The City of St. Augustine emailed Action News Jax data that shows it increased the number of available hotel rooms in the area by 2.3 percent.
They tell us it’s to accommodate the millions of tourists that visit the city annually.
Looking around St. Augustine you can see why people would want to visit this historic, beautiful city. In fact, the City of St. Augustine reports tourism is increasing in the area. #ActionNewsJax #WOKV pic.twitter.com/6hOKgGGcKh
— Varisa Lall Dass (@vldass) December 14, 2017
They say demand is up 5 percent despite bearing the brunt of two hurricanes in the past two years.
Now the city is having its annual Nights of Lights and Action News Jax saw flocks of tourists around the city.
This is the Park and Ride map I promised you at 5pm. It's free to the public. The City Mobility Coordinator tells me it's a convenient way to avoid the downtown parking problem. @ActionNewsJax @WOKVNews pic.twitter.com/UIGgcSrjF3
— Varisa Lall Dass (@vldass) December 14, 2017
We spoke to a woman who frequently visits the area and told her about the recent data,
“I’m not surprised because there’s that demand. Everybody wants to come check it out. I love St. Augustine. I’m from New York and I know I’m going to retire here," Lydia Velez said.
The Spaniards colonized St. Augustine in the 1500s. The City tells me every year MILLIONS of tourists visit the area the see the century old buildings. @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/dnU0UHX2lK
— Varisa Lall Dass (@vldass) December 14, 2017
The city does not have the final tourism numbers yet for this year, but last year they tell us they had 6.6 million visitors.
A City tourism spokesperson told me the number of newly constructed hotel rooms increased by 2.3% to accommodate the tourists. They say demand is up 5%. They tell me this is despite two hurricanes hitting the area @ActionNewsJax @WOKVNews pic.twitter.com/0UvyJYyMkS
— Varisa Lall Dass (@vldass) December 14, 2017
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