Tourist tax in Tampa surges, reaches nearly $33M in first half of fiscal year

Tampa has been a hotbed for tourists this year, already reaching near $33 million in tourist development taxes. 

Visit Tampa Bay, a destination leadership marketing organization, reported that the tourist development tax collections for this year so far are up to $32.76 million. 

Additionally, the TDT collections in March, which also reflected hotel collections in February, reached $6.79 million, according to a statement. That was 12.9% higher than March 2022. 

“Hillsborough County’s noteworthy numbers are a direct result of the collaboration between our community partners and stakeholders that help generate significant economic impact for our citizens,” says Santiago Corrada, president and CEO of Visit Tampa Bay, in the press release. “As we move into the second half of the fiscal year the industry will keep the momentum going as we continue to expand our culinary profile, open new attractions and welcome multiple high-profile conventions to Tampa Bay.” 

According to STR, a division of CoStar Group that collects hotel industry market data, hotel occupancy in the Tampa Bay area was marked at 84.7% in March, which was the highest level of the report’s top 25 markets.

Other notable achievements for March include the average daily rate, which came in at $201.65, and revenue per available room, or RevPAR, a key hotel industry metric, which was $170.78. 

In February, the total taxable hotel revenue was $113.37 billion. That’s a 13% increase over the record set last year and is 72.5% higher than February 2021.