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Tourism Overview
Each year Miami Beach hotels host over 35% of the ten million tourists who visit Greater Miami.
Along with millions of regional visitors, the seven million tourists that visit South Beach and the
Art Deco Historic District make the area the number one attraction in South Florida, and the
second most popular in the State following Disney. These visitors are the catalyst for the
economic prosperity that the City of Miami Beach has experienced in recent years, contributing
over$11 billion to the area's economy each year.
The hospitality industry has grown in order to accommodate this influx. Hotels range from the
new 800-room Loews Miami Beach Hotel to the sleek portals of the world-famous Fountainbleau
Hilton and the recently renovated Eden Roc to the refurbished Deco streamline architecture of
hotels such as the Raleigh, Astor, Albion, Delano, Century, Park Central, Governor, Cavalier,
and Cardozo.
Miami Beach is also a regional playground. The combination of the beach, restaurants and
nightclubs draws significant numbers of visitors from the South Florida area. It is estimated that
regional visitors make at least six million day trips to South Beach each year. This market is the
least likely to do a significant amount of shopping in Miami Beach, except at specialty or
destination retailers.
While visitors contribute greatly to the room, food and beverage revenues of the city, the visitor
market only accounts for approximately 24% of the retail sales in Miami Beach. The addition of
visible, high-quality retailers will be a significant step toward capturing a larger share of tourist
shopping dollars. Domestic visitors spend an average of $75 per day on gifts and personal
shopping; international tourists spend approximately $92. These visitors list Aventura and
Downtown Miami as their primary shopping locations.
The City of Miami Beach is rich in opportunity for cultural exploration. The Bass, Wolfsonian-FIU,
and Ziff Museums have distinct collections. The Art Center South Florida, Miami City Ballet, and
New World Symphony offer world-class visual art, ballet, and symphonic music respectively. The
Jackie Gleason and Colony Theaters host varying shows from broadway style to new works. The
City's Arts Council sponsors over 50 cultural organizations leading to film, theater, dance and
music festivals, as well as many performances and exhibits.
Seasonal Residents
In addition to Miami Beach's year-round population of 95,000, the number of seasonal residents
living here between January and April is estimated to be approximately 110,000. The seasonal
residents either rent or own housing units in Miami Beach, but are not accounted in any official
statistics or census.
Nevertheless, through the buyer's profile of many condominiums and housing, it is known that
half are of foreign origin and almost equally divided between Latin America and Europe. The
other half is made up of U.S. residents from the Northeast or the Mid-West. New Yorkers make
up the largest number of these domestic seasonal residents.
Seasonal residents own more than 60% of the premium condominium units. They contribute
greatly to the high median housing value on Miami Beach ($235,000) and to the overall economy
due to their strong buying power.
It is estimated that the income level of these residents is between $75,000 and $250,000, well
above the income levels of the permanent Miami Beach population.
Leisure Tourism
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An island surrounded by the sparkling Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, Miami Beach offers a
diverse array of recreational activities. One can jog and bicycle along serene bayside or
oceanfront paths, play tennis at a charming area park, swim or dive in the cool waters of the
Atlantic Ocean, sail or cruise along Biscayne Bay, rollerblade down Ocean Drive, or enjoy Miami
Beach's lush golf courses.
Although Miami Beach is a relatively small island, recreational amenities abound, including the
Miami Beach Marina which offers boat slips and restaurants. Nearby, boat rental outlets provide
yachts, cabin cruisers, sailboats, powerboats and catamarans. The City of Miami Beach contains
four beautiful large parks: Flamingo, South Pointe, Lummus, and North Shore Open Space.
There are three city-owned golf courses: Bayshore, Normandy and Par Three.
Business Tourism
Beyond the traditional attractions (beach, nightlife, dining, etc.), the City of Miami Beach has
positioned itself as a premium destination for conventions.
The Miami Beach Convention Center contains over 1 million square feet of meeting space,
including four 125,000 square feet halls that can be combined to create up to 500,000 square
feet of contiguous space. The Center is now complemented by the 800-room Loews Miami
Beach Hotel, located a few blocks away at 16th Street and Collins Avenue. The hotel boasts over
90,000 square feet of function and meeting space, including a 32,000 square feet ballroom
capable of accommodating 2,000 guests, emphasizing Miami Beach's potential as a complete
tourism destination.
Different Types of Visitors
Where Tourists Stay in Miami Dade County
Miami Beach houses more tourists (39%) than any other area of Miami-Dade County.
Additionally, South Beach attracts over 7 million tourists from the region making it one of the
most popular tourist destinations in the State of Florida, attracting more visitors than the
country's three largest national parks combined. Of these 7 million visitors, approximately 1
million stayed in a South Beach hotel, and a total of 3.5 million stayed at a hotel in Miami Beach.
Of Miami Beach's 20,000 hotel rooms, approximately 9,000 are in South Beach in 119
properties. Ocean Drive has 32 hotels with over 1,700 rooms, and Ocean Drive is consistently
ranked as one of the most liked features of Greater Miami.
• Miami Beach 39.0%
• Downtown 11.6%
• North Dade 13.5%
• Airport Area 18.4%
• Grove/Gables/Key Biscayne 9.2%
• South Dade 8.2%
What Tourists Do in Miami-Dade County
Tourists visit Miami-Dade County for three primary reasons: weather, beaches and shopping. Miami
Beach is uniquely positioned for substantial tourist retail activity, since it is already the top location in
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South Florida for beach activity, nightlife, culture, dining, film, fashion and music.
Tourist Demographics
• Size of Party 2.346
• Length of Stay 6.62 nights
• Mean Age 42.6
• Mean Income $86,100
• Male 67.9%
• Female 32.1%
• United States Resident 55.9%
• Non-USA Resident 44.1%
USA Residents
• North Central 21.9%
• North East 41.3%
• Southern 30.7%
• Western 6.1%
• New York 18.8%
Non-USA Residents
• Central America 5.0%
• South America 52.8%
• Europe 32.4%
• Caribbean 2.6%
• Canada 6.4%
• Brazil 17.5%
• Germany 8.9%
• Colombia 8.3%
• England 7.0%
Expenditures
• Lodging $145.28
• Meals in Hotel $33.70
• Meals in Restaurants $53.24
• Non-Restaurant Food $22.77
• Local Transportation $37.73
• Parking/Tolls/Gasoline $9.55
• Entertainment$82.12
• Gifts and Personal Shopping $96.96
• Daily Party Expenditures $478.36
• Persons per Party 2.42
• Daily Expenditures per person $197.99
• Number of Nights Stayed 7.06
• Expenditures per Person during trip$1,396.61
Outlook
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Tourism is expected to continue to increase due to increased utilization of the Miami Beach Convention
Center and the addition of additional first-class hotel rooms through renovations and new construction.
Spurred by the development of the 800-room Loews Miami Beach Hotel, some of the projects currently
under development in South Beach are:
• Ritz Carlton $95,000,000 380 rooms
• Shore Club $125,000,000 324 rooms
• Sasson $37,500,000 198 rooms
• W Hotel (Ritz Plaza) $50,000,000 200 rooms
• Marriott N/A 230 rooms
• Royal Palm Crowne Plaza $55,000,000 424 rooms
Tourism Statistics (Excel Spreadsheet)
Economic Development-Main Page
City of Miami Beach-Home Page
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