Meeting planners and group organizers alike, have you ever asked yourself this: Do CVBs ever have their own internal, home-based gatherings themselves – just to see how they’re doing? Of course they do.
Case in point: the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. It held its most recent annual meeting last November at the Coastal Convention Center at the Fontainebleau, Miami Beach. Although a one-day event, it drew more than 600 partners and stakeholders and was given center stage importance. After all, the year-end conference revealed that everything was looking up for the ever-popular group destination. For instance:
- The CVB’s last corporate year (July 2024 to June 2025) showed a 3% year-over-year increase in visitor spending with a grand total of $21.3 billion, revealing that “Greater Miami not only weathered global economic challenges but, through strategic marketing programs and partnerships, successfully redirected efforts to drive significant economic benefit for Miami-Dade County,” said one spokesperson.
- Overall, there were 28.2 million visitors to Miami-Dade County – a 4.5% year-over-year increase.
- Florida resident visitation accounted for more than 31% of total visitors, showing strong demand from in-state markets.
- Domestic visitation remained steady, accounting for 46% of total visitors, signaling consistent demand from key U.S. markets.
“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.”
Backing that up was Julissa Kepner, GMCVB board chair and general manager of the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay, who shared, “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 remain at the forefront of global travel and continue to reflect the strength and spirit of our community.”
Also during the event, GMCVB Nominating Chair Christine Valls introduced four new members to the organization’s diverse board of directors, representing a cross-section of leadership from Miami-Dade’s business community:
- Mickael Damelincourt, Managing Director, Trump National Doral Miami
- Christine Duffy, President, Carnival Cruise Line
- Robin Jacobs, Chair, Miami Beach Convention Center Advisory Board
- Florencia Tabeni, Chief Operating Officer, MDM Hotel Group
Added Whitaker: “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.”
If the Greater Miami area could be a candidate for your organization, find out more by logging onto www.MiamiandMiamiBeach.com.
