By DIANTÉ MARIGNY
editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com
Is tourism on South Padre Island flourishing, or fading? It depends on who you ask.
City officials claim the Island is experiencing a steady upswing in visitation, with strong tax revenue to back up their claims. But some local business owners insist the numbers hide a more troubling trend: fewer visitors, rising prices, and less money spent at small, locally owned shops and attractions.
April Romero, Visit SPI’s Director of Communications and Destination Development, points to a clear upward trend based on hotel occupancy tax (HOT), sales tax, and alcohol tax revenues.
“For May, our HOT tax collections are up 3.3%, sales tax is up 5.1%, and alcohol taxes are up 7.9%,” Romero said. “And for June, HOT is up 10.4% over 2024 — and that’s before we’ve even closed out the month.”
Romero added that when comparing current tourism revenue to pre-pandemic levels, the growth is even more striking. “HOT collections for May 2025 are up 43% from May 2019. For June, we’re up 36.9% from 2019,” she said. “While other Texas markets saw dips in occupancy, South Padre Island saw an increase.”
The city credits part of that growth to a new marketing push targeting Central Texas cities like Austin and San Antonio, as well as new Texas residents who may be unfamiliar with the Island.
But on the ground, some business owners see a very different picture.
Andy Hancock, who has been teaching sandcastle-building lessons for 22 years , says that while revenues might appear stable or even rising, it’s misleading.
“We’re probably at the same place in terms of overall Island revenue — maybe even small increases — but it’s because we’re selling fewer, more expensive rooms,” Hancock said. “That takes money away from the tourists, and they don’t support local business because they can’t afford to.”
Hancock argues that post-pandemic price hikes have pushed many families out. “$700 a night for a three-star hotel? Motel 6 for $300 a night in the season? It’s insane,” he said. “These are $79 rooms being sold for triple that.”
He illustrates his point with a simple math exercise: “If you sell a million rooms at $20, that’s $20 million. Sell half a million rooms at $40? Same income. Now 100,000 rooms at $200? Still $20 million. The number of bodies on the Island is shrinking, but revenue looks flat — or up— because prices have skyrocketed.”
Hancock is also critical of the city’s push for a $100 million convention center expansion.
“They talk about all the business we’ve ‘lost’ because our convention center is too small. But how do you lose business you never had?” he said. “There’s no documented evidence of conventions being turned away. It’s all
guesswork.”
The disconnect between official statistics and local sentiment is echoed by potential visitors as well. In a Facebook comment that drew attention, user Dan Garcia summed it up this way: “My wife and I went to Tokyo for our honeymoon because it was cheaper than going to SPI.”
Romero emphasized that more complete data, especially for July and August, will be released later this year, and a full seasonal report is expected in the fall. Meanwhile, local businesses like Hancock’s are left to adapt, hoping pricing and planning will align more closely with sustainable tourism.
“The question for everyone,” Hancock says, “is not just how much money the Island made — but who is actually coming here, and are they still able to support local business when they do?”
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