Collier tourism season steady despite flat growth

A cornerstone of the regional economy, tourism held steady this season on the Paradise Coast but was hardly a reason to send a postcard home or flex about on social media.

Collier County room reservations for the first three months of 2026 were mostly the same as last year, according to data from hotels responding to a survey by Downs & St. Germain Research for the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau. At least 55% of respondents said year-over-year reservations were the same, 25% said they were up and 20% said they were down, according to a visitor behavior forecast report for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026. 

This report was somewhat promising following tourism data in December 2025 that saw a slight decline in visitors, room nights and occupancy rates when compared to December 2024. However, direct spending for that month increased by $5 million to more than $265 million; visitor days were up nearly 10% to more than 2 million; and the average daily rate rose more than 9% to $382, overall lodging metrics show.

“Businesses throughout Collier County experienced encouraging results this past season,” says Kristina Park, president and CEO of the Greater Naples Chamber. “While visitors appeared more thoughtful and deliberate in their spending approach, restaurants, hotels and retailers consistently reported strong activity, with many noting a solid season overall. Our community continues to be revitalized by the continued investment in the hospitality and tourism industry, reinforcing Naples’ reputation as a premier destination for travelers.” 

Over the past year, local tourism milestones included the welcoming of the FC Naples professional soccer team to Paradise Coast Sports Complex and celebrating the launch of Naples Beach Club, a Four Seasons Resort, Park said.

“We remain optimistic and are excited to see what the second half of 2026 holds for our community partners across the tourism and hospitality industries,” she says. 

A breakdown of visitor origins by Florida’s Paradise Coast CVB shows the majority of people continue to come from the Midwest and Northeast, at 28.1% and 23.5%, respectively. These were the only two regions showing a year-over-year increase. The most Midwesterners hailed from Illinois, Ohio and Michigan, while the most Northeasterners came from New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Domestic regions next in line were visitors from Florida and the Southeast, at 16.4% and 14.1%, respectively. Rounding out the data were international visitors, 12.5%, and those from Western states, only 5.4%. 

In December, Collier County saw a more than 16% decline in international tourists, largely driven by a more than 24% drop in Canadian visitors. Europeans, at 6.2%, comprised the largest number of international visitors, followed by Canadians, 4%; and Central and South Americans, 1.1%, records show.

During the last quarter of 2025, the economic impact of tourism increased nearly 3% over the same period in 2024. Spending on accommodations, groceries and transportation were up, while spending was down for restaurants and slightly down for shopping and entertainment, the CVB reports.

The region’s tourism sector accelerated into the close of 2025, supported by historically strong travel demand that pushed Southwest Florida International Airport to surpass 11 million annual passengers, according to the Regional Economic Research Institute’s April 2026 “Regional Economic Indicators” report by the Lutgert College of Business at Florida Gulf Coast University.

“This growth in airport activity has translated unevenly into lodging performance across the region,” the report shows. “Lee and Sarasota counties successfully converted 2025’s influx of passengers into seasonally adjusted tourist tax revenue growth, up 8.7% and 6.6%, respectively, since December 2024. In contrast, Charlotte and Collier counties lagged, limiting Southwest Florida’s overall increase in tourist tax revenues to just 0.5% year over year. This divergence suggests that while visitor interest has recovered, lodging demand in certain areas has not yet fully transitioned into sustained revenue growth.” 

It would be accurate to say that high-end businesses had a better season than most, although overall statistics show a flat season without an uptick or decline over last year, said Meg Stepanian, executive director of the Fifth Avenue South Business Improvement District in downtown Naples.

“Even though we’re flat, we need to consider that being ahead of the curve, based on the overall economics of the country. Like even markets internationally, we’re doing well to be flat,” Stepanian says.

While the luxury market is more insulated from economic uncertainty, attracting international consumers remains elusive.

“My feeling is we still have not recovered our international audience since COVID. Because then we got hit with [Hurricane] Ian,” says Stepanian, noting that the world economy has had an effect too, although she’s still hearing international accents on Fifth Avenue.

“Overall, what I’m hearing is that people are not staying as long,” she says. “We have either, A, not bounced back on international travel; or B, not been able to replace those metrics since COVID. We need the international audience, if we can get them.”