Jacksonville tourism economic impact exceeds $7B

Vacationing in Jacksonville? You’re not alone.

That’s the takeaway from a report released by Visit Jacksonville, which shows a lot of people are visiting the Northeast Florida city — and they are spending a lot of money.

According to the report conducted by Downs and St. Germain Research, more than 8 million visitors drove more than $7.4 billion in economic impact from October 2023 to September 2024.

Direct spending accounted for a majority of that sum, with $4.1 million being spent by visitors on eating out, going out, renting cars and so on.

Hotels stayed busy as well.

Nearly 5 million rooms were sold. And that drove $31.5 million in bed tax revenues, money used to restore local infrastructure targeting visitors, ranging from stadiums and arenas to performance art spaces.

Many of the visitors are from in-state, with people originating in Orlando, traveling from Tampa or residing in St. Petersburg taking up three of the top five slots.

However, New York City and Atlanta made up the other two, suggesting that Jacksonville is a draw from major cities outside of the state.

And here’s the best news: 4 out of 5 visitors expect to come back to town. That’s a good sign, given that each visitor saves locals an estimated $540 in taxes.

Roughly a quarter of visitors are attracted by advertising. But twice as many come to see family and friends.

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