Tourism in Greater Miami and Miami Beach continued to show resilience and growth, according to the annual meeting of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) held on November 6 at the Coastal Convention Center at Fontainebleau Miami Beach. The event brought together more than 600 partners and stakeholders to review achievements from July 2024 through June 2025 and discuss strategies for the future.
During this period, total visitor spending reached $21.3 billion, marking a 3% increase compared to the previous year. This growth came despite global economic challenges, with GMCVB attributing success to its strategic marketing efforts and partnerships across the region.
Elected officials including Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner addressed attendees, emphasizing tourism’s role in supporting local residents and businesses.
“These results tell a powerful story about how our destination leaned into global headwinds and the ability of our industry partners to provide the quality of visitor experiences that helped us stand out against our competition. Our hotels remained among the nation’s top performers, with a 2.4% increase in average daily rate,” said GMCVB President and CEO David Whitaker. “Building toward 2026, our momentum is clearly defined – fueled by signature GMCVB programs like Miami Spice that bring attention to our destination’s 59 MICHELIN restaurants of distinction, increasing convention bookings ahead of the opening of the new Grand Hyatt Miami Beach Convention Center headquarter hotel and a slate of major global events like the College Football Playoff National Championship, World Baseball Classic, the PGA Tour, the NASCAR Cup Series Championship and FIFA World Cup 2026 among others.”
Julissa Kepner, board chair of GMCVB and general manager at Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay added: “As we look ahead to 2026, we are encouraged by the momentum we’ve built. We’re leveraging the lessons of the past year to shape our strategies, ensuring that Greater Miami and Miami Beach remains at the forefront of global travel and continues to reflect the strength and spirit of our community.”
The meeting also saw Christine Valls, nominating chair for GMCVB, introduce four new members to its board of directors from various sectors within Miami-Dade’s business community.
David Whitaker noted further organizational priorities: “In addition, our expanded organizational priorities include focusing on continued engagement in all our neighborhoods, expanding marketing and content strategy targeting the luxury segment and upscale travelers, hospitality industry career development, leveraging music as a key destination marketing platform and expanding on arts and culture programming.”
For more information about GMCVB’s recent performance or plans for next year—including access to their official annual report—visit www.MiamiandMiamiBeach.com/About-GMCVB.
