DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Downtown Delray Beach brought more than 9.3 million visitors in 2025 who spent at least $130 million in the area, according to new data from the Downtown Development Authority.
The figures come from Datafy, a company that uses cell phone and credit card data to track visitor spending and foot traffic. The $130 million represents only credit card purchases, meaning the actual economic impact is likely even higher.
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Downtown Delray Beach proves to be a major economic driver with new visitor data
Nearly half of the spending went to dining and nightlife, while 20% is spent on hotels and accommodations. The rest supported retail shops, galleries and other businesses along Atlantic Avenue.
“We didn’t have solid data (before),” said Suzanne Boyd, the DDA’s Director of Marketing. “They were estimates in previous years on how many people were coming to downtown Delray and now we have solid numbers based off of cell phone data, credit card data and it’s pretty exciting.”
Boyd admits even she was surprised by the volume.
“9.3 million visitors in downtown Delray in one year is a lot of people,” she said.
The authority is now using this data to better target its marketing efforts and understand exactly where visitors spend their time and money.
Linda Purdo, who volunteers weekly at the Delray Beach Visitor Information Center, says when visitors want to experience the city in a single day, she always sends them to the same place.
“Walk along Atlantic Avenue — that’s where all the restaurants are, the shops, the art galleries and everything,” Purdo said. “You can get a good feel for it.”
The Delray Beach Visitor Information Center is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 2 S Ocean Blvd.
“People come here and they’re always happy because they’re on vacation,” Purdo said.
