The coronavirus pandemic has sickened the local tourism industry, but local officials plan to ask the state for a shot in the arm by moderating some vacation rental restrictions, the Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) learned on Monday.
April visitation to the county was down 82.3%, occupancy was down 83.4% and the average daily rate was down 26.4% from the previous April, said Anne Wittine, of Research Data Services, the county’s tourism consultant.
However, she said, “It is a testament to the strength of Manatee’s tourism industry… that year to date we are only down 12.1% in visitation and 11.7% in economic impact.”
A new traveler sentiment survey indicates that optimism about traveling has been down due to concerns about health, she said.
The first week of June, 34% of those surveyed said they thought the state was reopening from COVID-19 shutdowns too quickly; the second week of June, as coronavirus cases spiked, that sentiment increased to 42%.
People surveyed are feeling less safe from the first to the second week of June about dining in a restaurant, shopping, participating in outdoor recreation, going to indoor attractions, visiting friends and relatives, going to the beach, going to theme parks and visiting a new destination, she told the TDC.
Among the biggest concerns about traveling during COVID-19 were not being able to return home, being quarantined away from home and flight cancellations.
A survey question, “Is this a destination you would be interested in visiting?” resulted in a loss of confidence from 28.9% the last week in May to 22.7% the second week of June.
However, Wittine said there is reason for optimism that sentiments are turning around.
“We asked people what one word is that would describe their feelings about tourism,” she said. The first week of June, people were saying, “Absolutely no,” but by the second week, the majority sentiment had changed to “cautious,” she said.
Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) Director Elliott Falcione said that many visitors to the area are making 12- to 14-hour drives to come here with their family, a slight difference in the county’s typical visitor profile of older couples.
Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore commented that the survey shows the hesitancy of visitors to come to the county, probably due to the spike in COVID-19 cases.
“It’s telling me that people aren’t ready yet, but I think we need to stay in their faces,” she said.
CVB to request change in COVID guidelines
On Tuesday, June 16, the CVB was scheduled to ask the Manatee County Commission to amend county vacation rental guidelines on COVID-19 to allow visitors from certain states that are currently prohibited, Falcione said.
“It will give our vacation rentals a lot of flexibility,” he said.
Under current guidelines, visitors from states that have 700 cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people are restricted, he said.
If the commission approves the amendment, the county administrator could ask the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation to eliminate that restriction and instead limit the restricted areas to those identified by the governor as high risk (currently New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Louisiana).
Reservations would be required to be longer than the quarantine period established by the state and groups of visitors would still be limited to no more than 10 people, or fewer depending on municipal occupancy limits, according to the recommendation.
The next TDC meeting is scheduled on Monday, Aug. 17 at 9 a.m., tentatively at Holmes Beach City Hall.
In other business:
- John Horne, of the Anna Maria Oyster Bar and the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, reported that some local restaurants have not yet opened for various reasons, including concerns about being profitable at 50% capacity. He thanked Gov. Ron DeSantis for allowing expanded outdoor dining, municipalities for relaxing their criteria on signage to allow restaurants to advertise that they’re open, and the CVB for lobbying to get short-term vacation rentals open.
- Mark Stuckey, of the Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport, reported that traffic has increased from 10,000 to 40,000 passengers since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, but traffic is down 21% year to date. Airlines are requiring passengers to wear masks at all times and the airport has installed Plexiglas windows and increased sanitization measures to protect passengers, he said.
- CVB website manager Emily Knight reported that the CVB stopped advertising for tourism on its website on March 16 due to European borders closing, causing website traffic to drop; traffic rebounded when beaches were reopened in May. A COVID-19 page was added to advise prospective visitors about updates and a “Bring Bradenton Home” page was added to let people virtually experience the destination. In April, a message was launched that “The Bradenton Area Misses You Too.”
- Sean Walter, of the CVB’s sports marketing program, reported 40 canceled events due to COVID-19, a loss of $35 million. However, 20 tentative events have been scheduled at Premiere Sports Campus from 2020-2022. Visitation outreach will focus on drive markets due to visitors’ concerns about flying, he said.
- Michele Schulz, of the Manatee County Tax Collector’s Office, reported that her office has posted a message on its website in conjunction with the CVB that “Tourism is back!” The office sent emails to more than 5,000 people and letters to nearly 2,500 to refer them to the website, since many were not visiting it due to not having to pay tourist taxes while vacation rentals were closed.
