ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — As the Nights of Lights gets underway in St. Augustine, local businesses remain thankful for the thousands of tourists it brings to the area every year.
“It’s honestly the season my shop looks forward to the most," said Justin Snavely, the manger of Mustache Merchant of Man.
Snavely says as soon as the lights turn on for the Nights of Lights, he sees an increase in foot traffic in downtown St. Augustine.
“It’s honestly really ideal too, because more people who see the line, oddly enough the more curious they are about what we do and that ultimately helps our shop," said Snavely.
We spoke with Cindy Stavely, the executive director of the St. Augustine Pirate and Treasure Museum. She has been doing this 27 years, saying the Nights of Lights was created 31 years ago to spike economic growth in St. Augustine.
“It’s really made a big impact for businesses for St. Augustine during that typically slow time. And the amount of businesses, as soon as the lights comes on, business just doubles, triples," said Stavely.
The St. Johns County Visitors and Convention Bureau tells First Coast News that from mid-November to the end of January, Night of Lights makes up 25% of St. Augustine’s annual bed tax collections of $24.5 million. Bed tax collections are when people come to stay overnight in St. Augustine. That is good news for Snavely and his shop.
“Obviously that influx of people helps, for sales and stuff too. And you know ideally they take something home from us and that’s like a memento from what they got to experience here in town," said Snavely.
Nights of Lights will be open through January 26th.