JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Visit Jacksonville, the city’s official tourism marketing organization, released a final report on visitation to the city in fiscal year 2024.
The Economic Impact and Tracking Report, conducted by Tallahassee-based Downs & St. Germain Research, surveyed over 2,700 visitors and focused on their economic impact and characteristics.
The following data represents numbers from October 2023 through September 2024.
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RESULTS:
Jacksonville saw nearly 8.2 million visitors and about $4.1 billion in visitor spending last year.
Over half of visitors to the city came to visit friends and relatives and 80% planned to return. The largest markets for visitors to Jacksonville are the surrounding area, the Orlando area, New York, Atlanta and the Tampa area.
45% of last year’s visitors stayed in hotels or other paid accommodations.
In total, the report found that visitor spending generated nearly $7.4 billion in impact for Jacksonville’s economy.
Related: Florida hits another record year for tourism, but Jacksonville saw a slight dip in 2023
That spending supported around 57,000 jobs in the area and supported $2.8 billion in wages for local employees.
Additionally, visitors contributed to local taxes, saving each Duval County household an estimated $540 in taxes for 2024, according to the report.
The city hopes that with new attractions, including the in-progress Stadium of the Future and upcoming sports teams, that number will continue to grow.
Read: ‘Forget what made St. Augustine special:’ Locals sounding alarm on plans to boost tourism year-round
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