Faceoff: How Tampa Bay and Sarasota are leading luxury tourism growth
Key points:
- • Tampa Bay tourism leaders are prioritizing higher-spending visitors over sheer tourism volume.
- • Data, personalization, and luxury tourism are reshaping how Gulf Coast destinations compete for travelers.
- • Workforce development and international growth are becoming critical to the region’s tourism strategy.
May 2026 — Florida’s Gulf Coast has long been defined by its beaches, sunshine, and laid-back charm, but the region’s destination marketing organizations (DMO) are now competing on an entirely different playing field.
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Travel and tourism generated $133.6 billion in economic impact statewide, supporting 1.8 million jobs and saving households nearly $2,000 each in annual taxes, according to Visit Florida. That record-breaking momentum has continued as Florida welcomed 143.3 million visitors in 2025, surpassing its own all-time high, with overseas visitation climbing to 9.3 million and Brazil now ranking as the state’s second-largest international market. Alongside the Sunshine State’s rise, the U.S. luxury travel market was estimated at $428 billion in 2025 and is projected to nearly double to $783 billion by 2033.
As visitor expectations grow, tourism leaders in Tampa Bay and Sarasota are moving beyond raw visitation numbers into a more sophisticated conversation about yield, resident sentiment, and Gulf Coast destination marketing.
Invest: Tampa Bay sat down with Santiago Corrada, president and CEO of Visit Tampa Bay, and Erin Duggan, president and CEO of Visit Sarasota County. Both are betting that the future of Tampa Bay is about international air access, luxury product gaps, arts investment, and workforce pipelines. In a market where trends cycle in three months rather than three years, only data-driven, quality-focused DMOs will stay ahead.
How are you measuring the value of each visitor, not just the count?
Santiago Corrada: As our international campaigns mature, we’re focused on quality of demand, not just volume. It’s not enough to bring more visitors from the U.K., Germany, Colombia, and Brazil. What matters is whether they’re staying longer, booking more room nights, and delivering higher overall value to the destination. With key partners in markets like Mexico and Colombia, including PriceTravel and Despegar, we’ve seen more than a 20% increase in room nights and, in several cases, an increase in average length of stay. In the U.K., we’re seeing average stays with some partners move from roughly 1.5 nights to closer to 2.8 nights, which is exactly the type of shift we want as markets mature. Longer stays, more room nights, stronger pacing, and higher-value bookings — that’s how we know these markets are starting to deliver higher-yield visitation, not just incremental volume.
Erin Duggan: We’d rather attract fewer tourists who spend more money than large volumes of visitors who spend less. To track our progress, we rely heavily on data and research. We analyze where our visitors are coming from and identify which markets yield the highest spending. Based on those insights, we double down on the markets performing well — what we often refer to as A/B testing … One of our most effective tools is a platform called Zartico. We’ve been using it for about two years now. What’s great about Zartico is that it eliminates guesswork. We’re able to analyze real-time, real-life data — which is critical because our county is geographically large and diverse. What’s happening in one area of our county may be completely different 40 miles away.
How are you attracting both first-time and repeat visitors?
Corrada: ‘Go and You’ll Know’ is grounded in consumer research. What we consistently see is that once people actually experience Tampa Bay, their perceptions of key brand attributes — how peaceful the destination is, how diverse and dynamic it feels, and even perceptions around quality and luxury — more than double post-visit. That insight is what shaped the campaign idea. You don’t fully understand Tampa Bay until you experience it. Go and you’ll know. We take a full-funnel approach to measurement, because marketing only matters if it leads to real outcomes. At the top of the funnel, we track brand awareness, consideration, and intent to visit. All of our digital is fully tagged and pixeled, which allows us to track downstream actions and conversions, including hotel bookings. The goal is to connect the dots from brand to booking and demonstrate that Go and You’ll Know is not just a brand platform, but a driver of consideration, intent, and incremental visitation.
Duggan: We want residents to feel proud to live along Florida’s Cultural Coast. When they genuinely buy into that identity, it resonates more powerfully in our external messaging. Arts and culture significantly contribute to residents’ mental health and quality of life, which is why we aim to inspire that pride internally before promoting it externally. One noticeable shift is that trends don’t last as long as they used to. In the past, a trend might have defined the year. Now, we see trends come and go in just three months. That volatility means we have to constantly monitor and analyze data. You can’t just ‘set it and forget it.’ Our website is also adaptive — it responds to user behavior and browsing history, which helps us show people the content that interests them most. Someone interested in arts and culture might see very different homepage content than someone who prefers outdoor recreation. It’s all about personalization and relevance.
Given the pipeline of new luxury hotels, infrastructure upgrades, and expanded air service, what does Tampa Bay need next?
Corrada: More high-end hotel products and meeting space are two of Tampa Bay’s biggest needs. We have benefited greatly from recent upscale hotel additions such as the Tampa EDITION, J.W. Marriott Tampa Water Street, Palihouse Hyde Park Village and Epicurean, as well as upgrades to classic properties like Hotel Flor. We are excited to welcome the historic boutique Inn at El Reloj in late 2026 and the luxurious Pendry Tampa in 2027, but the demand for high quality hotel stays remains. Convention and meeting space, particularly downtown at the Tampa Convention Center, continues to be at a premium. We still need to improve the combination of event space and available lodging to be competitive in attracting the largest groups and most lucrative conventions. On the workforce side, we’ve worked with Hillsborough County Public Schools to give area high school students exposure to the vast number of opportunities in our industry through their Tourism and Hospitality Program, and we support USF’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management as undergraduates pursue careers in this dynamic industry.
How are you working with local businesses, educational institutions, or regional partners to attract and retain skilled workers to support all these initiatives?
Duggan: Workforce development is one of the biggest challenges we face, both locally and statewide. One way we contribute is by targeting a specific audience segment — people who might visit Sarasota County with the intent of eventually relocating for work. Our website includes dedicated content under ‘Work Where You Want to Live,’ which highlights our A+ healthcare and school systems, as well as the unique characteristics of various neighborhoods. We’re also committed to educating local youth about career opportunities in hospitality. There’s a common misconception that hospitality jobs are low-wage, which isn’t necessarily true. Whether you’re a GM at a luxury hotel, a restaurant manager, or a hospitality accountant, there’s a wide range of well-paying career paths. Every fall, we partner with the State College of Florida and Sarasota County Public Schools to host a Hospitality Day. Hundreds of high school students meet professionals across the industry to learn about the many possibilities.
Want more? Read the Invest: Tampa Bay report.
