From TampaBay.com: “Did Jimmy Buffett boost Weeki Wachee Springs Park attendance?”
The turnstiles have been spinning this summer at Weeki Wachee Springs State Park.
During the past two months, several hundred more visitors each day have passed through the gates compared to a year ago, pushing attendance up 46 percent in July and August.
Officials say there likely are several reasons. But a famous Florida resident is being given at least part of the credit.
A few months before the attendance boost, people began posting videos online of the Weeki Wachee mermaids performing on a stadium-size, 54-foot screen behind Jimmy Buffett during the musician’s concerts as he sang Mermaid in the Night.
Could the attention Buffett brought to thousands of his concert fans be responsible for driving waves of visitors to Weeki Wachee? A Buffett bump?
John Athanason, spokesman and publicity director for Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, isn’t willing to pin the attendance increase solely on the exposure to Buffett’s avid fans.
But, “it helps,” Athanason acknowledged.
