Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) President and CEO William D. Talbert, III announced today that overnight visitors to Greater Miami and the Beaches increased by 3.5 percent to a record-breaking 13.9 million overnight visitors in 2012, fueled by a 5.2 percent increase to a record 6.8 million international visitors and an increase of 1.8 percent to a record 7.1 million domestic visitors. This marks the third consecutive year of record overnight visitors to the destination.
A record $21.8 billion in visitor expenditures was generated in 2012, an increase of 5.1 percent over the previous year with international expenditures representing 70 percent of the total versus domestic. 2012 marked the fourth consecutive year of records on records for visitor spending.
“For the third year in a row, the strength of the Miami brand continued to attract record overnight visitors, generating record employment in the leisure and hospitality industry,” said Steven Haas, chairman of the GMCVB Board of Directors. “With a new record high of 112,300 industry jobs in 2012, Travel and Tourism continued to set the pace for the community’s recovery from the recession with three consecutive years of increased employment.”
In July 2012, the GMCVB unveiled its new branding campaign as it launched the “It’s So Miami” program in top global markets, including New York, Brazil and Germany. The new tagline and imagery involves contrasting visuals of iconic destination scenes juxtaposed with people taking advantage of cultural attractions.
During 2012, the GMCVB continued its international expansion to 40 locations in 30 countries, which included expansion in the Brazil market. Cities and countries added to the global network in 2012 included New York, San Francisco, Jamaica, Bahamas and additional cities in Brazil.
Among the top 25 hotel markets in the U.S., Greater Miami and the Beaches’ ranked fourth for revenue per available room (RevPar), an increase of 7.9 percent in 2012 to a record $124.92.š Hotel room occupancy also ranked fourth with an increase of 1.3 percent to a record annual average of 76.4 percent, and average daily room rate (ADR) ranked fourth with an increase of 6.6 percent to an all time high of $163.59.š
A record 13.4 million hotel room nights were sold in 2012, representing a 2.5 percent increase over the previous year. These sales generated a record $60.4 million in Convention Development Tax (CDT), a 8.5 percent increase over 2011 CDT collections.
A record 19.8 million passengers were welcomed at the new Miami International Airport (MIA) in 2012, a 3.0 percent increase over 2011, which includes a record 9.8 million international passengers up 5.3 percent over 2011 and a record 10 million domestic passengers up 0.9 percent over 2011.
The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) is an accredited not-for-profit destination sales and marketing organization whose mission is to attract visitors to Greater Miami and the Beaches for leisure, business and conventions.
For more information, visit www.MiamiAndBeaches.com.