Santiago Corrada, President & CEO, Visit Tampa Bay

May 2026 — Invest: spoke with Santiago Corrada, president and chief executive officer of Visit Tampa Bay, about how the organization is attracting higher-yield international travelers and expanding Tampa Bay’s reputation as a luxury destination. “You don’t fully understand Tampa Bay until you experience it. Go and you’ll know” Corrada said.

Over the past year, what key changes have most impacted Visit Tampa Bay, and how have they changed your strategy, if at all?

The tourism landscape is in constant flux, and we make adjustments as needed.  Tampa International Airport now has direct flights from over 20 international cities and we’ve seen exponential growth in the Latin American market while Europe remains an important source of visitors despite ongoing uncertainty with global events. Travelers’ tastes have matured as well as they increasingly seek luxury, yet authentic, experiences.

In response to these market indicators, we have expanded and matured our marketing efforts with an additional emphasis on Tampa Bay’s high-end offerings in locations like the United Kingdom, Germany, Mexico, and Colombia. The investment has manifested through initiatives such as partnerships with English Premier League soccer team Brentford FC, sponsorship of the international London Art Fair, art activations in Hamburg and Amsterdam, paid and earned media across Latin America, in-market representation in places like Mexico City and Bogotá, and large scale out-of-home advertising in train stations as well as pedestrian and vehicle thoroughfares in critical markets in Central America, South America, and Europe.   

As FY25 saw record hotel revenue in Hillsborough County, what do you see as the primary drivers behind that performance, and what does it signal about Tampa Bay’s demand base going into the next five years?

Our continuously improving destination product – hotels, dining, attractions – combined with the nation’s best airport increasingly appeal to potential travelers. In addition to our growing reputation, FY25 was truly unique because the region had to deal with two storms, Helene and Milton, just as the fiscal year got underway. 

Hillsborough County, and particularly Tampa, were fortunate to avoid any major impact on our hospitality infrastructure compared to some of our neighboring counties. As recovery efforts unfolded, we saw increased hotel occupancy and began a trend of eight consecutive months of record hotel revenue as we absorbed residents and workers from outside Hillsborough County staying in our hotels as they dealt with the storms’ aftermath. As the year progressed, we also saw some travelers adjust their plans from traveling to other regional travel destinations and came to Tampa Bay instead. 

As our neighbors recovered, our visitation numbers toward the end of FY25 began to align with expected levels. Initial numbers for FY26 are more on par with FY24, which was a record year itself at the time and is considered a more accurate year-over-year comparison. Looking at current statistics and comparing them to our performance across several previous years, there’s no question we continue to attract more visitors year after year and we are on a trajectory to compete and match previous years’ performance. 

With the launch of the “Go and You’ll Know” campaign, how are you determining whether it’s truly changing how people see Tampa Bay and influencing consideration and intent to visit?

“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.

From there, 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 to understand whether the campaign is shifting how people perceive Tampa Bay and our position in their consideration set.

We then look at how people are engaging with the campaign across channels to ensure the creative is moving audiences from awareness into active consideration.

On the performance side, all of our digital is fully tagged and pixeled, which allows us to track downstream actions and conversions, including hotel bookings. That gives us the ability to tie exposure back to real outcomes and measure incremental lift in visitation, not just activity metrics.

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 – creating economic impact for Hillsborough County.

In our last interview, you’ve emphasized expanding international visitation and targeting higher-yield travelers. As those campaigns mature in the U.K., Germany, Colombia, and Brazil, what early performance indicators are you tracking to determine whether Tampa Bay is not just increasing volume, but increasing per-visitor spend and length of stay?

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.

Overall, 2026 is pacing slightly ahead of last year, with international room nights outside the U.S. and Canada trending up. Mexico and Brazil are pacing ahead, and we’re seeing longer booking windows in parts of Latin America, which signals more intentional trip planning.

We’re also seeing higher ADR tied to international demand. Some of that reflects broader pricing trends in the U.S., but from an economic impact standpoint, longer stays and higher-value bookings increase the value of each visitor.

Taken together, those are the early signals we’re looking for: 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.

Given the READY campaign’s success and the pipeline of new luxury hotels, infrastructure upgrades, and expanded air service, what does Tampa Bay need next?

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 also 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 and the Tampa Bay market would support continued investment.

Convention and meeting space, particularly downtown at the Tampa Convention Center, continues to be at a premium as well. Visit Tampa Bay’s convention sales team and our partners at the TCC and hotels have done a fantastic job attracting large conventions through incentives and by offering great meeting spaces combined with fantastic hotels, restaurants, and attractions. However, 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. 

With ongoing labor pressures in hospitality, what are the current workforce gaps in Hillsborough County, and how are you working with local colleges, workforce boards, and hotel operators to close those gaps in measurable ways?

As tourism in Hillsborough County continues to grow, we expect job growth across every hospitality sector to increase as well. That’s why Visit Tampa Bay is investing in future hospitality leaders right here in the Tampa Bay region. 

First, 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. 

Second, we support and work with USF’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management as undergraduates in their program pursue careers in this dynamic industry. 

Lastly, we support the Hillsborough County’s Economic Development Council by leading their “Make it Tampa Bay” campaign, designed to attract young, educated workers to move to Tampa Bay to pursue their careers. This campaign, while targeting a broad spectrum of skilled professionals, is also meant to appeal to hospitality professionals looking for opportunities in the number one industry in Hillsborough County. 

How does Visit Tampa Bay balance driving visitation with ensuring that tourism enhances quality of life for residents and supports local businesses across Hillsborough County?

Visit Tampa Bay is a not-for-profit, private 501(c)(6) corporation and an accredited Destination Marketing Organization contracted by Hillsborough County to attract visitors to Tampa Bay. From our very beginnings, we have been asked to do so in a manner that supports Hillsborough County elected leaders’ vision for Tampa Bay by welcoming visitors while supporting the needs of residents. That has continually taken shape over our 40-year history by collaborating with county and city officials, as well as our nearly 1,000 partners.