WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Thursday marks Travel Rally Day, a national holiday celebrating the tourism industry and all it brings to destinations.
Milton Segarra, CEO of Discover the Palm Beaches, said the first quarter numbers, 20 to 24, are the strongest ever.
As for the data, 2.8 million visitors came to Palm Beach County in the first quarter of the year. They spent about $2.26 billion in the county, a 4% increase from the first quarter of last year.
The county is also seeing 13% growth in the number of foreign visitors.
The CEO attributes this great success to location, partnerships and commitment.
“We have one of the best destinations in the world. Second, the team found that Palm Beaches, working with the county team, was effective in positioning the destination,” Segarra said. “The third is that we were able to identify exactly what we need to communicate. , promote our brand and take technology to the next level to ensure we interact properly with our audience.
They also announced major awards celebrating the best in tourism in our region.
The Ben Hotel in Boca Raton won the Lodging Partner of the Year award and Visit Palm Beach won the Partner of the Year award in the non-lodging category.
The biggest award of the morning – the Providencia Award – went to Rick Rose. He is a historian and tourism entrepreneur in the region.
WPTV's Victor Jorges spoke to him moments after he was recognized.
“The individuality of our destination is what makes it so special and different,” Rose said. “I realized when I was older that it’s actually our local history and our local culture that sets us apart from every other destination in the world.”
The county manager added that the future is bright for tourism in Palm Beach County.
She thanked everyone who works in the industry for doing an “outstanding job” to make Palm Beach County a great place to live, work, play and visit.