HOTEL REVENUE

JUNE TOURISM NUMBERS PUSH TAMPA BAY NEAR FOURTH STRAIGHT $1 BILLION YEAR

Hotel demand, occupancy and visitor spending continue to fuel strong visitation numbers

Tampa, FL (August 18, 2026) – Hillsborough County tourism continued its steady performance, delivering one of the strongest Junes on record. The destination is now just shy of reaching $1 billion in taxable hotel revenue for the fourth fiscal year in a row, underscoring the sustained demand for Tampa Bay as a premier leisure, meetings and events destination.

Hotel taxable revenue for June 2026 reached $76,685,283, an increase of 0.9% compared to June 2025. Through the first 10 months of the fiscal year (September 2025 through June 2026), Hillsborough County has generated $987,291,521 in taxable hotel revenue, resulting in $59,195,243 in Tourist Development Tax collections. 

Santiago C. Corrada, the President and CEO of Visit Tampa Bay, explained that the destination’s continued strong performance through this and other years has its foundation in strategically using Tourism Development Collections, assessed to visitors staying in Hillsborough County hotels, to promote Tampa Bay in key domestic and international markets.

"One of our strongest June performances on record highlights how wisely investing Visit Tampa Bay’s allotted Tourism Development Collections every year to market our destination has been essential to our growth,” said Corrada. “The return on that investment has been remarkably strong and consistent.”

To illustrate the point, Corrada pointed to the last 15 years of results. In 2010, Visit Tampa Bay’s TDC allocation was just over $9.8 million which contributed to more than $351 million in taxable hotel revenue. In other words, $1 in TDC invested in marketing the destination helped create $35 in hotel revenue. Fast forward to 2025, Visit Tampa Bay’s TDC allocation was $32.8 million, with taxable hotel revenue clearing $1.2 billion, or $1 in TDC invested helped generate $37 in hotel revenue. 

Corrada explained that consistently strong returns on TDC investment has lured additional hotels, restaurants, attractions, meetings and conventions, and other business investment that has turned Tampa Bay into an international leisure and meetings destination. That level growth culminated in 2025 with Hillsborough County’s hospitality industry generating $9.5 billion in economic impact and supporting nearly 62,000 jobs.

 Meetings have a significant role to play in August with Tampa Bay hosting more than 20 meetings and conventions, resulting in nearly forty thousand hotel room nights booked and delivering an estimated economic impact exceeding $20 million. Among those gatherings is Connect Marketplace, taking place at the Tampa Convention Center Aug. 24-26. The premier hosted-buyer event will bring together thousands of meeting planners, suppliers and destination leaders from across the country for three days of one-on-one appointments, networking and education. 

Tampa Bay also is also currently welcoming several thousand members of the Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order Nobles Mystic Shrine for their 2026 Imperial Session Convention at the Tampa Convention Center Aug. 14-20. While meeting in Tampa Bay, the Shriners hosted several community service efforts with a full day of activities at Water Works Park in Tampa throughout the day Aug. 15, including voter registration, diabetes walk, health fair, and a mobile blood drive. 

Other AEAONMS community outreach efforts included a sign language workshop at the J.W. Marriott Tampa Water Street Aug. 15, and there is a bookbag and essential school supply giveaway at Sligh Middle School still to come on Aug. 19. Finally, AEAONMS invites the Tampa Bay community to join them in celebration as they parade through Ybor City later that evening.