Not so long ago, south Florida and Miami in particular were known for being closed for the “season.” But that’s all changed in recent years, according to NBC Miami.
“The reality was tourists only came to the beach in the winter months. In the days before air conditioning and efficient air transportation — not to mention first class hotels — South Beach was a ghost town all summer long,” the site says.
"We are open 24/7 365-days a year," Marlow Courtney from the Goldman Group told the site.
Hotel occupancies that used to be flat during the surly summer season have increasingly gone up in recent years. Hotels were 65 percent occupied last summer.
In addition to American tourists, visitors from Europe and South America have increased during the hot summers in Miami in large part because of the weak dollar.
More tourists are also checking in during the summer.
Tourism officials said the difference between summer and winter tourism is narrowing. There were 3 million visitors in the third quarter of this year compared to 3.4 million to the first quarter.
By David Wilkening
