May 24, 2013
Beacon Council Celebrates 25th Anniversary
Hard-hit Miami-Dade is getting a boost from tourism.
Most economists think Miami has bottomed out and believe businesses will start to grow again this year. However, no one is predicting unemployment will improve much. “I think that the signs point to the fact that the unemployment rate is going to remain relatively high for 2010,” says Frank Nero, president and CEO of Miami-Dade’s economic development partnership, the Beacon Council. “A lot of that was in the construction side, and we don’t see that having any immediate uptick.”
» Miami-Dade / Monroe Yearbook 2010
» Beacon Council Marks 25 Years of Progress, Challenges
To see real job growth, says Nero, “we would like to see, in the short term, construction back and financial services back, (and in the long term) more knowledge-based industries, more green industries and increased foreign direct investment.”
The area’s tourism industry held steady in 2009. Average occupancy rose 10.6% to 74.6% and revenue per available room was up 3.9%, but the increases came on the back of room rates, which were down 7%, to an average of $166.28.
See more» Miami-Dade / Monroe Yearbook 2010
» Beacon Council Marks 25 Years of Progress, Challenges
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