DAYTONA BEACH Amid the unprecedented tourism impact of the coronavirus pandemic worldwide, Volusia County attracted 7.2 million visitors in 2020, a 28% decline from the 10 million recorded for pre-pandemic 2019.
The county’s visitor total, announced at an event to mark National Travel & Tourism Week on Friday at Hard Rock Hotel, is the lowest since 2010, according to Evelyn Fine, president of Mid-Florida Marketing & Research.
Yet, considering the catastrophic downturn in a global travel industry that essentially shut-down for much of the past year, the resilience of the county’s tourism industry was celebrated on Friday.
Volusia County Council member Danny Robins read a proclamation that recognized the industry for attracting visitors that spent $3.4 billion in 2020 to account for 35-40% of the county’s sales tax revenue, as well as generating employment for roughly 31,700 workers with a collective payroll of $51.5 million.