How many travelers who land at Tampa International Airport (TPA) actually stay in the destination? Where do visitors go after arriving at the airport? Do they stay in Tampa for a few days or do they rent a car and travel around the State of Florida?
Visit Tampa Bay is a partner that understands the power of asking great questions, and we at Zartico help answer these questions with visualizations, data and insights.
An international airport within a destination is, without a doubt, impactful. TPA creates more than 121,000 jobs and the visitor spending impact is more than $5.6 billion. TPA reports that they are hitting pre-pandemic passenger numbers. For the first six months of 2021, TPA saw 8.2 million departing and arriving passengers, up from the 5.9 million it saw during the same period in 2020.
Tampa Cross Visitation Visualization
Visit Tampa Bay was interested to learn more about the airport visitor through geolocation data. Assessing the month of June 2021, we shared that of the geolocation observations at TPA, 43% were visitors. The majority of the visitors stayed overnight in Hillsborough County and top origin markets that month were New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, Orlando, Dallas-Ft Worth, Miami and Philadelphia.
We also examined cross-visitation patterns to understand how residents and visitors that landed at TPA move around the destination. Data showed that 56% of visitors that were observed at TPA were also observed at Hillsborough County accommodations. Cross-visitation patterns were tracked not only to accommodations but to outdoor recreation, retail, attractions and more.
Zarticans love to travel, and as we prepare for a border opening and immense pent-up demand, we know traveler patterns will continue to change. As both international visitation and meetings and conventions return in full force, Zartico and Visit Tampa Bay will be keeping a close eye on visitation data and the impact of TPA.
A new airport travel story will reveal itself soon and we will help tell it. Travelers who follow their hearts are often led to the airport.