Above photo: St. Petersburg is right behind “Mickey and Miami” in tourism, says Leroy Bridges of Visit St. Pete/Clearwater (far right). Whitney Elfstrom | The Crow’s Nest
By Whitney Elfstrom
Downtown St. Petersburg is overflowing with murals, galleries and live music, but what makes it an “arts mecca”?
Four people who ought to know agreed Thursday that the Museum of Fine Arts and the Florida Orchestra are key magnets in attracting cultural tourists.
“We draw visitors from all over because no matter where you’re from, the arts are for you and you can find yourself through the art,” said Kristen Shepherd, executive director of the Museum of Fine Arts.
Art helps bridge gaps and understanding between individuals, she said, and the museum specializes in illuminating points of human experience through works of art from across different cultures and time periods.
Shepherd also said that international visitors have told her that their visit to the museum “was one of the marvelous surprises of being in St. Petersburg.”
She joined panelists from the orchestra, an arts support organization and the local tourism marketing agency to discuss “international cultural tourism in the Sunshine City” – one of 40 panels during a world affairs conference on the USF St. Petersburg campus.
St. Petersburg is the third most visited tourist destination in Florida, right behind “Mickey and Miami,” said Leroy Bridges, head of digital marketing and public relations at Visit St. Pete/Clearwater.
To Michael Francis, music director of The Florida Orchestra, the key to increasing cultural tourism is the local arts scene bonding through partnerships. He cited the orchestra’s collaborations with the Museum of Fine Arts and the Dali Museum to transform artwork into music.
“(In St. Petersburg) we have something spectacular,” said Francis. “We have the glorious Dali Museum. We have the Museum of Fine Arts. We have the Morean collection (of Dale Chihuly art). We have the Florida Orchestra, and when we work together this is something very exciting.”
Increasing cultural tourism in St. Petersburg would feed even more revenue into small businesses and the community, according to Susana Weymouth, executive director of Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture & the Arts.
Weymouth cited a nationwide arts and economic study conducted by Americans for the Arts that found that the nonprofit arts and culture industry generates over $166.3 billion in economic activity every year.
Of that number, $63.8 billion is spent by arts and cultural organizations and $102.5 billion is from tourists’ spending on meals, drinks and clothing.
“The revenue is feeding into, directly into, small businesses and our community and making them stronger and more prosperous,” Weymouth said.
