Sean Doherty

Charlotte County Tourism Development Tax collections improved with the opening of Sunseeker Resort Charlotte Harbor playing a significant role, said Sean Doherty, tourism director of the Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach Visitor & Convention Bureau. 

Whenever one books a hotel room or rents or leases another type of living quarters for six months or fewer, a 5% tax—the TDT—is collected on the total payment. 

Doherty said Sunseeker Resort has “mitigated the loss of approximately 250 hotel rooms that we lost to Hurricane Ian.” 

While Hurricane Ian damaged many rental properties and hotels, two—Punta Gorda Waterfront Hotel and Suites and the Holiday Inn Express on Sandhill Boulevard in Port Charlotte—were damaged beyond repair. 

Currently, Punta Gorda Waterfront Hotel is slated for demolition. Doherty said he wasn’t sure what the status is for Holiday Inn Express and whether a new hotel will take its place. On its website, the hotel is listed as being temporarily closed. 

Also, a number of smaller hotels and motels, bed and breakfasts and Airbnb rentals were damaged by Hurricane Ian. 

Meanwhile, with December’s opening of the 785-room Sunseeker Resort, the county now has more hotel rooms than before the storm—some 500, he said. 

A vital source of revenue 

February’s TDT collections were tallied on April 4 and showed revenue was up 40% from last February. 

January saw a 13.9% increase compared to January 2023 and a year-to-date increase of 2.4% for this fiscal year.  

Tourism is vital to Charlotte County’s economy, and the TDT saves property owners $1,026 in property taxes per household, according to the latest VCB statistics. 

Tourism also supports and creates jobs. One Charlotte County job is supported by every 76 visitors, according to a report prepared by Downs & St. Germain Research for the VCB. 

Last year, 12,900 local jobs were supported by tourism dollars, which provided $333,310,300 in wages and salaries. 

In fiscal year 2023, tourism provided a net tax benefit of $37,883,500 to county government. 

It also is the main driver for Florida’s economy. According to a state report, without tourism, Florida’s 8.8 million households would each have to pay more than $1,840 in state and local taxes. 

In Charlotte County, 986,000 people visited in 2023, which was a 1.4% increase from 2022. 

They spent more than $1 billion, up 1.7% from 2022, according to Downs & St. Germain Research. Of that amount, $723,304,800 was spent on accommodations, restaurants, groceries, transportation, attractions, entertainment and shopping, reflecting a 0.5% increase from the previous fiscal year. 

However, in 2023 the amount of TDT collected was down 3.3% from fiscal year 2022, which could be attributed to a number of factors including people visiting only for the day and not staying overnight or staying with friends or relatives. 

“While some reports are showing some softening in terms of visitation to Florida, we believe this to be temporary and a result of ‘Florida Fatigue’ after so many people opted to visit Florida post-pandemic, as our state was the market leader in reopening to visitors after COVID,” Doherty said. 

And with many U.S. residents taking the international trips they had to put off during the pandemic, this trend is showing up in the number of visitors to the county and state. 

Doherty attended a conference in early April and said among the things he learned was that “for the first time ever we have a trade deficit,” meaning while U.S. residents are traveling overseas, the same number of international travelers are not coming to Charlotte County and the rest of Florida. 

However, he said experts at the conference predicted that the imbalance will be corrected and the state and county “will go above water” in 2024. 

On the upside, the VCB reports it is beginning to see an uptick in international visitation, although the county is not yet back to pre-pandemic levels. 

Partnerships with international firms—Cellet Marketing & Communications (U.K.) and Sommer Touristik Marketing (Germany)—are boosting awareness of Charlotte County as a destination and the attractions it offers, according to VCB’s April newsletter. 

Doherty said people from the U.K. and Germany particularly enjoy the county’s abundance of green spaces, outdoor activities and nature. 

Those partnerships with the international firms send representatives to trade shows on behalf of the county and generate contacts with tour operators overseas. 

The majority of international visitors are currently coming from the U.K., Germany, Canada, Brazil and Colombia, Doherty said. 

Millions of dollars in economic impact over the past three months have come from events such as the APP Pickleball Punta Gorda Open, the USA BMX Citrus Nationals, the U.S. Amateur Basketball Southwest Florida Hoops Showcase and the Snowbird Baseball Classic, according to the VCB. 

Sunseeker Resorts’ planned conferences and special events also are assuring that an influx of visitors will be coming to the county over the coming months, Doherty said.  

When the number of visitors to the county decreases a bit in the spring, summer and early fall, VCB beefs up its marketing efforts and targets events and attractions to lure people to visit beyond snowbird season, he said.