Fiesta de la Flor brought $15 million into the city during its second celebration of Tejano super-star Selena Quintanilla Perez May 6-7. That’s a conservative figure, according to the Corpus Christi Convention and Visitors Bureau, and $2 million more than the festival impact in 2015.

The $15 million reflects money spent in hotels, restaurants and shopping centers. As for the money raised in ticket sales, half goes to pay for the next event and half to the Selena Foundation, which raises money for scholarships, hospitals and schools. No word on how much was raised in ticket sales.

More than half of the people attending this year’s Fiesta de la Flor were from outside the greater Corpus Christi area, said the CVB. Of the 55,000 attendees, 59 percent were from out of area.

Visitors came from at least 25 states and several countries including Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru and more.

“It was wonderful to see so many people come to Corpus Christi from different places to embrace the life and legacy of our beloved Selena," said Paulette Kluge, CEO of the Corpus Christi Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We are very excited with the success of this year's event and we are already making plans for next year's Fiesta de la Flor."

Hotels reported an 87.2 percent overall occupancy rate city-wide for the weekend. That marked an increase of 19.5 percent for the same weekend in 2015 (NOT the weekend of the first Fiesta de la Flor, which was held April 17-18, the same weekend as the Blue Angels Wings Over South Texas). Hoteliers also enjoyed increased average daily rates of over 29 percent and increased revenue per available room of nearly 53.7 percent over the same weekend in 2015.

Fiesta de la Flor would not have been possible without the partnerships & support of the following: American Bank Center, Corpus Christi RTA (which provided transportation to nearly 11,651 festival-goers free of charge), Corpus Christi Police Department, Corpus Christi Parks and Recreation, Corpus Christi Traffic and Engineering, Casey Lain Presents, CITGO, H-E-B, Sprint, Stripes, Herrman & Herrman, PLLC, La Palmera, Coastal Bend Chevy Dealers, Budweiser, Pronto Insurance, System Seven, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Art Museum of South Texas, McDonald's, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times and many more.

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