Tampa is a popular tourist destination. It offers a variety of things to see, and for years, Tampa had been breaking records of tourism revenues. 2019 was a record year, and while 2020 started on a record-setting pace, COVID-19 changed everything.
“When you have a shut-down of the tourism industry, you have effects that ripple through the community,” said Santiago Corrada, the C.E.O of Visit Tampa Bay.
This ripple effect was a vicious circle for tourism. In 2020, hotel room occupancy went from 87.8% in February, to 23.2% in April according to Corrada. This is a direct consequence of the sudden limitation of domestic travel and the stop of international flights, which affected the local tourist businesses.
The tourism industry has been one of the most affected by the pandemic. “Over 58,000 of our neighbors are employed in the industry with several billion dollars’ worth of income,” Corrada said.
The exceptional revenues linked with tourism in the Tampa Bay area are the direct result of a variety of shops, restaurants and cultural venues that generated $4.5 billion in visitor spending in 2019.
Among the popular tourist spots in Tampa is the historic district of Ybor City. Once known as the Cigar Capital of the World, it is home to a dozen cigar shops, which greatly suffered from the pandemic.
“It got to a point that we thought it was the end,” said Yanko Maceda, the owner of Tabanero Cigars, located in the center of Ybor.
He and the other cigar manufacturers had to adapt to the situation to survive. In Maceda’s case, he put in place a cigar delivery service. While efficient, Maceda says the challenge is to find more customers.
With people getting vaccinated everyday in Florida, and summer approaching, Maceda does not anticipate any short-term improvement for his business.
“Usually, we make most of our money between October and June. That season did not happen, and I think the summer will be pretty tough,” said Maceda.
While aware of the situation in Ybor City, Santiago Corrada is optimistic about the future of Tampa’s tourism.
“I really do think that we’re going to start looking a little bit more normal probably in summer later this year and if we get international travel back, we should be close to normal by the beginning of next year,” Corrada said.
Hotel occupancy was back to 70% in February 2021, and Forbes magazine named Tampa among the busiest travel destinations in the United States in 2020. Super Bowl LV being hosted in Tampa was also a boost for the industry.
Tampa can also count on the return of most domestic travelers.
“Being up north, things were extra locked down […] when we got vaccinated, we decided it was time to get out,” said Michael Banone, a tourist from Buffalo New York.
Tampa has a long way to go, but tourism will get back to normal.
