Rising Summer Travel at TPA: Americans Ready to Fly

Tampa International Airport officials are banking on an average of 35,730 passengers departing from their terminals this summer.

That would equal nearly 3.4 million departing passengers — a 4% increase year-over-year — during the period between Memorial Day and mid-August when students return to school. An average of 238 departures and 238 arrival flights are expected each day, according to a release.

The surge of summer travelers is a nationwide trend. The Transportation Security Administration said on May 16 it’s preparing for the highest number of summer passengers in history. Some are choosing the air over highway travel. In the days leading up to Memorial Day, gasoline demand was down almost 8% compared to the same point last year, according to GasBuddy.
“In close coordination with airport, airline and travel partners, we are more than ready to handle this summer’s increased travel volumes,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement. “We are also continuing to deploy state-of-the-art checkpoint technology that increases security effectiveness and efficiency and enhances the passenger experience, and our retention and recruitment numbers are the highest they’ve ever been.”

In 2023, more than 140 million visitors traveled to Florida. Visitation is still going strong in 2024, too.

Hillsborough County’s tourist development tax collections recently exceeded $7 million in back-to-back months for the first time ever, according to Visit Tampa Bay. The March total represented the second-highest collection in the county’s history.

Pinellas County also recently reported record numbers with $14.6 million in March tourist development taxes — its highest figure ever and an 8% increase year-over-year.

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