The fourth-largest city in the state and second only to Miami as a winter resort, St. Petersburg is host to more than a million visitors each year. Its chief tourist commodity, of course, is sunshine, drawing golf and boating enthusiasts throughout the year; however, it also has the big-city zest of its service and nearby high-tech industries. St. Petersburg encompasses a fringe of beaches, parks, and yacht basins along Tampa Bay and a string of resort-occupied islands (connected to the mainland by causeways) on the Gulf side, across Boca Ciega Bay. These islands form the St. Pete Beach Area.