ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (AP) - The season between Thanksgiving and New Year’s - always a busy time for St. Augustine’s tourism sector - has provided a timely lift.
Small-business owners and hoteliers alike are relying on tourists to fill registers and beds in the wake of Hurricane Matthew, which threatened the town in October.
The Orlando Sentinel reports (https://bit.ly/2i3pRFd) the weekend of Christmas saw heavy traffic, long lines and parking headaches. St. George Street bustled with the energy of eager explorers in the nation’s oldest permanently inhabited city.
November’s occupancy was up 9.6 percent year-over-year and the destination’s rate is up 2.8 percent over a 12-month rolling calendar.
Tourism officials say more than 250 businesses were affected by the storm and reopened within a week
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Information from: Orlando Sentinel, https://www.orlandosentinel.com/
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