Neighboring Orlando may be better known for its meeting market, but the Tampa Bay area is seeing enough new development to convince some tourism officials it now can attract big city conventions.
“Lately, not just Tampa, but the entire metro area has reached a higher plateau,” said Robert Hamilton-Blum, president of HB Associates, a destination management company.
Tampa this summer will have its biggest convention ever, 20,000 attendees of the Shriners of North America.
The area has also picked up some conventions originally scheduled for New Orleans.
Among new developments on the convention front: a 360-suite Embassy Suites due to open in June across the street from the Tampa Convention Center.
Altogether, more than $1 billion in new hotels are scheduled to open in the next two years.
Report by David Wilkening
