A year after Volusia County’s tourism industry took its most devastating hit from the coronavirus pandemic, visitors are flocking again to the World’s Most Famous Beach.
Motivated by the availability of vaccines and stimulus money, as well as raging cases of cabin fever, they have converged in recent weeks on hotel lobbies and beaches, a welcome scene reminiscent of bygone “normal” times.
Yet the pandemic still lingers with case numbers rising in recent weeks and new unpredictable variants in the mix. And its impact is expected to have long-lasting effects on the hotel industry here and nationwide, resulting in new ways to do business that could last even after COVID’s threat has passed.
In February, hotels, vacation rental properties and campgrounds throughout the county generated $2,182,105 in bed taxes, down 22.17% from $2,803,620 for the same month a year ago, according to the Volusia County Revenue Division.
Despite that February decline, the numbers indicate that the county is still faring better than other Central Florida tourist destinations in rebounding from the pandemic’s impact. Volusia’s numbers contrast with a 26.2% year-over-year decline for the month in Brevard County and a whopping 63.3% drop in February collections in Orange County.
“It wasn’t a great month,” Davis said, “but we did OK.”
In a breakdown of bed tax collections by the county’s three tourism advertising authorities, the Halifax area was down by 24.26% year-over-year to $762,861 for February, compared with $1,007,197 for the same month in 2020. In Southeast Volusia, collections dropped by 13.69% to $260,435, compared with $301,739 in February 2020.
Also discussed during the virtual meeting of the ISB Coalition is a proposal to add protected bicycle and pedestrian lanes down the middle of Clyde Morris Boulevard from Beville Road to Halifax Health Medical Center. That stretch of Clyde Morris Boulevard could also include a roundabout and pedestrian tunnel under the road in front of the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University campus, FDOT officials said. Your vision for Clyde Morris Boulevard is absolutely spectacular, Rodney Cruise, Embry-Riddle s senior vice president for administration and planning, told FDOT leaders taking part in the Zoom meeting. You guys have just outdone yourself. It s really just out of the park.
When the bikers arrive, however, they will find reminders that the pandemic is still a reality.
What are COVID restrictions during Daytona Bike Week?
At the event’s traditional hub on Main Street in Daytona Beach, indoor capacity at many familiar watering holes will be capped at 60%, although there will be music blaring from outdoor stages and the usual array of outdoor vendors selling everything from T-shirts to grilled turkey legs to ice-cold beers.
In January, the Daytona Beach City Commission voted to issue the permits that allow businesses to temporarily present outside activities during the event that runs Friday through March 14. In exchange, those bars, restaurants and shops must agree to limit indoor occupancy to 60% during the event.
DELAND After a rowdy day of public comment, the Volusia County Council voted Tuesday to delay changing an ordinance prohibiting short-term rentals until the end of the just-started Florida legislative session.
Enforcement will remain suspended and a committee will be established to talk over potential changes to the current ordinance, which bars short-term rentals in areas of unincorporated Volusia County zoned for residential use.
A bill is pending in the legislature that could allow local governments to make ordinances on short-term rentals less restrictive. A previous Florida law prohibited all changes to regulations of the length or frequency of stay in short-term rentals.