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Naples, Fla. (December 7, 2017) – Visitors to Collier County in October contributed over $1.2 million in tourist tax revenue paid on overnight stays in hotels, short-term vacation rentals and campgrounds. That’s an 11.35% increase over October 2016 collections. Numbers for occupancy, average daily rate for hotel rooms and rentals, and revenue per average room were also on the plus side. The jump in tax collections may seem incongruous considering the lingering after effects of Hurricane Irma until you consider the 1 percent increase in the tourist development tax on lodging paid by visitors, which went from 4 to 5 percent as of September 1. When October 2017 tourist tax collections were recalculated at the comparable 4 percent rate there would be a drop of 6.58 percent. Approximately 1,600 lodging units were still closed in October for either post-Irma repairs or planned renovations. Total visitation for October decreased 11.3 percent to 139,100, but with the smaller number of available rooms, the occupancy level rose to 79.3 percent, a 6.2 percent increase. “There was a 3.2 percent increase in average daily rate for rooms over October 2016, fueled by high demand from returning visitors and post-hurricane workers,” said Jack Wert, executive director of the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Hoteliers were pleased to see that revenue per average room increased 9.2 percent, a big help to them considering the revenue they lost while properties were closed due to damages and waiting for power to return.” Even with tourism visitation and spending decreases in September and October due to Irma, the 2017 year-to-date visitor statistics show only slight negative impact. Total visitation January through October is 1,477,600, a slight 1.1 percent drop over 2016. Total rooms nights are down by 2.3 percent. On the plus side, total year-to-date direct visitor spending of $1.4 million and total economic impact from tourism at $1.7 billion are both up 3 percent. When recently surveyed, 8 out of every 10 or 81.4% of area lodging managers report their three month forward reservations levels as up or the same compared to last year. “We continue to spread the word through advertising, public relations and social media that our destination is open for business and welcoming visitors, and we’re looking forward to a solid winter visitor season,” said Wert. About Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau The Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) is the official tourism marketing and management agency for Collier County, Florida, known as Florida’s Paradise Coast. The CVB produces the area’s ongoing destination marketing campaigns, tourism website and visitor guides, and provides information and assistance for travel media, group conference, meeting and sports event planners, tour operators, and travel agents. Tourism is the key economic engine for Collier County. More than 1.8 million visitors annually provide an economic impact of nearly $2 billion and support over 37,000 local jobs. Ongoing destination marketing by the CVB is the key driver of visitation resulting in short-term stays in paid lodging that collect the Collier County Tourism Development Tax, which pays for beach renourishment, destination marketing, county museums, and cultural and event grants.