St. Augustine’s Nights of Lights Festival is one of the world’s most popular Christmas season tourist destinations. The city’s three million dazzling white lights entered the global stage when National Geographic listed Nights of Lights, now in its 31st year, as one of the 10 most dazzling light displays in the world in 2011 and 2012. Conde Nast Traveler Magazine followed suit, dubbing America’s oldest city as one of the best to visit during the holiday season.
Within the past week, St. Augustine has received yet another accolade, this time from Booking.com, which listed America’s oldest city as one of the World’s Most Welcoming for 2025.
St. Augustine was joined in Booking.com’s listings by Sigiriya, Sri Lanka; Cazorla, Spain; Urubici, Brazil; Taupo, New Zealand; Orvieto, Italy; Manizales, Colombia; Quedlinburg, Germany; Ko Lanta, Thailand; and Chester, United Kingdom.
Nights of Lights caused historic gridlock in downtown St. Augustine during the holiday season. City officials are examining ways to prevent that in future years.
“Its historic downtown is lined with cobblestone streets and landmarks like the Castillo de San Marcos, a 17th-century stone fortress offering sweeping views of Matanzas Bay,” the website said. “Travelers can explore the lively St. George Street, lined with boutiques, galleries, and cafes, or take in the beauty of Flagler College, a stunning example of the over the top, imposing nature of typical Gilded Age architecture.”
Nights of Lights nightmare is fresh on city minds
But should the city look to become a little less welcoming?
This year’s influx of tourists during Nights of Lights negatively impacted residents and guests so much, Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline is gathering forces to avoid a repeat of “over-tourism.”
“Because of the overwhelming amount of people — nights where there were tens of thousands — St. Augustine was not a warm and welcoming place for its residents,” she told the St. Augustine Record. “St. Augustine went through 10 weeks of craziness plus the weeks bracketing Christmas and New Year’s with too many people who don’t live here.”
Kline said she received an onslaught of phone calls and emails, some from tourists describing St. Augustine as a great place to visit, but a city they would never come back to because of the crowds.
St. Augustine Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline said she doesn’t think the Booking.com article will add to the problems of Nights of Lights, but will help spread visitors throughout the year.
“But when comparing the number of tourists that visited the city with the number who complained about the crowds, the number is small,” she said. “People even suggested solutions, which was great. But there was — and is — a sense of urgency that what happened this year can’t happen again.”
Kline said that she was not overwhelmed with negativity and is not inclined to be concerned about the accolade from Booking.com.
“I believe that everyone realizes how special Nights of Lights is to the City of St. Augustine,” she said. “And no one can deny its economic impact. But the entire community, including the businesses, know that we’ve got to better manage the event from becoming such a disruption to the workings of the city.
Looking ahead to what the St. Augustine can do better
“The article from Booking.com never mentioned Nights of Lights,” she said. “I believe the article will spread visitors throughout the year and not during the peak periods when everyone comes at the same time.”
Kline said that the city has already met with the Tourist Development Council and will do so again.
“We will review an After-Action Report at the Commission Meeting on February 10,” she said. “The government, the Visitors Convention Bureau, and the hoteliers will discuss and review the data to implement the best practices for moving forward.”
Kline said that the city will consider hiring additional law enforcement to man barricades, direct traffic and manage the crowds.
Christmas in St. Augustine
“We must determine what we needed that we didn’t have,” she said. “I will ask the TDC to help cover extra costs for solid waste, trash, security and law enforcement. We need to figure out what kind of manpower is needed to properly execute the event.”
Kline is giving the city until July 4 – Fireworks on the Bayfront – to “get our ducks in a row,” a time she described as the second most crowded city event of the year.
Undeterred by the additional accolades, the mayor agrees that St. Augustine is a hospitable city.
“We are truly grateful that our residents are so welcoming,” she said. “Our residents have been very patient, and now we’re asking them to be even more patient.
“We have yet to define the carrying capacity of the city,” she said, “but we must figure out how to better manage the tourists that visit our beautiful city.”
This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: Booking.com names St. Augustine among world’s most welcoming cities
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Publish date : 2025-01-31 08:49:00
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