Tourism in Polk Has Skyrocketed Since COVID, Adding Value to Economy

Revenue from tourism and the resulting economic impact has almost doubled from 2019 to 2024 in Polk County. This is a welcome sign for the area and its attractions, downtowns, small businesses and more. 

Central Florida attracted more than 6.5M visitors in the past year, accruing $4.5B in economic impact. Mark Jackson, Director of Tourism & Sports at Visit Central Florida, said the economic impact increase can be attributed to several factors, including inflation. “The U.S. economy was flush with cash from Covid stimulus money ($1.1T), which was being … spent by U.S. consumers. This, coupled with pent-up travel demand increased the total spend of consumers, at least on a national level.” 

Locally, Visit Central Florida (VCF) was prepared before the pandemic “occurred with a new and very aggressive marketing and safety plan. Arguably this made the biggest difference to Polk’s overall recovery. This also allowed us to secure additional market share, especially in the sports segment. We were better prepared and much more aggressive than our competitors, which also paid dividends in the long run.” 

One other aspect also factors in, which is short-term housing. In the past year, visitors to Central Florida generated the use of 3.6M+ room nights in paid accommodations.

Jackson said, “We’ve been heavily involved in recruiting new accommodations. We’re anticipating roughly 1,000 new hotel rooms coming online in the next two years. That’s a huge economic supply side boost for Polk County.”

Strategy Pays Off

Those strategic adjustments increased the volume of visitors, and their total spend. “For example, we refocused the primary strategy of our Visitor Services department to enhance the visitor experience before they arrived, specifically through social media, but most importantly while they were in market. Visitors simply spent more money and stayed longer as a result of personal interactions with our staff; it paid huge dividends,” he said. 

Jackson explained that they’ve used a similar strategy with the 300+ sporting events VCF works with. “We have incredibly talented and passionate people that care about the economic and social climate of Polk County. That’s what makes all the difference; it’s our people, not things.” 

Increasing Tourism in Polk

According to an annual VCF report, nine in 10 visitors planned Polk as their primary location. They spent almost $2.9B on things like accommodations, stores and attractions. “That’s one of our main goals and a testament to the effectiveness of our marketing and sales strategies,” Jackson said. 

The strategy to increase that number is twofold, he said:  

• Adding new attractions and venues like LEGOLAND, AdventHealth Fieldhouse, Lake Myrtle Sports Cluster, Chain of Lakes Baseball Complex, Simmers Young Multi-Purpose Complex and the Bartow Softball Complex, among others. As well as recruiting national governing bodies’ headquarters. Adding the county’s first commercial airline in years, Avelo Airlines, has also helped.  

• Staying current with thorough, in-depth and quality research to remain up to date in developing strategies to meet the demand. 

“Visit Central Florida has a talented team working to increase tourism, which is one of the top sectors in the county,” said Sean Malott, President & CEO of the Central Florida Development Council. “We appreciate all they do to make Polk County a welcoming place for visitors while helping to improve the quality of life for residents.” 

Job Creation

Tourism supported 41,200 jobs in Polk County with wages totaling $1.2B.

“Like any major industry, it takes a wide and diverse variety of skill sets to make a large industry run smoothly and effectively. Tourism is our state’s largest industry, and one of Polk’s top three,” Jackson said. 

People employed in the tourism trade work as theme park characters, hotel cleaning staff, event planners and more.  

“Tourism is technically an export, which simply means that ‘new’ money flows into our local economy in exchange for goods, services and experiences,” Jackson said. “It’s not just recirculating money within an economic microcosm. Our citizens, businesses and economy are made better off. Tourism creates and sustains jobs for our citizens. Tourism also provides opportunities for people with very diverse and unique skill sets,” he said.  

“In addition, we have invested tens of millions of dollars in infrastructure to attract visitors, which provides world-class facilities for our residents to work, practice and play, which enhances our quality of life. It simply makes Polk County a world-class destination in which to live, work and play.” 

Visiting Polk

Avelo Airlines has gotten off to a soaring start with service to and from Lakeland Linder International Airport to New Haven, Connecticut – and it’s already added seven more destinations. That’s helping drive tourism traffic. 

“The planes are currently 90% full, which surprised both Avelo and us. By Jan. 1, 2025, we will have added seven more destinations, including Puerto Rico. Avelo has confidence in our out-of-market (non-Polk County) marketing efforts,” which VCF is contractually obligated to handle for Avelo as well, he said. “As a result, they are investing millions more in our destination. One destination, such as New Haven, will generate more than $6M in economic impact annually.” 

The top attractions people visit in Polk County are familiar names: LEGOLAND Resort, Bok Tower Gardens, Safari Wilderness. But there are also 40+ golf courses, 454 lakes, and the county’s burgeoning culinary experiences. 

“Those are showing up, statistically, as one of the top reasons for visiting a destination,” Jackson said. “It’s one of the main reasons we invested heavily in our new, albeit very successful, culinary campaign.” 

All those attractions improve the county’s quality of life, as do Polk’s downtowns and small businesses. “Great destinations simply make great places to live, work and play. Possibly that’s part of the reason that Polk County is the fastest growing county in Florida.”  

He summed up tourism here: “Tourists come in all varieties, which in turn diversifies our cultural environment. “