Miami Beach Tourism Rebounds After Anti-Casino Vote Letdown, 3/7/1979 Variety MiUZ
Wednesday, March 7, 1979
Miam Beach Tourism Rebounds
After Anti- Casino Vote Letdown
Miami Beach, March 6.
Led by a whopping 23% increase
in tourist collection for the month of
s January , Mi Bh pears to
b reb sons toward one of its best
ea in i recent ami years.
Preliminary figures eac compiled by
the city's Tourist Development
Authority confirmed the advance
begun in December. Receipts from
the city's 2% bed tax totaled an
unofficial $508,000 for the month, up
more than $95,000 from the same
period last year.
TDA chief Robert Jackson said
that most Beach hotels have been
operating at capacity for weeks
the pattern usually extends through
w
Easter, April 15.
The city has collected $1,417,000 in
tourist taxes since the beginning of
the fiscal year Oct. 1, up $91,000 or
7% over the same period last year.
Based on those figures, citywide
rentals for the season thus far
amount to $70,850,000 compared to
$66,300,000 for the same five -month
session over 1977 -78.
"There's no question there's been
a reversal in attitude here,"
Jackson said. "There was a defi-
nite wailing wall effect following the
gambling issue's defeat. Without it,
some other important areas have
gotten much- needed attention late-
ly."
January's advance was helped
substantially by the Super Bowl,
and the February cold through the
northeast and midwest "literally
drove people here," Jackson said.
"May has traditionally been a
very slow month. But this spring
looks good, and with the Shopper's
Paradise, a 10 -day bazaar, we'll be
eyeing May very closely for poten-
tial development," Jackson said.
A key element in the tourist
season is the Latin spendor. South
American tourism shows con-
tinued growth signs, with consid-
erably higher per - capita spending
by foreigners seeking bargains
here. Both Miami and Miami Beach
are courting the market intensely
while just north, the Fort Lauder-
dale area is seeking ways to develop
German and Canadian tourism.
The tourism picture is spurring
the change in attitude among local
hoteliers and businessmen, evident
in a growing number of private
development and refurbishing pro-
jects In addition to the highly publi-
cized $10,000,000 -plus remodeling of
the Fontainebleau Hilton Hotel, the
en¢aaed in a