Southwest Florida’s economy showed signs of slowing at the end of 2025, while the tourism sector accelerated, according to the Florida Gulf Coast University Regional Economic Research Institute’s February Economic Outlook Report.
Seasonally adjusted real taxable sales fell 2.3% in September, unemployment rose slightly to 5.4%, and job growth remained flat through December, “a clear signal of broad-based labor market cooling,” FGCU economists wrote.
At the same time, a surge in travel demand at Southwest Florida International Airport produced a record 11.15 million passengers in 2025, the busiest year in the airport’s history, despite a slight dip in December traffic. In Lee County, the increase in passengers translated into tourist tax revenue growth, rising 8.7% in December.
However, Charlotte and Collier counties did not see similar gains, limiting Southwest Florida’s overall tourist tax increase to 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,” FGCU researchers concluded.
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