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The influx of 92,300 visitors to Collier County in September who stayed in paid lodging was an increase of 7.2 percent over last September. Those visitors also spent more, resulting in an estimated $83.6 million in economic impact to the county, an increase of 12.9 percent. Visitation, spending and other key tourism indicators were reported Monday at the monthly Collier County Tourist Development Council meeting, based on the September report from Tampa-based Research Data Services, Inc. Additional highlights for September compared to the same month last year include: • Occupancy rose .9 percent to 58.3 percent • Average daily rate increased 5.8 percent to $140.60 • Revenue per available room grew 6.8 percent to $82 Research director Anne Wittine was encouraged by this month’s three-month forward hotel manager’s report. “Forty-four percent of Collier lodging managers report their three-month forward reservations levels as being up, and only 16 percent expect reservations levels to go down, compared to over 40 percent forecasting a decline last year,” Wittine said. The most recent tourist tax report, reflecting taxes paid by guests at hotels, short-term rentals and campgrounds in August, shows collections were up 19.76 percent over August 2018. One of the main reasons for the jump in August tax collections, according the Collier tourism executive director Jack Wert, is an increase in available hotel inventory compared to last August. “Last year at this time The Ritz-Carlton, Naples and both LaQuinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham hotels in Naples were closed for renovations, and the JW Marriott Marco Island’s new Lanai Tower was not yet taking guests.” Several other positives coming out of the September visitation report include strong growth in visitation out of the Midwest (up 17.7 percent) and Europe, including both the U.K. and Germany (up 12 percent).