TAMPA, Fla. — The Florida Gators will take on Tulane at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Raymond James Stadium in the 2024 Gasparilla Bowl.

The Gasparilla Bowl and the ReliaQuest Bowl next week will cap off major tourism events in the Tampa area that have driven record-breaking numbers for the third straight year.

According to Visit Tampa Bay, by the end of the year, estimates show Tampa area hotels will have generated more than $1 billion in taxable revenue, up by more than $100 million compared to last year.

Visit Tampa Bay’s Santiago Corrada said the added revenue is great news for local governments, first responders and schools.

“Something that we rarely talk about is the property taxes that some of these hotel assets pay to the county and the city that come back as benefit to us in quality of life,” said Corrada. “Whether it’s parks and rec, roads, transportation, law enforcement, fire, those hotel properties pay, annually, in excess of $38 million in property taxes that really comes right back to us.”

Visit Tampa Bay says 2025 doesn’t show any signs of a tourism slow down.

VTB will continue to market the area for big events and conventions, which it says helps attract repeat visitors.