Collier County sees more visitors in September without the chaos of Hurricane Irma
Laura LaydenWithout the chaos of Hurricane Irma, Collier County's hoteliers saw a lot more visitors this September.
Last month the number of visitors spending the night in hotels and other short-stay vacation rentals rose more than 35 percent over the year to 86,100, according to a report by Tampa-based consultant Research Data Services Inc.
Those visitors spent more than $74 million — up 12.2 percent from last year.
With most hotels back in business and most rooms back in service last month, except for a few hundred units under renovation, occupancy ran higher too.
The occupancy rate rose to nearly 4 percent to 57.8 percent — up from 55.7 percent last year.
More:Collier County had fewer visitors in August, in part due to red tide
More:Florida tourism industry sees resiliency tested in Hurricane Michael, water quality crises
However, the average daily rate dipped, with the supply of rooms not as tight. The rate stood at $132.90, down from $136.20 last year.
Last month the county still had 471 rooms closed for renovations. Some of that inventory has since become available again.
A 'very positive spike'
Walter Klages, president of Research Data Services, presented the statistics at a Collier County Tourist Development Council meeting Monday, saying, "We really had a very positive spike in visitation."
The tourism industry took a beating from Hurricane Irma across Southwest Florida.
In the Naples area many hotels, attractions and restaurants didn't reopen for weeks. There was cleanup to do and repairs to make — and many had to wait for power to be restored.
Most tourism-related enterprises were back in business within a few weeks of the storm, but for others it was a much longer haul.
More:Collier County approves $250,000 campaign to lure visitors back after red tide
More:Response to red tide: Collier plans tourism marketing for when coast is clear
Last month visitation increased from all of Collier's major feeder markets when compared with a year ago.
Tourism statistics for 2018 are pacing ahead of last year, despite a streak of red tide, which has chased some visitors away and hurt local businesses, from charter boats to restaurants.
Visitor numbers up for the year
From January through September, the county saw more than 1.37 million visitors, up 2.4 percent from the same months last year.
During those same nine months visitors:
- Booked more than 1.8 million rooms nights, up 0.7 percent from a year ago.
- Spent more than $1.6 billion, an increase of 4.3 percent from last year.
Year-to-date the county's only primary feeder market not sending more visitors this way is Canada. That's because the loonie is still so weak against the U.S. dollar, making a vacation here expensive, Klages said.
"The Canadian market simply just did not grow," he said.
The mostly positive metrics for the year came as good news to members of the Tourist Development Council, who weren't sure what to expect because of the bad publicity generated by red tide, which has captured national and international media attention.
Council member Michelle McLeod described the statistics as "very impressive."
"If we didn't have red tide what would it have been?" she asked rhetorically.
For all of its destruction from Florida to Virginia, Hurricane Michael may have disrupted red tide, improving the situation for the Naples area, said Jack Wert, Collier County's tourism director.
"It pushed stuff farther west," he said. "So I think that has been helpful."
The county's tourism office plans to do special advertising and marketing campaigns to offset the damage done by red tide over the summer, using a mix of county and state dollars.
The money has been approved by the Collier County Commission and Visit Florida, the state's tourism marketing agency. However, Wert said, the dollars aren't going to be spent yet because there needs to be more certainty that red tide has dissipated and won't return anytime soon.
'Ready to launch' a new campaign
"We're ready to launch. It's just a question of timing. It really is," he said.
Council member Clark Hill, who is also the general manager of Hilton Naples, said quick action is needed to spread a positive message to combat the negative image caused by red tide. "The sooner the better," he said.
Despite all the industry's challenges, tourist tax collections are pacing ahead of last year.
The county collects a 5 percent tax on overnight stays, which pays for tourism marketing and beach projects and supports local museums, attractions and events. A penny hike in the tax took effect last September to build an amateur stadium and sports complex in East Naples.
From October 2017 to September 2018, the county collected nearly $28 million in tourist taxes. Collections increased nearly 27 percent over the same months last year.
In a survey conducted by Research Data Services, 2 in 5, or about 39 percent, of the county's lodging managers reported their reservations for the next three months are up when compared with the same time last year.
Another 20 percent of managers expect their reservations to be the same as last year, while 40 percent think they'll be down.
Klages said the number reporting their reservations would be down was "not significant."
"I think we're going to be looking at a good fall," he said.
By the Numbers
Here are the visitor numbers for September and how they compare with last year, when Hurricane Irma hit:
Market Visitors Percent Change
Florida 38,487 +22.2
Southeast 5,855 +48.7
Northeast 11,107 +44.5
Midwest 7,060 +66
Canada 1,205 +137.2
Europe 17,306 +48.9
Other 5,080 +27
Total 86,100 +35.6