially on the weekends and day trippers that are (driving) — Orlando, south of the Skyway and North Tampa are a lot of our traffic,” said Robin Miller.
Perhaps surprisingly, other popular origin spots include spring break hotspots like Daytona Beach, Miami and Jacksonville.
“Hopefully, you're going to see a lot of smiling faces, families and Spring Breakers out along our beaches, enjoying our white sugary sand, our water, and the different activities up and down the beaches,” said Brian Lowack.
