There was a time when Ocala was a tourist destination of first magnitude, thanks largely to its spectacularly beautiful Silver Springs Attraction. At its height, Silver Springs and its subtropical splendor drew more than 1 million people a year to play in and around its crystal-clear waters — and rent hotel rooms, eat in restaurants and attend other local tourist attractions like Six Gun Territory.
Then The Mouse set up shop in Orlando, and the flow of travelers stopping in Ocala slowed to a trickle.
It’s been a half century since Disney World changed the face of Florida tourism. Despite repeated efforts to keep out-of-town travelers coming to Ocala, it has struggled to return to the glory days.
So, it was a bit of surprise when during a conversation three years ago with former Ocala Metro Chamber & Economic Partnership CEO Kevin Sheilley that he made this bold prediction:
The just-opened World Equestrian Center, or WEC, and the then-about-to-open Florida Aquatics Swimming & Training, or F.A.S.T., facility would be huge tourist draws, indeed “game changers.”
Well, Sheilley, who has since moved on to a new job in Charleston, SC, nailed it.
Let’s start with F.A.S.T., a world-caliber swimming facility built by the Colen family – developers of On Top of the World – as part of their new Calesa community. It has not one, but two Olympic-size pools and attracts some of the world’s top swimmers (we’re talking Olympic gold medal winners), among others, for training and competition.
According to a study conducted by Dawns & St. James Research for the Ocala/Marion County Visitors and Convention Bureau, between April 2023 and March 2024, 63,960 out-of-town visitors attended events at F.A.S.T. Those tourists spent $13.8 million and paid for 39,810 “room nights” in area hotels. Their total economic impact was $21.4 million.
The same study, meanwhile, showed that during that one-year period WEC attracted 80,350 out-of-town visitors, who spent $68.3 million and bought 78,540 room nights. The WEC crowd’s total economic impact was $105.8 million. And that was before WEC opened a second 400-room hotel.
Now, overall tourism in Marion County is a $1 billion-a-year business that brings 1.4 million visitors through our community. (Thanks, I-75 ,for the 100,000 cars a day you bring through our city.) But make no mistake, F.A.S.T. and WEC are changing the dynamic of tourism hereabouts.
Bartow McDonald IV, managing director of SVN McDonald & Co., a commercial real estate firm in Ocala, says people are not just coming here to visit when it comes to WEC. They’re often coming to stay.
The longtime Realtor said he commissioned a study on changes in real estate values based on proximity to WEC between 2019 and 2024.
“Our heads have been spinning since we saw the numbers,” McDonald said.
Understandably. For land within 6 miles of WEC, property values are up 128 percent since ’19, with the average acre selling for $64,800. Within 6 to 9 miles, they are up 325 percent, with the average price of an acre hitting $60,800. And more than 9 miles from WEC, the price of an acre of land is up 270 percent, to $31,500.
“Examining the data reveals a clear trend: property values rise as they get closer to WEC,” reads the report, dubbed “The WEC Effect.” “While this trend is expected, the growth in property values is remarkable.”
Tourism is alive and well again, thanks to the WEC Effect and F.A.S.T., too. It just looks a lot different than it did a half century ago.
