St. Lucie County Tourism Office experienced an 8.5 percent increase in bed tax revenue for the 2015-16 budget year, compared to the previous record-breaking year. The office, which handles the marketing to promote St. Lucie County as a tourist destination, set a new high, bringing in $3.69 million in bed tax revenue.
St. Lucie County hotels, resorts, condos and campgrounds are required by statute to collect a 5 percent “bed tax” on all stays less than six months. These funds are used to pay for tourism-related capital projects, the maintenance and operation of tourism-related facilities, as well as marketing and promotional activities for St. Lucie County.
“The most encouraging data is the growth we saw during our off-season months in June, July, August and September. These months showed double digit percentage growth in hotel occupancy, average daily rates and revenue per available room – these factors really contributed to our revenue increase,” said Charlotte Bireley, Director of Tourism & Marketing for St. Lucie County.
September 2016 was the best September in bed tax collections in the history of the tax, setting a new high, generating more than $209,532 in bed tax. This represented an increase of over 22 percent compared to September 2015.
“This past year, we focused much of our marketing efforts during the off-season months, so we are encouraged to see that these efforts are paying off. We also worked closely with the Treasure Coast Sports Commission, our partner agency that attracts sporting events to the area to generate hotel room nights. They, too, aligned their event marketing efforts during the off-season. It all came together for another record-breaking year,” stated Chris Dzadovsky, County Commissioner and Chairman of the Tourist Development Council.
St. Lucie, Florida is home to the historic City of Fort Pierce, the new and vibrant City of Port St. Lucie and the beautiful uncrowded beaches of Hutchinson Island. St. Lucie is located on the Atlantic Ocean along the east coast of Florida, 120 miles southeast of Orlando and 115 miles north of Miami with direct access from Florida’s Turnpike, Interstate 95 and State Road 70. The area offers an array of visitor activities including beautiful beaches, championship golf, outdoor and nature adventures for eco-tourists, a thriving arts and cultural scene, world class fishing and dozens of unique attractions. A variety of affordable accommodations such as hotels, motels, bed & breakfasts, vacation condos/homes and an all-inclusive resort are available. For more details visit www.visitstluciefla.com, www.facebook.com/VisitStLucieFla; Twitter: @VisitStLucieFla and Instagram: @VisitStLucieFla.
