PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — The numbers are in and Discover the Palm Beaches is reporting a record-breaking year for people visiting Palm Beach County.
The organization said that in 2023 Palm Beach County had 9.5 million visitors from Boca Raton to Jupiter and Palm Beach to Belle Glade.
That's a 2.5% visitation increase over 2022, and the third year that Palm Beach County has seen visitation growth since pandemic-related travel restrictions.
"This is a collective win for the county and our industry," Milton Segarra the president and CEO of Discover the Palm Beaches, said. "Not only a phenomenal job from our team but all the TDC (Tourist and Development Council) agencies and stakeholders working together to make sure that we maximize every single dollar that we invest in promoting this destination."
This comes as Discover the Palm Beaches said that overall visitation in Florida decreased but Palm Beach County's numbers went up.
They said the majority of visitors have been from the northeast, New York area, but that Palm Beach County has also seen an increase of people visiting from Canada and even from people who live in Florida.
"Our name, our brand is a global brand, no doubt, and what we're doing is to make sure that we continuously evolve our brand so we can position specifically based on the different audiences that we need from high-end luxury properties to visitors that want to spend days in a limited-service facility and enjoy the beach," Segarra said.
Discover the Palm Beaches reports visitation brought in total spending of $7.1 billion, which is up 4.4% from $6.8 billion in 2022.
The total economic impact was $10.3 billion, up 4% from $9.9 billion in 2022.
The group said bed tax dollars collected through visitation help to fund projects such as beach restoration, cultural programming and institutions and new facilities.
They also said tourism is one of the reasons why Florida residents do not have to pay a state income tax.
Visit Florida's "2022 Economic & Fiscal Impact of Tourism in Florida" said that because visitors to the Sunshine State pay bed taxes, every Florida household saved $1,840 in taxes, according to Discover the Palm Beaches.