Tourism is continuing to make a comeback in South Florida. Palm Beach County leaders now have their eye on the meetings and convention market.
Inside the Palm Beach County Convention Center, it’s a full-scale operation. They are preparing for the Palm Beach Home Design and Remodeling Show.
“From kitchen, flooring and roofing,” Adam Kayce said.
President and Show Director Adam Kayce says the show is usually held in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. This will be their first show in Palm Beach County.
“Our business is based about local business,” Kayce said. “That’s the foundation of who we are and what we do.”
The show was initially scheduled for last year— but the COVID-19 pandemic caused a delay.
“We were just a couple of months away from the show, and with everything that happened, obviously everything was shut down and with that we were able to take a step back reimagine, reinvent what our brand is,” he said.
“We are now at a point where we are pacing higher than we did in 2019,” Nick Parks said.
Parks is the Vice President of Marketing for Discover of Palm Beaches.
“We have more groups scheduled between now the end of May and September than we did during the same period pre-pandemic in 2019,” he said. “That’s a great sign for us.”
He says a third of hotel guests are coming for a meeting or convention.
“I will say the pandemic paused that effort for obvious reasons,” Parks said. “But we are absolutely back now moving fast towards that goal of being one of the top meeting destinations in the state.”