Tourism holds strong in Collier, Lee despite rise of COVID-19's Delta variant

• As of September, visitation, bookings and spending all remained higher than at the same time in 2019 — a banner year for tourism in Collier.
• This year, the largest number of visitors in Collier has come from other parts of the state, with the pandemic still fueling more road trips — and trips closer to home.
• Through September, the county saw 734,301 visitors from Florida. That was up by more than 47% from the same months in 2019.

Collier County is still on pace to see record tourism this year. And Southwest Florida International Airport is seeing record passenger numbers.

Tourism remained strong through September, as the tide turned on the spike of COVID cases tied to the Delta variant.

While the county saw an impact from the surge for a few weeks, the latest monthly visitor statistics show the negative publicity didn't do enough damage to reverse the positive trends.

As of September, visitation, bookings and spending all remained higher than at the same time in 2019 — a banner year for tourism in Collier.

Tourism consultant Research Data Services, based in Tampa, shared the county's most current year-to-date visitor statistics with the Tourist Development Council on Monday.

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Here's what tourism looked like from January through September of 2021, compared to the same months in 2019 — before COVID-19 hit, bringing travel to a virtual halt for months in 2020:

• Visitors: Nearly 1.46 million, up 1.4%
• Room nights booked: Almost 1.95 million, up 1.1%
• Economic impact: Close to $2 billion, up 12.5%

The report is based on overnight stays in hotels and other paid rentals, including condos and single-family homes.

Higher room rates are one of the primary drivers of the double-digit increase in economic impact — or visitor spending.

Similar data is not available for Lee County, as its statistics are reported quarterly, not monthly. The latest statistics by its tourism consultant Downs & St. Germain Research show its visitation down by 13.6% from 2019 through June, but tourism beat pre-pandemic levels by all metrics in the second quarter.

Data from other sources show tourism boomed over the summer in Lee, as it did in Collier, based on similar trends.

This year, the largest number of visitors in Collier has come from other parts of the state, with the pandemic still fueling more road trips — and trips closer to home. 

Through September, the county saw 734,301 visitors from Florida. That was up by more than 47% from the same months in 2019. 

"We are still seeing increases in visitors from Florida and it makes sense. We marketed very hard there and still, there are people who feel safer going to someplace that is closer," said Anne Wittine, Research Data's director of data analysis. 

Collier's second-largest feeder market in 2021 has been the Southeastern United States, accounting for 126,281 visitors, up 33% from 2019 — and more than 98% from 2020. 

The county has also seen a jump in visitors from the Midwestern states, as well as markets west of the Mississippi River, most notably Texas, contributing to the strong recovery of passenger traffic at Southwest Florida International Airport, Wittine said. 

International tourism to return

International tourism has been almost non-existent in Southwest Florida this year, due to COVID-related travel restrictions that will soon ease.

The U.S. will lift restrictions for fully vaccinated international visitors starting Nov. 8, which is expected to benefit the region in a big way, with the anticipated return of Europeans to the region.

In its latest survey, Research Data Services found that nearly 60% of European travelers fall into the "green light" category, meaning they are ready to travel and will probably do so in the next three months, Wittine said.

More than half of those visitors indicated they're interested in traveling to Florida, she said, yet another positive sign.

While the survey picked up more anxiety about travel in general, likely due to the rise and spread of the more contagious Delta variant, people are still showing that they want to travel — and want to do so at the same level, despite their heightened concerns, even if it means getting on a plane, Wittine said.

"Even with our surge in cases, there is really positive feedback in terms of air travel," she said.

Southwest Florida International Airport continues to be a leader among U.S. airports in the recovery from COVID, reflecting the region's strong appeal, Wittine said, which has been attributed to several factors, from its wide-open spaces to its smaller population. 

The Lee County Airport Authority, which owns and operates the airport, reported record-breaking passenger traffic of 551,041 in September. This was an increase of 115% from 2020 — and 19.5% from 2019, the airport's busiest year to date.

Year-to-date, passenger traffic is up 69.5% at the airport, compared to last year.

Collier County's tourism industry is performing above par in many ways, Wittine said, supporting that conclusion with data from research firm STR.

That tourism data shows a more than 44% increase in the county's average occupancy rate as of September, when compared to the same months in 2020, representing the highest growth rate of any of its top competitors in the state, from Sarasota to the Keys.

Year-to-date, Collier also ranks at the top among those same competitors for:

• Its growth in transient — or leisure — visitation from 2019 to 2021, with an increase of 32.9%. 
• Its growth in group business as a percentage of total occupancy, with a contribution of 9.3%.

According to STR, the average occupancy rate in Lee County through September stood at 68%, up 38.5% from the same time in 2019, and down just 2% from 2019.  

Meanwhile, the average daily rate in the county has risen to $172.08, up 3.8% from last year — and 4.2% from two years ago, reflecting strong demand.

Groups have accounted for 5.8% of its total occupancy this year.

September holds strong

In her presentation to the Tourist Development Council, Wittine also shared September-only statistics for Collier. Here's what they looked like, compared to 2020.

• Visitors: 93,300, up 16%
• Room nights booked: 175,400, up 29.8%
• Economic impact: $104 million-plus, up 42.1%

All of those numbers beat the record levels seen in September 2019.

The county's high performance, Wittine said, is a testament to its targeted marketing efforts and how well it aligns with "what travelers are looking for" today, as a result of the pandemic, namely more elbow room and safer experiences in the great outdoors.

As for group business, the county had the highest percentage of it in September among its Florida competitors — at 12.8% of its total visitation, according to STR. That was up by more than 653% from the same month last year, but still down 27.4% from 2019, showing there's still plenty of room for improvement.

Looking ahead to the rest of the year, Collier's lodging owners and managers surveyed by Research Data Services showed optimism, with bookings starting to come in from  Europe and Canada — and expectations of a strong showing of seasonal visitors from other parts of the country, especially from the Northeast and Midwest, in the fall and winter.

With vaccines for children under 12 likely to be available in November, Collier could see another rush of visitation as it did this summer after vaccinations became more widely available to adults and older children, Wittine said.

Some younger families have held off on travel, choosing to wait until all of their children can be vaccinated before taking any vacations, she said. 

Offering somewhat of a spoiler alert, Paul Beirnes, the county's tourism director, told the Tourist Development Council visitation remained strong through October.

Across the destination, he said, occupancy has averaged more than 71% over the past few weekends, demonstrating that northerners have started arriving early for season this year, instead of waiting until closer to Thanksgiving.

"They are kind of taking ownership of their travel early," he said.

With visitation and spending so strong this year, Beirnes reported tourist tax collections have come in much higher than expected. 

The county charges a 5% tax on hotel and other vacation stays. The tax generates money needed for tourism advertising and marketing — as well as the dollars used for beach improvements and to support other tourism-related projects, venues and events. 

The county was projected to collect about $26 million in tourist taxes in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. While the total isn't in yet, with payments running a month behind, they're now estimated to top $35 million, which Beirnes described as "exceptional."

"We do see a continuation," he said.

Tourist, or bed, tax collections have also beat projections in Lee County, where a 5% levy supports tourism advertising and promotion and beach and shoreline improvements and maintenance, as well as funding the debt payments on its sports stadiums.

With one month left to go in fiscal 2021, Lee had already recorded nearly $51 million in collections as of August, up almost 40% from 2020 and nearly 24% from 2019.