At a recent Real Estate Investment Society forum, a panel of community leaders shared the current hospitality and tourism updates post Hurricane Ian. And their realistic hopes for the future.
Lee County Visitors & Convention Bureau Executive Director Tamara Pigott had some good news about the tourism metrics from 2022.
“The last three months of this year were significantly impacted," she acknowledged. "However, it was, other than the number of visitors, 2022 was the best year for tourism in Lee County. Our visitors spent 4.1 billion dollars. And we collected 66.5 dollars in tourist tax.”
But she also said there is much more to be done.
“There are a few areas that have fully rebounded in the number of hotels. But more likely than not, those areas have not fully rebounded," Pigott said. "The extra rooms on Sanibel takes us over 71%. But we’re stuck there, folks. There’s not a lot that can be open until rebuilding is done.”
Sanibel City Manager Dana Souza discussed property values after Ian.
“Our property values following Hurricane Ian have dropped 34%," he said. "That’s over $2B in property values. The biggest hit is in the condo market where we had over 70% of the value in condominium properties has been lost. I can tell you what that does to a city budget”
Lee County Commissioner Brian Hamman weighed in on how those numbers effected the county’s overall budget.
“So countywide last year we saw new construction add about $3B to our tax base, but Hurricane Ian wiped $9 ½ billion from the tax base," he said. "So we actually netted like $6 ½ billion negative tax base for the year, which is like unheard of in Lee County’s history because we’ve always been such a fast growing community.”
Pigott then painted a realistic picture for the future of rebuilding on the islands.
“Our economy on these islands has been driven by tourism. And if we do not allow these properties to re-build and our businesses come back to the community, our recovery will be delayed," she said. "I know it’s a mixed bag. We want the little cottages we had. No change. But realistically, what we had is not sustainable. If we could re-build it back the way it was, if we could literally recreate exactly what we had, we’re going to have water in our units every single time there’s a storm. And we have to be honest and open and realistic about what we can and can’t do. We will either continue to be a tourism community or we won’t. But I remind you that what drives your economy here, what has historically driven our economy is tourism. So, if we don’t go down that path, if we reject that path of development, we’re going to have a different community, a very different community.”
