More tourists are rushing to The Villages

Saturday, April 30, 2022

The fastest growing metropolitan area of the country is witnessing tourism grow. Increased guest passes issued by The Villages Recreation and Parks Department and counties collecting record tourist taxes emphasize the way The Villages and adjoining places are getting famous among out-of-state visitors. By now, the Villages has become established tourism destination, where popular events like The Villages Balloon Festival at The Villages Polo Club that attract maximum crowds are arranged. However, the destinations surrounding The Villages are also attracting tourists.

“Tourism is on the rebound due to a lot of pent-up demand, and ‘revenge travel’ is a trend,” said Kathy Pagan, interim director of the Office of Visit Lake. “Many travelers had to forego vacation trips the last two years, so they are determined they will travel this year to make up for that loss.”

Now, those vacations are taking place and more and more people are going for in tri-county hotels.

In Sumter, Lake and Marion counties, hoteliers have reported greater occupancy with average daily rates and revenues in the first three months of 2022 compared to the same time in 2021, as per STR, a global hospitality data and analytics company.

For March 2022, the occupancy rates for Sumter and Lake were 83.8%, in Sumter and 86.3% in Lake, surpassed the state average of 81.5% for the month, according to STR.

For the first quarter of 2022, tri-county hotel revenues totaled $69 million — $9.3 million in Sumter, $22.7 million in Lake and $37 million in Marion — almost double the revenues they generated in 2021.

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