Collier tourism sees visitor boost, international travel still lags 

After months of disappointing tourism reports marked by fewer international visitors and lower direct spending, the Collier County Tourist Development Council heard slightly better news at its September meeting. 

Tourist Development Tax revenue from overnight stays in hotels and other lodgings totaled $2.73 million in July, bringing the year-to-date total to more than $42.8 million, said Jay Tusa, tourism director for the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau. 

James Brendle, data analyst with CVB partner Downs & St. Germain Research, told council that visitors were up 5.5% year over year in July, and visitor days were up 8.8%. 

As for visitor origins, Brendle said Florida, the Midwest, the Northeast and the Southeast are driving the lion’s share of visitation.  

“International is still in a bit of a tricky spot at the moment,” Brendle said, “But the good news is that you have such a strong domestic visitor base that it’s able to make up for that at the moment and still keep visitation up year-over-year despite the current uncertainty that we’re seeing in the international market.” 

International visitors declined 32.7% year over year in July, with Canadian visitors down 32%, Europe down 30.3%, Central/South America down 41.2% and “other” down 33.3%. Domestic visitors were up 8.9% for the same period. 

Brendle said direct spending by visitors fell by 0.9% in July with total economic impact down 1.1% year over year. 

He shared the results of a monthly survey of hotel and rental partners regarding bookings for the next three months and said it was “slightly better” than last month.  

Hotel and rental partners’ outlook were “slightly more optimistic in terms of their bookings being up rather than down, although the majority are still saying that their bookings are roughly the same as last year,” Brendle said. 

The survey found 26% of properties reported higher reservations for the next three months, down from 31% in July 2024. Another 23% said bookings were lower, compared to 13% last year, while 51% reported no change, similar to 56% in 2024. 

Clark Hill, a TDC member and longtime general manager of the Hilton Naples, asked Brendle to explain why forward-looking reservations were showing smaller gains than the previous year. 

“And the amount that is down is considerably higher this year than it was last year, and then about the same is about the same,” Hill said. “So, with that, I just want to bring up that we requested additional [marketing] funding or funding equivalent to that we had this year.  

“This is another point of concern and another reason to continue to market heavily the destination.” 

The fiscal year 2025-26 marketing and promotion budget was a major topic of discussion at the previous two TDC meetings. 

At the July meeting, CVB staff proposed a $6 million advertising budget for the upcoming fiscal year, down from $11 million the previous year. The higher figure included $5 million in supplemental spending approved after hurricanes in 2024. 

The $6 million proposal complied with county policy by holding flat to the original budget, but council members asked for additional information about supplementing it with $5 million from the county’s $18 million advertising and promotion reserve. 

In August, CVB staff asked the TDC to support recommending that additional $5 million to the Board of County Commissioners to restore the marketing budget to 2025 levels. Staff pointed out that Collier County was last in its competitive set, including Bradenton, the Florida Keys and Fort Myers/Sanibel, in fiscal year 2024-25 in percentage of advertising and promotion spending from Tourist Development Tax revenue. 

The supplemental marketing budget request for 2025-26 will be considered by the county commissioners at their Sept. 23 meeting.