Two months from now, the Atlantic hurricane season ends, just as Florida’s tourism season begins.
Gov. Rick Scott announced last month that Florida had the highest number of visitors in a six-month period in its history. Nearly 61 million people visited the state in the first half of 2017.
Now, a month later, the state is recovering from a direct hit by Hurricane Irma. This raises the question of if Florida can recover in time to keep its record-breaking momentum going.
The executive director of the Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau, Tamara Pigott, joins Gulf Coast Live to talk about what the county expects tourism season to look like after Irma.
Just south of Lee County, Collier took the eye of the storm at its strongest. Once heavily favored in Florida’s ecotourism sector, Collier’s pristine beaches, botanical gardens and airboat rides are all still in the process of recovering.
Pigott’s counterpart for the Naples, Marco and Everglades region, Jack Wert, joins Gulf Coast Live to talk about how tourism looks for the southernmost regions of Southwest Florida.
And, Lee Port Authority’s director of air service development, Carol Obermeier, knows a lot about local tourism, as most visitors arrive through Southwest Florida International Airport. She talks about preparing for these guests while coming off of the active hurricane season.
