DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — After a summer struggling through the pandemic, Daytona Beach businesses are enjoying a packed holiday weekend with many visitors in town for Daytona Truck Meet.

More than 30,000 people came to Volusia County for Labor Day weekend.

Some arrived for the beautiful beaches, but most came for the annual Daytona Truck Meet, which bills itself as the "largest truck show in the world!"

It is also good news for local vendors cashing in at Daytona International Speedway. 

After a difficult summer with the coronavirus, many business owners are hoping this long holiday weekend can help make up for a slower summer.  

“It was a good event. Lot going on. People were at the strip and on the beach,” said event attendee Chris Baxley.

He came to town from South Carolina for the truck meet, stayed in a hotel, and hit the stores and restaurants.

And Baxley was not the only one from out of town.

Xiomaroa Flores traveled from Washington, D.C. to visit family and said, “My brother’s baby shower was yesterday, celebrating the first baby in the family.”

They decided to celebrate and spend Labor Day weekend at the beach and hit the local businesses, providing some much-needed financial relief to shops and restaurants in the area. 

The annual event has brought business to the area: Hotel occupancy is up and business owners say they have seen more customers this weekend than they have all summer.

“It's been the busiest time of the year," said Alicia DeForrest. "Labor Day has crushed ever other holiday we had all summer long.”  

She works at Michael's on the Beach during the day and Pizza King at night and was glad people were finally visiting local businesses after the long COVID-19 shutdown.

"The pandemic is like 10 times slower than what it is normally," DeForrest said. "It's definitely slowed down, but this weekend it's really boosted it up for us."

DeForrest and other locals are hoping to see strong sales for the rest of the holiday weekend.

One resort general manager said business is 50 to 60 percent down from normal and said the business is in survival mode.  

He says the business boom this weekend is great, but it is unfortunately going to be short lived.