Palm Beach County had its biggest year of tourism yet, with Discover the Palm Beaches recording 9.9 million visitors for 2024.
Discover the Palm Beaches (DTPB), the organization that promotes and supports Palm Beach County’s tourism economy, announced Monday that the county’s visitation numbers rose by 4.6% from 9.48 million in 2023, with an economic impact of $10.5 billion, up from $10.3 billion. The increase in visitors also contributed to a $100 million increase in spending, for a total of $7.2 billion.
“This remarkable achievement underscores the effectiveness of our strategic destination promotion efforts,” said DTPB President and CEO Milton Segarra in a press release.
“Our data-driven advertising and marketing strategies, combined with our robust sales initiatives and the invaluable collaboration with our sister Tourist Development Council agencies in Sports, Culture, and Film/TV, have been instrumental in continuing to attract a record number of visitors to our destination. We thank our tourism industry partners for their unwavering support and dedication, which have been crucial to our success.”
Discover the Palm Beaches attributes the increase in visitors to the growing demand from Texas, the addition of direct flights from more American cities, and the organization’s marketing efforts to establish Palm Beach County as an international travel destination.
Palm Beach County’s tourism boom directly impacts quality of life for local residents through bed taxes, a 6% tax on revenues from short-term rentals that goes toward beach restoration, cultural programming and institutions, and new facilities. According to a 2023 Visit Florida report, bed taxes from visitors save Florida residents an estimated $1,910 in taxes each year.
