Strawberry industry and festival provide economic boost to the Tampa Bay area

Posted at 10:09 AM, Jan 30, 2023 PLANT CITY, Fla. — Strawberries have been grown in the Plant City area since the 1800s, and the industry and annual strawberry festival have big economic impacts on our state. Strawberry Festival president Kyle Robinson said almost 550,000 people are in attendance every year, and that the event is very profitable for the Tampa Bay area.'The statistics from 2015 show that $26 million of direct tourism dollars go into our local community,' Robinson said.Local folks are the very workers who make sure the Florida Strawberry Festival is a success.