Monthly Tourist Development Council Report to the Industry (04/10/2009)
April 10, 2009
February 2009 statistics

Overall occupancy rates for the month of February were up 6.3% from February 2008, averaging 80.8%. Average Daily Rates were down – 24.6% at $132.24. Three-fourths of visitors staying in paid accommodations were from the United States, with 11% arriving from Canada. Total visitor expenditures in February were relatively flat (-0.4 percent) from the same month in 2008 at $319,234,213.

February 2009 Occupancy Summary

February 2009 Visitor Origins

VCB offers workshop on travel packaging April 22
In a recent travelhorizons nationally-representative survey of 2,200 U.S. adults, almost two thirds (63 percent) said they are planning at least one overnight trip primarily for leisure purposes over the next six months. Eighty-seven percent said they were more likely to book packages to save money. To capitalize on this important trend, area businesses will learn to create packages that “sizzle” when the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau (VCB) hosts a one-day workshop on April 22 at Harborside Event Center in Fort Myers. All Lee County businesses are invited to attend The Secrets of Travel Packaging Success, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The free workshop will also cover such topics as other trends, models and pricing essentials. The workshop features Joe Veneto of Opportunities Unlimited. Register by April 15 at www.LeeVCB.com.

Team Tourism 2009 National Tourism Week Tourism Summit
The next Team Tourism workshop is scheduled for May 1 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Fort Myers Airport @ Town Center. Doug Price of the Destination Marketing Association International will speak about National Market Conditions & Consumer Super Trends. Lee County Commissioner and Tourist Development Council (TDC) Chair Tammy Hall will address how tourism can provide synergy and compliment diversity for building the county’s economic development. VCB Executive Director Suya Davenport will give the latest news about the value of tourism and its indirect benefits to the area. Additionally, Bob Losyk of Innovative Training Solutions will talk about the Generation X and Y phenomenon in his presentation, Workforce 2010: Preparing for the Workforce Challenges of Tomorrow. To register, log onto www.LeeVCB.com by April 24. Cost is $45 pre-registered, $55 at the door.

Alliance for the Arts to introduces interactive arts and attractions calendar
The Lee County Alliance for the Arts is in the process of launching a new Web site at www.leeculture.org. Funded by the Lee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) attraction marketing budget, the online directory and calendar will provide a one-stop resource to search local events, read arts-related news and get a glimpse into the arts, culture and attraction scene of Lee County.

Resort tax collection report
The resort tax collection for February 2009 was $2,785,635, down 10 percent from February 2008. Year-to-date (FY Oct. 08 – Feb. 09), resort tax collection is $8,700,613, down 3 percent from the same period last fiscal year.

Lee County Sports Authority reports record-breaking month
The Lee County Sports authority reported its best February to-date with 4,978 hotel room nights sold and $3.4 million in direct and indirect economic impact to Lee County. The Florida Youth Soccer Association Region “C” Cup U-11 & U-12 Prelims accounted for 2,262 of the room nights sold.

Airport news
During February 2009, a total of 809,990 passengers traveled through Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW), a decrease of 4.2 percent compared to February 2008. Year-to-date, passenger traffic is down 4 percent from the same period last year. The traffic leader in February was AirTran with 138,986 passengers traveling to and from Fort Myers. Rounding out the top five airlines were JetBlue (102,208), Delta (94,426), US Airways (83,232) and Southwest (74,211).

Next TDC Meeting
The TDC will not meet in August. The next TDC meeting is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 11, at the VCB office, located at 12800 University Drive, Suite 325. Please park on the top level of the parking garage. To view a complete tax collections report, go to www.LeeVCB.com. Contact: Suya Davenport at SDavenport@leegov.com, Lee County VCB, (239) 338-3500.