Invest: Tampa Bay

Page 145

TOURISM, ARTS & CULTURE INTERVIEW

High impact Stellar hotel revenue numbers and tourism tax benefits ensure local employment opportunities as Tampa Bay becomes a ‘must-visit’ destination

Santiago Corrada President & CEO Visit Tampa Bay

How has the region benefited from the record year it just had in regard to tourism numbers? We had an incredible end to the 2018 calendar year. It was another record-setting year for hotel revenue, which is phenomenal given that we have had record-setting years every year since 2014. We ended 2018 at $673.5 million in hotel taxable revenue, which was almost 5% higher than the previous year at $644 million. This is important for us because anytime a county hits $600 million in taxable revenue, it is granted the designation of a high-impact tourism destination. We have been able to reach that designation for two years in a row, and this year was even more important because our county commission just approved a rise in the tourism tax from 5% to 6%, which is the highest that any county can collect. These tourists are paying taxes that impact our quality of life; for example, every single tourist pays that new transportation tax, the new education tax and they pay a sales tax. All these things are contributing to the region’s job market and we are able to afford our locals more employment opportunities. How is Visit Tampa Bay attracting more people into the region? This region is starting to become everybody’s must-visit destination, which is awesome. This openness with tourism leads to people wanting to relocate, which is what we are now promoting while marketing for economic development. Instead of Visit Tampa Bay, we are calling the campaign “Make it Tampa Bay.” The campaign is to encourage people to make it Tampa Bay for a new job, or a corporate relocation or even a home relocation. We are branching out and doing more than just tourism marketing. We are now moving from that first initial visit to hopefully making you a permanent neighbor of ours.

How can the region sustain and build upon the growth of tourism into Tampa Bay? The modest hotel growth we are seeing in this region will help. There are certain big-name, five-star brands we do not have in Hillsborough County, and as the business plan makes sense to add these properties then we will. These new properties will yield different business groups and markets for the region. We have to continue to capitalize when we have an opportunity to expand our reach, refresh our brands and to always have something new to bring visitors back. That’s why new developments like the Tampa Riverwalk are so important, why food halls are so important and why Busch Gardens updating and adding its roller coasters is significant because it gives people a reason to want to come back to Tampa Bay. Sustainability in this industry has to do with still being aggressive and still going after it. www.capitalanalyticsassociates.com

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Interview: Brian Kornfeld

6min
pages 153-155

Interview: Roger Germann

7min
pages 150-152

Roundtable: Tampa Bay Sports

7min
pages 156-160

Market voices: Destinations

4min
pages 148-149

Interview: Tim Jarrett, General

5min
pages 146-147

Interview: Santiago Corrada

2min
page 145

Where to? Tourism in Tampa

2min
page 144

Interview: Robert Bishop, Dean

7min
pages 140-143

Interview: Steven Currall

10min
pages 135-138

Rise up: Tampa Bay’s

2min
page 134

Interview: Randy Avent

3min
page 139

Roundtable: Care concerns

12min
pages 128-133

Interview: Phillip Dingle

6min
pages 126-127

Interview: John Couris, CEO

6min
pages 121-123

Interview: Mike Schultz

4min
pages 124-125

Hub attraction: Tampa Bay has

2min
page 120

Interview: David Call, Florida

3min
pages 117-119

Market voices: Good advice

2min
page 116

Roundtable: Key attractions

15min
pages 110-115

Interview: Tim Schar, Tampa

5min
pages 107-108

Interview: Rita Lowman

2min
page 109

Interview: Jorge Gonzalez

7min
pages 102-105

Interview: Jim Daly, Regional

2min
page 106

Interview: Gregory Kadet

7min
pages 99-101

Bankable: A tax-friendly

1min
page 98

Interview: Beth Alden

2min
page 94

Interview: David Green

7min
pages 95-97

Interview: Paul Anderson, CEO

2min
page 93

Interview: Joe Waggoner, CEO

9min
pages 90-92

Hard at work: The region is

2min
page 88

Interview: David Gwynn

2min
page 89

Interview: Catherine Stempien

6min
pages 84-87

Interview: Nancy Tower

2min
page 82

Interview: Gary Godsey

4min
pages 71-73

Interview: Todd Fultz, Managing

11min
pages 76-79

Interview: T.J. Szelistowski

2min
page 83

Demanding times: Tampa Bay

2min
page 81

Strong fundamentals: As cranes

5min
pages 74-75

Interview: Mark Metheny

3min
page 70

Market voices: Growth factors

1min
page 80

Roundtable: Commercial Real Estate

5min
pages 68-69

Interview: Alan Higbee

5min
pages 55-56

Interview: Nicholas Haines

7min
pages 65-67

Building value: The temperature

2min
page 60

Interview: Leroy Moore, COO

5min
pages 61-62

Market voices: Transformation

5min
pages 63-64

Market voices: Advantages

4min
pages 57-59

Interview: Bill Schifino, Tampa

3min
page 54

Interview: Douglas Wright

5min
pages 51-52

Interview: Hala Sandridge

3min
page 53

Evolution: The legal landscape

2min
page 50

Flourishing: The city of

1min
page 36

Market voices: Developing Clearwater

11min
pages 40-44

Interview: Scott Perry, CEO

9min
pages 45-49

Interview: Frank Hibbard

6min
pages 37-39

Roundtable: Female leaders in the Bay

5min
pages 32-35

Interview: Sandra Murman

2min
page 13

Market voices: St. Petersburg

1min
page 26

Interview: Kenneth Welch

13min
pages 27-31

Interview: John Flanagan, CEO

2min
page 25

Powerhouse: Looming concerns

1min
page 12

Interview: Lynda Remund

3min
pages 18-19

Roundtable: What is needed to sustain growth?

12min
pages 20-24

Interview: Craig Richard

9min
pages 14-17
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