Greater Ft. Lauderdale High on January Tourism Figures
FT LAUDERDALE, FL, March 6, 2006. Greater Fort Lauderdale began 2006 on a very good note, with the destination seeing record-setting tourism statistics across the board, according to the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. Hotel occupancy, average daily rate (ADR) and total bed tax collections for January 2006 were higher in Greater Fort Lauderdale than in any previous January on record.
Greater Fort Lauderdale reported a hotel occupancy of 82% for January 2006, a 2.5% increase from January 2005, which was the destination's previous best. ADR soared to $131.75, an impressive 12.9% increase from last January's then-record $114.79. Preliminary bed tax collections of $4,095,451 indicate an increase of 11% over the same period last year.
Several large conferences and events contributed to Greater Fort Lauderdale's high tourism numbers for January, typically one of the destination's strongest months. These included the FedEx Orange Bowl, the International Congress for School Effectiveness & Improvement, and Florida Huddle, a state-wide travel marketing showcase.
"Each year the peak in Greater Fort Lauderdale's peak season climbs higher," said Nicki E. Grossman, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. "We're especially pleased with these tourism numbers because, in our prime fly markets throughout the Northeast, this past January was unseasonably warm. Winter finally caught up to them in February, giving Northerners all the more reason to visit our wonderful, warm-weather destination. This gives us high expectations for February's tourism indicators as well."
For more information, contact the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, 100 East Broward Boulevard, Suite 200, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301, visit www.sunny.org or call 800-22-SUNNY (in the U.S. and Canada.
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