April 4, 2024

WE MARKET. WE SELL. WE CONNECT.

The Palm Beaches, Florida welcome everyone to explore America’s First Resort Destination

The Palm Beaches are America’s First Resort Destination. This is where Florida tourism became the giant industry it is today. The spirt of genuine hospitality we show today in welcoming everyone from around the globe started more than a 100 years ago – as the first visitors stepped off the railroad an onto Palm Beach.  

Discover The Palm Beaches is Palm Beach County’s official tourism promotion organization. An accredited, private non-profit contracted with the Palm Beach County government, under the umbrella of the Tourist Development Council. We market. We sell. We connect. By serving all our cities, neighborhoods, and communities. Welcoming everyone to stay in our hotels and visit our attractions. Spend their money in our restaurants, shopping locales, cultural assets, and events. Explore eco sites and enjoy the beaches. Most of all, to meet our vibrant, diverse people.

Tourism is Florida’s No. 1 industry, and local tourism promotion is a good thing. Because people aren’t going to come to Florida and The Palm Beaches just because we’re here. Every destination is doing their best to attract visitors. To compete for a share of the world’s attention, visitors, and business talent, our organization creates opportunities to showcase local communities and establish a recognizable brand. Together in partnership with the Cultural, Sports, and Film tourism organizations, we create an aspiring image of well-being and prosperity throughout The Palm Beaches, ensuring future investment in developing more visitation. Our visitors produce total economic impact of $10 billion, supporting nearly 100,000 people and their families. Best of all, visitors generate $262 million in local taxes and fees – making the local tax burden less for residents.

Bed taxes, sometimes called tourist development taxes, fund Discover The Palm Beaches. Local residents don’t pay these taxes, visitors pay them to attract more visitors. Bed taxes are the 6% tax on overnight stays in hotels or vacation rentals. Bed taxes also provide protection to our beaches, build tourism facilities like the convention center and baseball stadiums, support cultural venues, help attract and keep sporting events, and increase film and TV productions.

Discover The Palm Beaches is a good manager of those bed taxes. There is strong support and supervision. We report to a 25-member board of directors, seven of which are appointed by Palm Beach County Commissioners. All expenses are audited by both the Tourist Development Council and Palm Beach Clerk & Comptroller, monthly and annually. This is our way of making sure the public can trust us to continue growing the tourism economy.

What Discover The Palm Beaches and the tourism industry do is provide residents and visitors with a connection to the entire community. The stories found in every city and region of Palm Beach County become our stories. These are stories we tell visitors. It drives the tourism economy. We will always advocate for what we believe in: changing minds that we are more than a marketing agency, better housing opportunities, sustainability of natural resources, welcoming social inclusion, helping to expand the hospitality workforce, and an affective tourism master plan for all of Palm Beach County. Discover is a trusted voice in either time of crisis or when things are thriving. We aspire, transform, and collaborate for the future of our community.