In 'reset year,' will Daytona's summer tourist season match two record-setting years? (2024)

DAYTONA BEACH —It’s the first time in about a decade that Steve Heiser and his extended family from Cincinnati have made a summer vacation trip to the World’s Most Famous Beach.

During those years, Fort Myers Beach had been the preferred destination —until favorite spots were damaged or destroyed in late 2022 by back-to-back hurricanes Ian and Nicole.

Of course, those storms also delivered a formidable one-two punch to Daytona Beach, effectively shutting the door on a record-setting tourism boom that stretched over two years as Florida emerged as the earliest state to reopen for visitors in the wake of the COVID pandemic.

Now, with global travel thriving again, the destination has seen its numbers dip in the wake of that competition as part of what tourism leaders here are calling a “reset year.”

In 2023, Volusia County attracted 10.1 visitors, down from a record 10.6 in 2022. Likewise, tourist development tax collections countywide for the first seven months of the fiscal year that started on Oct. 1 are down by a little more than 1% compared with the same period a year previously.

“We had a couple of record-breaking years post-COVID, and now in 2024 the entire world is open for business and spending huge marketing dollars to attract visitors,” said Lori Campbell Baker, executive director of the Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“This is where our repeat visitors come into play. If we can get them here once and they have a positive experience, we know they’ll want to come back in the future. We have that kind of appeal.”

Despite more upscale hotels, Daytona still copes with image problem

So, will the Heiser family return?

As the family strolls the Boardwalk to the beach from their rooms at the 744-room Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort on a recent afternoon, reviews of the destination are mixed.

For Steve Heiser, 74, a lifelong NASCAR fan, the Daytona Beach connection to the sport is a selling point. For Kim Miller, his significant other, the wide walkable beaches are a plus, though she also notices the absence of amusem*nt rides and activity that once enlivened the Boardwalk.

Miller’s daughter, Destiny Kramer, is less impressed with the beach’s appeal to her young children.

“I don’t think it’s as family oriented as other beaches,” she said. “We try to avoid the cars on the beach.”

Kramer also tries to avoid introducing her kids to some of the merchandise at nearby shops, where T-shirts proclaim “I don’t get drunk, I get awesome” or “I make weed disappear, what’s your superpower?”

For Bob Davis, president and CEO of the Lodging & Hospitality Association of Volusia County, that kind of party animal message is a relic of a bygone MTV-fueled spring break mentality.

It no longer fits with the investments made in new and upgraded hotels that include the 744-room Hilton, the Hard Rock Hotel and the soon-to-be-opened Marriott Renaissance, a 190-room full-service beachfront hotel expected to celebrate its grand opening in late July on Atlantic Avenue, just north of Seabreeze Boulevard.

“Our product is 100% upgraded and new properties are coming in,” said Davis, who predicts a busy summer season. “People are going on summer vacations.”

In addition to the physical improvements, workers in the area’s hospitality industry are dedicated to offering customer service that goes beyond expectations, he said.

“We have long-term employees making sure each visitor has a great stay,” Davis said. ”Up and down the beach, you’ll see 20- or 30-year employees that we call family.”

The list of new hotels also includes a planned 101-room, eight-story beachfront Cambria Hotel that could replace the aging, storm-damaged SeaScape Inn in Daytona Beach Shores, according to the property’s owner, South Florida-based Hotel Motel, Inc.

When construction starts, that hotel could be open within 18 months.

In Daytona Beach, the Renaissance represents a $45 million investment by Ormond Beach-based Premier Resorts & Management to build a highly anticipated four-star resort on the site of the former Ocean Breeze Club at 640 N. Atlantic Ave. in the core tourist district.

The 11-story hotel will feature a porte-cochère entrance, 8,353 square feet of indoor/outdoor meeting space, including an a pillarless oceanfront ballroom overlooking the Atlantic. Other amenities include an upscale seafood restaurant, cabanas, pool bar, patio dining and an event lawn. The grand opening is expected to be celebrated in late July, according to Domien Takx, Premier’s vice-president of operations.

“We made the investment as we believe that upscale, full-service hotels are lacking in our market,” Takx said. “We are confident this hotel will lift the destination to even greater reputation and offer guests an unparalleled level of service in Daytona Beach.”

Service has become key factor in attracting visitors

As tourists continue to travel, the service component has emerged as a key element in attracting them to hotels, attractions and destinations, said Scott Smith, a hospitality professor and director of graduate studies at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.

“Since the pandemic, service has really taken a hit in the United States, and lack of service basically seems to be an overall theme out there,” said Smith, who worked as director of convention services in the early 1990s at the Daytona Marriott, the hotel that is now the 744-room beachfront Hilton.

“People are not afraid to pay a little bit more if they feel comfortable that they are going to see really good service. That has become part of the vacation destination decision now, that people don’t mind spending a little bit more if they’re going to get personalized service, not just the mass checkout at Walmart service.”

As guests patronize new higher-end hotels, they also will be expecting more unique, upscale dining and shopping options, said Davis, a nearly 60-year veteran of the area’s hospitality industry.

“We need more quaint restaurants, more boutique shops,” he said, “something they can do here that they can’t do anywhere else.”

Popular summer weekend concert series shows at the Daytona Bandshell and the newly opened Daytona Aquarium and Rainforest Adventure represent successes, Davis said.

Since its opening in February in space formerly occupied by a Burlington Coat Factory store at International Speedway Boulevard and Nova Road, the Daytona Aquarium has been pleased with its attendance numbers, said Daniel Thurlow, director of operations.

“We’ve been very, very crowded many days,” Thurlow said. “For the first couple months, when schools were still in session, it was mainly locals. Now we’re definitely seeing more tourists coming in. We’re very happy with our numbers.”

The summer outlook also is upbeat at the 744-room Hilton, the area’s largest hotel.

“We have a significant number of large groups staying with us, holding meetings and events here as well as the Ocean Center,” said Jim Berkley, general manager. “Our 90-day projections remain solid and above prior year.”

Berkley is among those who have been vocal about the need to improve the visual image of the destination, particularly along the key entry point on East International Speedway Boulevard.

An 18-month project to improve that stretch of the city's main gateway began early last year. This summer, the county is closing the ISB approach at State Road A1A for a vehicular ramp improvement project that will stretch into next spring, a closure that’s likely to inconvenience thousands of visitors.

In case you missed it: Major access point for beach drivers to close until spring to allow for extensive upgrade

In Flagler, improvements also in the picture

In Flagler County, a slew of storm repair and other improvement projects also are expected to have an impact on summer tourism, said Michelle Mitchell, owner of the Flagler Beach Gift Shop in the core tourist area around State Road A1A.

Those projects include the construction of a new three-story 100-room Compass by Margaritaville Hotel one block from the beach, west of Flagler Beach's Veterans Park. That hotel is expected to open by early to mid-2025, according to the developer, Ormond Beach-based Elite Hospitality.

More: Compass by Margaritaville: Hotel to break ground in Flagler Beach. Here's what's planned.

“There’s also a beach renourishment project, a seawall project and some work being done on A1A and on our pier,” Mitchell said. “They are supposed to start the pier at end of the summer, so there are quite a few projects in the works.

“So far, it hasn’t deterred people from coming, but parking right now is more challenging because of the construction. As more equipment comes in, it will affect that all up and down our beach, but our year has been good so far.”