by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:45 AM ET, Thu November 7, 2024
The new board members of the GMCVB pose alongside current members. (Photo Credit: Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau)
Greater Miami celebrated growth in its tourism industry this past year and shared the destination’s goals for the future at the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau’s (GMCVB) annual meeting, which took place on October 29 with the publication of its annual report.
The bureau’s fiscal year was from October 2023 through September 2024. During this time, travelers generated $20.6 billion in revenue, an increase of nearly 3 percent. Many of these were business travelers, with convention sales and services exceeding its booking goal by 103 percent.
By August of this year, Miami International Airport welcomed 10.6 million international travelers, a 9.6 percent increase from the year previous. The city’s PortMiami is expected to exceed a total number of 7.3 million cruisers.
“Wherever there was an opportunity to turn up the volume on telling our destination’s story, we seized upon it,” said GMCVB President and CEO David Whitaker. “We went above and beyond in selling the appeal of Greater Miami as a convention destination, evidenced by 16 new future major conventions and trade shows booked at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Travel from our top 10 international markets is collectively up 13 percent. We were also pleased to welcome 250 new members and now count 1,111 bureau partners.”
International Travel Growth
International travel grew 7 percent in the period from July 2023 to June 2024. The top international markets during the first half of the year included travelers from Colombia, Brazil, France, Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom.
All of the top ten international travel markets reported growth. Travelers visiting from France grew 33.7 percent, the number of travelers arriving from Germany grew 19.5 percent and travelers from the U.K. grew 17.4 percent.
Domestic Travel Growth
Domestic travel grew 4 percent during the past year, with travelers from the top ten markets including Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas and Atlanta reporting visitor growth. Yet the highest amount of visitor growth was from the furthest destinations: arrivals from Los Angeles and Dallas both grew just over 14 percent from the previous year.
New Membership to GMCVB’s Board of Directors
As the region’s travel industry looks ahead to the next year, eight new members were named to the GMCVB’s Board of Directors. These include industry experts Yamila Garayzar, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Sponsorship & Retail at Turnberry Associates; Patrick Goddard, President of Brightline Trains; Richard “Rick” Sasso, Chairman of MSC Cruises and John Sullivan, General Manager of The Miami Beach EDITION.
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