MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. — Sunshine Scenic Tours owner Dustin O’Neal said he has hired a half dozen extra employees as he prepares for what he believes will be another record breaking spring break in Pinellas County.

What You Need To Know

  • According to the 2023 travel report, Florida is the number one spring break destination

  • Report: 79 percent of tourists are capping their spring break budget at $2,000

  • Report: 7 in 10 visitors are planning to stay in hotels instead of rental homes

  • Sunshine Scenic Tours won ‘business of the year’ from the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce for 2022

“We’re definitely ready for the volume. We’re ready for business. We’re ready to make some money and make some memories,” said O’Neal. “We’ve got 3 boats, running 7 days a week, up to 4 trips a day on each one.” 

Sunshine Scenic Tours operates the Royal Conquest Pirate Ship, the Shark Boat and the Dolphin Quest on the John’s Pass boardwalk in Madeira Beach. O’Neal said he and his wife purchased the company 4 years ago and it’s their first business.

“It’s been an incredible experience,” he said. “This is the best place, in my opinion, on the West coast of Florida to have a business in the tourism industry.”

O’Neal said last season was a record-breaking year for the business and the crowds have returned.

“Our year has already begun to pick up and to ramp up,” he said. “Mid-February is normally the time of the year when we tend to see an increase in business. This year we’ve seen a major increase in business.”

According to the 2023 travel report, Florida is the number one spring break destination. Dolphin Quest tour guide operator Kirsten Smail had a sold out boat for the noon ride on Monday.

“Spring break is here and we are so happy about that. We’re getting really good numbers on the boats all of a sudden. Just this first week,” she said. “All of our Canadians are back after covid. We’ve missed them so much.”

A family visiting from Ontario took the boat tour and said they returned after enjoying their first visit to the area last year.

“The whole Gulf Coast area is just beautiful,” said Andrea Couper. “Being able to come back was just a really easy choice. Especially, when we had out in-laws staying in the area after we talked the area up enough that made them want to stay for three months.”

According to the travel report, 79 percent of tourists are capping their spring break budget at $2,000. It also states 7 in 10 visitors are planning to stay in hotels instead of rental homes.

Sunshine Scenic Tours won ‘business of the year’ from the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce for 2022.