NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. - It’s all about local on Flagler Avenue In New Smyrna Beach.  

Several homegrown shops and restaurants line the street, and like most businesses, these have taken a hit because of the pandemic.   

Shannon Mathis owns Gypsy Vibes on Flagler Avenue.  

“Once they did shut the restaurants down, or they brought the restaurants to a lower capacity, we definitely saw a decline,” said Mathis. 

She moved from Illinois and bought the store shortly before the coronavirus spike this summer. Business was slow, but now it’s rebounding. 

“I’ve seen a big increase in shopping local, which is important of course to our businesses,” said Mathis. 

With the drop in tourism, state officials said Florida is down around $2 billion in sales tax revenue.  

Jimmy Patronis is the chief financial officer for the State of Florida. 

“Tourism is so critical to this state,” said Patronis. He said although sales tax revenue is down, there has been an unforeseen positive. 

Many Floridians are opting to vacation here over flying to an out-of-state destination.

Patronis said drive-to vacations have helped communities like New Smyrna Beach recover faster. 

“They did not predict such a strong rebound in the tourism economy. Primarily from beach communities,” said Patronis.

Mathis said as the area opened back up, she has seen more customers walk through the door, many of them from the area.    

“We’re seeing an increase in the tourists that are coming back into the community as well as a lot of local people that are coming back out,” said Mathis. 

State officials say they’re projecting around $5 billion in revenue shortfalls over the next few years.  

They say it’s going to take some time before the state sees pre pandemic tourism numbers.​