Discover the Palm Beaches tells Greenacres leaders tourism drives jobs and local spending

Representatives from Discover the Palm Beaches gave a presentation to the Greenacres City Council outlining county tourism metrics, partnership benefits, and local visitation patterns.

Milton Segarra, president and CEO of Discover the Palm Beaches, with colleagues Gustaf Verbel and Sergio Pledra, described the organization as the county's official tourism marketing nonprofit working under the Tourist Development Council and in partnership with county agencies. Gustaf (transcript: "Gustaf/Gustav Verbel") presented data showing 9.5 million visitors to Palm Beach County in 2023 and an early estimate of about 9.6 million for 2024. He said visitors spent roughly $7 billion annually, producing about $10 billion in economic impact and supporting about 95,000 jobs across the county.

Using geolocation data, Discover the Palm Beaches reported about 72,000 visitors to Greenacres in the 12-month period from December 2023 to November 2024; an additional 12,000 Greenacres visitors were county residents and excluded from the county's external visitation counts. The presenters said the organization attributes about 2 million room nights countywide to its promotional efforts and said the organization returns roughly $109 in economic activity for every $1 it spends; bed-tax returns were described as approximately $3 per dollar spent by the organization.

Segarra said the county is creating a tourism master plan (pbctpbctourismplan.com) compiling more than 114 studies and inspection tours, and staff invited council engagement in the process. The presenters also described a Certified Tourism Ambassadors program and local workforce initiatives, noting that upcoming hotel openings will require employees.

Ending: Council members thanked the presenters; no formal action was taken. Councilmembers did not request a formal follow-up report in the meeting record provided.