Discover the Palm Beaches warns proposed bed-tax change could cut visitation and revenue

Discover the Palm Beaches, the county tourism marketing organization, told the Palm Beach Gardens City Council that its research shows tourism supports millions of room nights and billions in local economic activity and that a legislative proposal to remove bed-tax funding for destination promotion could lower visitation and tax revenue over time.

Milton Segara, president and CEO of Discover the Palm Beaches, told the council the county receives about "9,900,000 visitors" and generates "pretty much $10,500,000,000 in economic impact," and said approximately "90,000 people worked in our industry." Gustav Bridal, senior vice president of research, presented figures specifically for Palm Beach Gardens and said the city has had roughly a half‑million visitors annually in recent years and about 1,800 tracked hotel rooms.

"About 72% occupancy," Bridal said, summarizing recent hotel performance data for the city and noting roughly 460,000 room nights sold across tracked properties. Bridal also said about 10% of those room nights come from contracts the organization assembles through sales to groups and meetings.

Segara warned that if the county’s tourism promotion organization ceased operation, the county could see significant declines over time: "there would be about a 20% drop in visitation," he said, adding that a loss of promotional activity could reduce bed‑tax collections and cause broader economic decline. Segara referenced a historical example in Colorado, saying the economic effects took two to three years to emerge after promotional funding was eliminated there.

Council members asked for an update on the pending state legislative language. Segara said the House had proposed language that would redirect tourism‑generated taxes and that in his view the proposed change would not produce the economic return claimed by proponents. "They have selected the wrong asset to do that," he said, arguing the existing promotion model returns far more economic activity than the revenue it consumes.

Council members did not take formal action on the presentation. The speakers invited council members and residents to attend a tourism master‑plan visioning workshop scheduled by Discover the Palm Beaches.

Ending: The presentation closed with council members thanking the presenters for the data and for representing local interests in Tallahassee. Discover the Palm Beaches emphasized the upcoming visioning workshop and encouraged participation.