Photo for Headline Surfer / Videos produced by Multimedia Editor Serafina Frederick / Alyssa Bellows of Ormond Beach shines up bikes for extra cash during Bike Week in greater Daytona as shown in this 2012 image.DAYTONA BEACH -- It's a rite of passage -- a change of the seasons -- special events that is, in greater Daytona Beach. We're transitioning from the Rolex 24 and the Daytona 500 (and its Speed Weeks) to Bike Week, and eventually Spring Break, or what's left of the college experience on the World's Most Famous Beach.
The racing season ends the winter and ushers in spring with Bike Week, yet another big wave of overnight tourists from North America and Western Europe to the enclave known for its curling waves, bright sun and hard sands -- Daytona Beach!
And yes, you can still drive on large stretches of the beach -- just not in the key tourism district behind the Ocean Walk and Hilton, the epicenter of the Daytona experience.
Bike Week officially begins March 8 and runs through March 17, but the motorcycles always start rolling in days ahead, sometimes earlier for bikers to take advantage of even greater special hotel rates than those offered during the official 10-day run.
Estimates for this year's Bike Week attendance are between 500,000 and 600,000, according to Jeff Hentz, CEO of the Daytona Beach Convention and Visitor's Bureau, by far the largest motorcycle rally in the US, with Sturgis (South Dakota in August) and Laconia (New Hampshire in June), typically ranked second and third, respectively, in sheer volume of tourists.
The head f he motel and hotel association clearly understands the importance of Bike Week, second only to Sped Weeks, in sheer volumes of visitors and tourism dollars. "We always appreciate the folks who come to Bike Week," said Bob Davis, president and CEO of the Hotel and Lodging Association of Volusia County, based at 1808 Concept Court, about a mile from Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach.
Davis' organization represents 10,000 of the 18,000 hotelier rooms with 100 hotel members in Volusia County. Some 12,800 of those rooms in greater Daytona Beach are occupied by tourists who choose greater Daytona Beach as their Bike Week destination. That's in addition to the campgrounds and condos that also provide overnight stay accommodations.
For every dollar spent by a Bike Week visitor, 21 cents goes to lodging and the remainder goes to gasoline, amusements and restaurants and that's a whopper for a tourism-driven metro area with the beach as its top offering.
"The community gets 80 cents on the dollar," Davis said. "You can't get a better economic engine than that."
Davis said the hoteliers are appreciative of the biker community because they understand the investment of $20,000 to $25,000 per motorcycle and the $40,000 to $50,000 in transporting via truck or van with trailer from locales throughout the US and Canada for those who drive here, in addition to those who fly in from Europe and other places and either rent bikes locally or just come for the enjoyment of the motorcycle crowd and entertainment.
"As always, they're a great asset coming from many places," Davis said.