The winter of 2017 showed that Southwest Florida counties, Lee and Charlotte were down significantly while Collier County, home to Naples, Marco Island, and Golden Gate Estates showed an increase in seasonal visitors.
JoNell Modys, communications manager of the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors bureau states, "Between 40 and 50 percent of visitors, in the last year, were in Collier County for the first time." Modys adds, "Our visitors are spending more this year. The total economic impact is up three percent for January to March." Canadian visitors were up 12.7 percent and Floridians visiting Collier were up 9.6 percent.
Many West Coast visitors who habitually visited Hawaii and Mexico are now coming to Southwest Florida. "They discover our area and fall in love with it," states Ms. Modys. There are many factors related to seasonal visits. Although the Southwest Florida weather was ideal during the seasonal months, the weather up north was very mild. Once the weather changed in the northern cities and became more winter-like visitor traffic increased. The current administration's travel ban is affecting international traffic, so the marketing efforts for the area will focus on domestic travel which is very strong. Visitation from the western market of the United States was 11.3 percent in March, 2017," adds Ms Modys.
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