ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Nights of Lights officially kicked off in St. Augustine on Saturday night. The event is a major force in tourism and puts Northeast Florida in the holiday spirit.
Over 3,000,000 lights are on display, bringing hundreds to thousands of people to the area.
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“It’s magical, I brought six people,” one festivalgoer named Leslie said. “You have to see it if you’re in St. Augustine.”
Action News Jax’s Sky Vision Drone captured a sea of people gathering in the historic downtown and cars nearly bumper to bumper making their way through. Visitors like Bob Reardon say this year feels like it’s completely back to normal.
“It’s nice to be around people, I don’t think anybody is worried about COVID, it’s just a nice experience,” he said.
This time last year, Action News Jax reported that the St. Augustine Ponte Vedra visitors and convention bureau saw about a 20% decline in tourism because of the pandemic.
Businesses like Old Town Trolley Tours say ticket sales are strong right now.
“A lot of people want to get out and do things and so far the interest in Nights of Lights this year has been better than all previous years,” General Manager Dave Chatterton said.
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Most hotels are also booked solid. The Hilton St. Augustine Historic Bayfront says it’s pretty much booked out until January and that it was also completely sold out until January last year too.
Families tell Action News that if you’ve never seen it, you’re missing out. The annual display runs until the end of January 2022.