Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) President & CEO William D. Talbert, III, CDME announced today that overnight visitors to Greater Miami and the Beaches increased +3.5% to a record-breaking 13.9 million overnight visitors in 2012, fueled by a +5.2% increase to a record 6.8 million international visitors and an increase of +1.8% to a record 7.1 million domestic visitors. 

This marks the third consecutive year of record overnight visitors to the destination.         

A record $21.8 billion in visitor expenditures was generated in 2012, an increase of +5.1% over the previous year with international expenditures representing 70% of the total vs domestic. 2012 marked the fourth consecutive year of records on records for visitor spending. 

“For the third year in a row, the strength of the Miami brand continued to attract record overnight visitors, generating record employment in the leisure and hospitality industry,” says Steven Haas, Chairman of the GMCVB Board of Directors. 

“With a new record high of 112,300 industry jobs in 2012, Travel and Tourism continued to set the pace for the community’s recovery from the recession with three consecutive years of increased employment.”     

In July 2012, the GMCVB unveiled its new branding campaign to capture its evolution by launching the “It’s So Miami” program in top global markets, including New York, Brazil and Germany. 

The new tagline and eye-catching imagery showcases contrasting visuals of iconic destination scenes juxtaposed with people taking advantage of cultural attractions.  The new campaign captures the vibe and variety of everyday life in Greater Miami and The Beaches.  “

The Bureau’s aggressive marketing and expansion of the popular summer and shoulder season promotions, including Miami Museum Month, Miami Romance Month, Miami Spice Restaurant Month, Miami Spa Month, Miami Attractions Month and Miami Live Music Month were enjoyed by more visitors and residents than ever in 2012,” says Talbert.       

During 2012, the GMCVB continued its international expansion to 40 locations in 30 countries, which included extensive expansion in the Brazil market.  Cities/countries added to the global network in 2012 included New York, San Francisco, Jamaica, Bahamas and additional cities in Brazil. 

Among the top 25 hotel markets in the U.S., Greater Miami and the Beaches’ ranked #4 for revenue per available room (RevPar), an increase of +7.9% in 2012 to a record $124.92.  Hotel room occupancy also ranked #4 with an increase of +1.3% to a record annual average of 76.4%, and average daily room rate (ADR) ranked #4 with an increase of +6.6% to an all time high of $163.59. 

A record 13.4 million hotel room nights were sold in 2012, representing a +2.5% increase over the previous year.  These sales generated a record $60.4 million in Convention Development Tax (CDT), a +8.5% increase over 2011 CDT collections.

A record 19.8 million passengers were welcomed at the new Miami International Airport (MIA) in 2012, a +3.0% increase over 2011, which includes a record 9.8 million international passengers up +5.3% over 2011 and a record 10 million domestic passengers up +0.9% over 2011. 

With 96%of overnight visitors to Greater Miami and the Beaches arriving by air in 2012, Miami International Airport is vital to the success and growth of the travel and tourism industry.

“Both MIA and the PortMiami are pillars of our travel and tourism industry,” states Talbert.  In the last quarter of 2012, PortMiami welcomed an unprecedented seven new cruise ships in eight weeks further solidifying the port’s ranking as Cruise Capital of the World.