// TOURISM & HOSPITALITY
// CULTURAL AND TOURISM ENVIRONMENT
• Orlando is known as the top draw for tourists to Florida with
over 62.0 million visitors annually. At 20.8 million visitors,
Tampa Bay draws more tourists annually than much larger
destinations such as Boston (16.2 million visitors annually) and
San Francisco (16.9 million), and is not too far behind South
Florida, which receives approximately 27.7 million visitors
per year. With all that Tampa Bay has to offer, it’s no surprise
visitation to the area continues to increase and surpass more
high-profile destinations.
• One of the top draws for Tampa Bay, and Florida as a whole,
are its beaches. Clearwater Beach along the Gulf of Mexico
is routinely ranked as one of the top beaches in the U.S. and
ranked as the fifth best beach in America last year by the
Travel Channel. Among other family friendly activities in Tampa
Bay is Busch Gardens, which saw 4.1 million attendees in
2014 – the 12th most visited amusement park in
North America.
• Tampa Bay is also emerging as a top cultural destination in the
U.S. Home to two major art museums, the Tampa Museum of
Art and the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, with an
annual attendance of 400,000 visitors per year, Tampa Bay
offers a variety of cultural attractions. These include the Straz
Center for the Performing Arts, which is the largest performing
arts center in the Southeast, as well as the Florida Aquarium,
voted a Top 10 Aquarium by Coastal Living nationally and the
best in the Southeast by the Travel Channel.
• The area offers sport lovers a variety of options as well.
Home to four spring training venues – including the New York
Yankees’ venue, the highest attended spring training stadium
on the East Coast. With an agreeable climate, an additional
six teams come to the broader Florida West Coast for training.
The climate is also