Collier adds $5M to tourism ad budget as debate grows

If spending increases to attract tourists, will the Paradise Coast become the destination of choice? 

In the face of softening tourism numbers during much of the 2024-25 season, Collier County commissioners approved an extra $5 million for tourism promotion at their Sept. 23 meeting. It brings the total advertising budget to $11 million for the 2025-26 fiscal year. 

The 4-1 vote was in favor of the supplemental spending, with Commissioner Chris Hall as the lone dissenter. Hall opposed the recommendation as it made its way through the last several meetings of the Tourist Development Council, which he chairs. 

Hall left the August TDC meeting before the vote. The recommendation then went to the Collier County Commission for approval. The money comes from the Tourist Development Tax, collected from overnight stays in hotels and other lodgings, not from county tax dollars. 

The supplemental $5 million comes from the $18 million in TDT reserves allocated for marketing and advertising. 

Jay Tusa, tourism director for the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau, told the commissioners the base advertising budget of $6 million has been “the norm” since 2019, before the board approved an additional $5 million in November 2024 after last fall’s hurricanes. 

Changing geopolitical/economic climate 

In his Sept. 23 presentation, Tusa said the tourism climate has shifted and the extra funding is needed to “catch up” with demand created by more than 1,000 new hotel rooms added in recent years, plus another 600 opening this year. 

“The situation’s a little bit different this year than it was last year,” Tusa said. “The dynamics changed a little bit. You know, economic times are a little bit different now than they were last year. International [tourism] is a little bit different than it was last year.” 

He said that while domestic visitors are up 3% to almost 2.7 million year to date, international visitation is down 10%. 

Canadian visitation is down 3% overall this year, while July figures showed international travel falling 32.7% compared with the previous year, including a 32% drop from Canada. 

Tusa said the decline in international visitors represents about 100,000 people. 

“That’s a big number, as things have progressed with the geopolitical climate and the economy,” he said. 

Tusa said global and economic factors are outside local control, underscoring the need for continued competitive marketing to sustain tourism. 

“A second round of supplemental investment will help Collier County remain competitive, protect market share and build on the success of the initial round,” he said. 

Tourism is Collier County’s largest industry, Tusa reminded the commissioners, supporting approximately 29,000 jobs and generating more than $2.8 billion in direct economic benefit each year. He said the supplemental funds approved last year helped drive more than $43 million in Tourist Development Tax collections through July, more than $1.1 million ahead of last year. 

Hall explains ‘No’ vote 

Following Tusa’s presentation, Hall said he would have voted “No” on the recommendation for another $5 million in supplemental promotion. 

“Last year, we had a $5 million supplemental advertising gift that we put into the TDC to let America know that we were open after the season of storms, and that was effective,” Hall said. “We did that. The attitude seems to be if we have it, let’s spend it. And I said, ‘If we have it, let’s spend it when we need it.’” 

Hall noted Tusa’s emphasis on the additional hotel rooms but argued that filling them should not be the county’s responsibility, calling it a market-driven issue.  

Commissioner Bill McDaniel Jr., a former TDC member, said he wants clearer evidence that the county’s advertising dollars are effective. 

“I’m not arguing that advertising isn’t important, but the results coming back are nebulous at best,” McDaniel said. “It’s hard for me to discern whether we’re spending money and actually receiving a rate of return. And I don’t know how that can actually be done. I agree 100% that it is not our job to fill those hotel rooms.” 

Barbara Karasek, co-owner and chief marketing officer of CVB partner Paradise Advertising, told commissioners the previous $5 million in supplemental spending was used primarily on digital advertising from January through late August and showed a 14-to-1 return on the investment. 

“The beauty of that is that we’re able to, in the digital space, identify individuals who actually physically show up,” Karasek said. “We know when those visitors show up in our county because their mobile device or their credit card is swiped here … It’s very, very targeted.” 

‘The buck does stop with you all’ 

Several speakers registered to address the commission in support of the additional $5 million, including Chris Lopez with the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. 

Lopez, who serves as regional director for FRLA, said the lobbying organization was supporting the increase so Collier County can remain competitive with other destinations. 

“We just simply ask that you remain competitive in the markets that you compete in against in the headwinds of the current conditions that we’re seeing, not just in Florida but across the country,” Lopez said. 

And in terms of the responsibility for filling hotel rooms, Lopez said the county commission shares in that. 

“As long as your tourism department and the CVB are a function of Collier County government, the buck does stop with you all and county leadership about maximizing butts in beds,” Lopez said. “Attracting those visitors, attracting those conventions, attracting those large events, attracting everything that we’ve discussed essentially does fall back onto county leadership, because of the structure that we have here in Collier County.”  

Sharon Lockwood, area general manager at the JW Marriott Marco Island, said the hotel has lost a large share of group business from Canada over the past two years and in future bookings. She added that overall occupancy has dropped sharply this summer compared with last year. 

She has seen her staff decrease steadily over the seven years, from 1,150 associates to less than 1,000, because she doesn’t have enough hours for them. 

Lockwood said she would support the $5 million being added permanently to the $6 million base promotion budget. 

“I don’t want to call it supplemental anymore,” she said. “I just think it should be our marketing budget when we think about the economy and where we are.”