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Tag: Manatee County Tourist Development Council

County approves ferry agreements with cities

County approves ferry agreements with cities

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Community News, Featured, Manatee County.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – The Manatee County Commission approved an interlocal agreement that allows the Anna Maria City Pier to serve as a Gulf Island Ferry stop.

Approved on Oct. 10, the agreement requires the county to pay for any ferry-related pier improvements needed to accommodate the county-funded ferries.

In September, the Anna Maria Commission approved the county’s request to attach two, non-submerged composite pilings to the pier’s existing boat landing area to accommodate the ferries, at an estimated cost of $10,000.

County commissioners also approved an amendment to an interlocal agreement reached with the city of Bradenton Beach in 2021. That agreement pertains to the recently completed dock expansion project that included attaching 13 perpendicular finger docks to the floating day dock by the Bradenton Beach Pier and also replacing the nearby dinghy dock.

In 2021, the county agreed to reimburse the Bradenton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) for 50% of the dock expansion project costs, not to exceed $850,000 in matching county funds. The amended agreement allows the CRA to construct a $403,900 ferry waiting area near the dinghy dock, where a stormwater cistern was removed. That expenditure will count toward the matching funds limit but the county will reimburse the CRA for 100% of the waiting area costs.

Duncan Seawall will construct the waiting area that includes decking, a canvas-covered pergola and some covered tables. On Oct. 19, the city commission approved the new CRA project.

According to City Treasurer Shayne Thompson, $534,398 remains of the $850,000 matching funds limit, from which $403,900 will be deducted. The extended agreement gives the CRA until Sept. 30, 2024 to finish the waiting area and any additional pier and dock improvement projects eligible for reimbursement.

Dock discovery

During a recent visit to the floating dock, the county’s contracted engineer and contracted ferry operator concluded the dock is too low to accommodate a ramp that provides ADA-compliant access for passengers.

Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Elliott Falcione serves as point man for the long-desired ferry service. He told The Sun that the county now plans to use the dinghy dock as an alternative ferry landing. The dinghy dock is stationary and higher than the floating dock. Falcione said the ferries will not carry the previously discussed boat-mounted access ramps but portable or dock-mounted ramps could be used where needed.

“There will be safe access and ADA compliance,” Falcione said of the ferry stops that also include the Riverwalk Day Dock in downtown Bradenton and the county-owned Coquina South boat ramp.

Falcione expects service to begin around Thanksgiving and initially operate from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays. Saturdays and Sundays. He said the schedule can then be adjusted based on consumer demand.

“I’m excited that we’re as close as we’ve been,” he said. “Once we get this running, we work on how we transport the service workers.”

Falcione said one of the two ferries was recently damaged when its roof came in contact with a dock piling while docked in Cortez.

“That’s in repair but it doesn’t delay this operation,” he said.

JOE HENDRICKS | SUN

The floating dock in Bradenton Beach, above, is too low to be used as a ferry landing. The Bradenton Beach dinghy dock, right, will serve as an alternative ferry landing

Tourism numbers stay strong on Anna Maria Island

Tourism numbers stay strong on Anna Maria Island

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Business, Tourism.

ANNA MARIA – Research Data Services’ (RDS) Ann Wittine presented an optimistic state of tourism update to the Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) on Aug. 21 at The Center of Anna Maria Island.

She began by addressing her company’s research into public sentiment on the new water taxi service that is slated to begin operation soon.

The Tampa-based company is the tourism consultant for the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“We are doing a water taxi survey, and we have been doing that for a while,” Wittine said. “We were out for Memorial Day weekend, Fourth of July weekend and we’ll be out on Labor Day weekend. We are hearing more interest now than ever before. Not just a little bit more interest, but a significant interest in the water taxi.”

Wittine says RDS is not just talking to tourists, but also residents and business owners. She told the TDC the surveys are showing an increase in interest from all potential user groups. She said there will be more data available after the Labor Day weekend research is completed. That information will be presented at the TDC’s Monday, Oct. 16 meeting.

Wittine’s report featured the latest available statistics related to the tourism industry in Manatee County from June 2023. Total visitors were up by .8% and economic impact was up 2.9%. Room nights were down slightly from June 2022 by .5%. Wittine says this is due to larger party sizes this year.

Room occupancy for June was down slightly (2.6%) after being down 2.8% in the last report from RDS that quoted data from April 2023. The average daily room rate, however, is up 3.5%, at $216.41 per day in June 2023 compared to $209.19 in June 2022.

RDS also keeps track of where visitors are coming from when they visit the area. The largest increase in any visitor origin domestically is Florida, which is up 7.5% over the same time period in 2022. Globally, travel from Europe has risen 13%, after being down more than 13% in RDS’s April report. The largest domestic visitor origin was the Midwest, which is down 10% over the same time in 2022, but still remains strong.

“We are still double the number of Floridians that we had in 2019 that came this June,” Wittine said. “This is due to the marketing efforts we did during COVID. What this shows is, if we can bring first-time visitors, they fall in love and they come back again. That’s what the Florida number shows us.”

Wittine says the most growth potential for tourism is still Europe, which is down more than 67% since 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lastly, Wittine said the number of visitors to Manatee County was 821,900, up 2.4% from June 2022 and the economic impact was $1,382,734,200, up 7.6% from the same period.

Holmes Beach seeks TDC approval for path enhancements

City seeks TDC approval for path funds

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – City officials are seeking tourist tax funding for enhancements to the city’s multimodal path and the creation of a new path. Public Works Superintendent/City Engineer Sage Kamiya addressed the Aug. 21 Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) meeting, citing the recent death of a bicyclist in the city and the death of a pedestrian who was struck by a truck earlier this year while crossing the street.

Kamiya told the TDC at the meeting at The Center of Anna Maria Island that a functional multimodal path running the length of the city was a matter of “life and death.”

Kamiya noted that there is a path for walkers and bicyclists that runs along a portion of Marina Drive, but it needs improvement. The proposed new path would begin around the 2800 block of Gulf Drive and continue almost the entire length of the city to where Gulf Drive and Marina Drive merge in the 8000 block. The proposal calls for the path to be separated from the road by a grassy buffer area that would further separate people using the path from the road, improving safety.

“Being here on the Island, you see a lot of people have to make use of the road because there aren’t a lot of good options for walking,” Kamiya said.

Holmes Beach seeks TDC approval for path enhancements
Holmes Beach Public Works Superintendent/City Engineer Sage Kamiya addresses the Manatee County Tourist Development Council on Aug. 21 seeking funding for the city’s proposed multimodal path. – Jason Schaffer | Sun

Connecting the path to the city’s 30 beach access points is also part of the plan, which would begin with the 65th and 66th Street access points near the center of the city. The city would also like to see educational signs along the path, allowing users to learn about wildlife they may encounter, such as shorebirds and sea turtles, as well as Island flora.

The budget estimate for the project totals $2,436,727, with half of the money going to the Gulf Drive path improvements ($1,293,238), and the remainder designated for Marina Drive path improvements, engineering design, crosswalks and educational signage.

Although the plan is ambitious, Kamiya told the TDC that it would be implemented in phases, with the first phase focusing on the city center area on both Gulf Drive and Marina Drive. The phase 1 estimate is $1,133,401 with $399,460 coming from the City of Holmes Beach and the remaining $733,948 being requested from tourist tax funds.

The TDC makes recommendations on the use of the funds to the Manatee County Commission.

Rather than approve or deny the funding recommendation, the TDC unanimously chose to have the matter brought to the next TDC meeting on Monday, Oct. 16, in hopes of getting answers to questions that multiple board members had, such as whether the path would eliminate public parking spots, which side of the street the path would be on, and defining a more specific timeline, among other concerns and questions.

AMI tourism numbers remain strong

AMI tourism numbers remain strong

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Business, Tourism.

ANNA MARIA – Research Data Services’ (RDS) Ann Wittine presented her state of tourism update to members of the Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) on June 5 at a meeting held at The Center of Anna Maria Island.

As predicted in her April 24 address to the TDC, most numbers continue to be on the rise.

Wittine’s report featured the latest available statistics related to the Manatee County tourism industry from April. Total visitors and room nights were down slightly from April 2022, but economic impact was up for the month in 2023 with 97,000 visitors (down 2.1%), 220,700 room nights (down 4.1%) and $143,973,100 in economic impact (up 3.4%).

“While we did see a slight decrease in visitation this April over last April, a big part of this is because last year Easter fell on April 17, but this year it was April 9,” Wittine said. “This is a normal thing. When we see an early Easter, we find the season compresses. While we saw a slight decrease from last year, we see an increase in economic impact, meaning that visitors that are coming are spending more.”

Room occupancy for April was down slightly (down 2.8%) after being down more than 3% in the last report from RDS, which quoted data from February 2023. The average daily room rate, however, was up 7.9% at $265.70 per day in April compared to $246.30 in April 2022.

The Tampa-based RDS also keeps track of where people come from when they visit the area. The biggest increase in domestic visitor origin was the Midwest, which was up 5.1% over the same time period in 2022. Globally, travel from Europe fell 13.6% and travel from Canada was down 25.6% over April 2022. Wittine said the reason for the decrease in European and Canadian visitors was due to April 2022 being the first spring these tourists were not under COVID-19 lockdown orders. She said that current numbers are more in line with what is expected.

“As we have been seeing, we have a slight rollback in the number of people coming out of Florida,” Wittine said. “This is expected. The important thing to note is that we are still up 50% over where we were in 2019, so all of the marketing to the nearby markets has had an amazing ripple effect with the visitors continuing to come back.”

Wittine forecast numbers going down slightly at her last address to the TDC, but said at this meeting that rental agencies and condo owners on AMI have reported solid bookings for June and July.

AMI Historical Society seeks tourism funds

AMI Historical Society seeks tourism funds

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Entertainment, Museums.

ANNA MARIA – The Anna Maria Island Historical Society (AMIHS), 402 Pine Ave., draws more than 10,000 visitors a year to its volunteer-managed museum and is making plans to inform and entertain future visitors.

The museum is housed in a building that dates back 100 years to the 1920s. The building has served many purposes in its long life, including an ice house, turtle hatchery and more, and museum directors want to assure it has a bright future for many years to come showcasing the rich history of AMI.

On Feb. 13, they asked the Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) for financial assistance.

According to the TDC, the historical society and its board of directors have explored a partnership with Carter Global, a fundraising agency that helps organizations maximize their philanthropic potential. The goal is to build a six-month plan for AMIHS to generate income that will help support the museum through revenues generated by memberships, admission fees and other strategic planning, rather than just donations from visitors and the community.

The plan presented to AMIHS by Carter Global is a capacity-building project with a total cost of $72,000. Since the AMIHS operates on an annual budget of $40,000, they are not even close to the $72,000 goal but calculated they could delegate $10,000 to the effort. They asked the TDC for an additional $62,000 to complete the project.

As the TDC discussed the request, board member Ed Chiles proposed an amendment to the request in which the TDC would raise the amount to $100,000, with the additional funding going to assist with funding the Historical Society’s first full-time paid employee as the plan moves forward.

AMIHS Board President Elizabeth Hager and Vice President Barbara Murphy addressed the TDC to help clarify the request. TDC Chairman James Satcher asked both Hager and Murphy what the additional $28,000 would fund if they were given the money.

“We are prepared to do this work with a consultant, and we’re ready to go,” Hager said. “We feel it would be wonderful if you voted for Mr. Chiles’s amendment so we could proceed at pace without waiting for agendas and all that kind of thing.”

A unanimous vote from the TDC granted the amended request of $100,000 to the Historical Society. The request will now go to the Manatee County Commission, which has the final say.

Tourism up, record set

Tourism up, record set

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Business, Tourism.

BRADENTON – As the busy tourist season approaches full swing, Manatee County’s tourism consultant delighted tourism officials with a milestone set in 2022.

“When we look at the entire calendar year, we see that for the first time ever, we exceeded over a million overnight commercial lodging visitors,” said Ann Wittine, of Tampa-based Research Data Services. “We also had a first-time-ever economic impact of over $1.5 billion for the year. That’s a 20% increase and a 50% increase from pre-COVID 2019.”

Wittine presented her state of tourism update to the Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) on Feb. 13, featuring the latest available statistics related to the tourism industry in the county.

In December 2022, total visitors, number of room nights and economic impact were all up from December 2021, with 73,300 visitors (7.5%), 186,200 room nights (5.8%) and $91,956,200 in economic impact (14.5%).

“We gather this information in a number of different ways,” Wittine said. “We have face-to-face interviewers who are out talking to restaurant and lodging visitors for random surveys. We also talk to management companies, condo associations and others to make sure we get length of stay and party size, so we can calculate these estimates.”

Room occupancy for December was up slightly up (.7%) after being down slightly in the September 2022 report from RDS. The average daily room rate is also up, at $211.38 per day in December 2022 compared to $182.55 in December of 2021.

RDS also keeps track of where people are coming from when they visit the area. After being down in the last report issued in September 2022, visitors from Florida rebounded in December, up 13.9% from the previous year. While European visitors are up 115% from 2021, they have yet to rebound after COVID with only half the number from 2019 before the pandemic. With 12,610 visitors, the Midwest continues to be the largest visitor origin location outside of Florida, but that is down from 2021 by 10.2%. The Southeast region had the most growth with a 22.3% increase from 2021.

The report also included information about Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ). Data from these reports helps the airport locate markets that are underserved, so they can work to get direct flights to those markets, which boosts tourism to Manatee and Sarasota counties. SRQ reported serving 3.85 million people in 2022, up 21.6% over 2021.

Wittine predicted that the spring tourism season underway on Anna Maria Island will be busier than ever, saying that almost every property surveyed in January is reporting more bookings than last year, with many being fully booked through March.

TDC recommends $950,000 for water taxi

TDC recommends $950,000 for water taxi

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Community News, Manatee County.

BRADENTON – The Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) unanimously voted on Nov. 4 to recommend that Manatee County commissioners allocate up to $950,000 in resort tax revenue to help fund a water taxi initiative.

Commissioners unanimously supported the initiative in October. The service is planned to run from its core stop just east of the Green Bridge in Bradenton to the City Pier in Anna Maria, then go south to the Bridge Street Pier in Bradenton Beach and finally to the South Coquina Boat launch. The water taxi will run Friday through Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

TDC members cited funding from three sources – the county resort tax, beach concession revenues and the Coquina Beach Market, which Manatee County recently began operating.

Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) Executive Director Elliott Falcione said the TDC also will be seeking federal and state grants for the project as well, but those may not be available until the service is in operation.

“At this time, we hope to be ordering the vessels within the next few weeks,” Falcione said. “It’s going to be two 49- or 50-passenger pontoon-style vessels that will be about 50 feet in length.”

Falcione said they will be using a Florida-based boat builder, but could not give an accurate estimate on how long the construction would take. He cited supply problems that are causing issues in many construction industries for not being able to give a completion date.

Falcione said they also are working on a service that could transport employees from the mainland directly to the Island, alleviating problems they have with parking, which is especially difficult during the busy spring tourist season.

Ian didn’t stop tourism, it’s boosting it

Ian didn’t stop tourism, it’s boosting it

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Business, Tourism.

BRADENTON – The latest tourism statistics shatter the numbers from pre-COVID 2019, according to Anne Wittine, of Tampa-based Research Data Services, Manatee County’s tourism consultant.

Wittine presented her tourism update to the Manatee County Tourist Development Council on Nov. 4 with the latest available statistics related to the tourism industry from September. The number of visitors and room nights and the overall economic impact of tourism on the county’s economy are up from pre-pandemic levels, she said.

“Compared to our benchmark in 2019, pre-COVID, our visitors are up 38.3%, room nights are up 36.7% and economic impact is up 51.4%,” Wittine said. “That’s also considering that most properties lost three days that month due to (Hurricane) Ian.”

Room occupancy for September was down slightly at 57.7% compared to 59.3% in September of last year, however, it is higher than September 2019 when it stood at 54% pre-COVID. The average daily room rate is up at $174.82 per day this September compared to $168.04 in September 2021.

While the Island is used to seeing a large number of tourists from Florida, those numbers have actually dipped 15.7% from September of 2021, but are up 61% from 2019, showing the effect that COVID-19 travel restrictions had on people who didn’t leave Florida during the height of COVID. The largest number of visitors to the county from outside Florida are coming from the Midwest, followed closely by the Northeast. Tourists from Europe and Canada are down slightly from 2019; there is no data from 2020 or 2021 since travel from those regions was restricted.

“In terms of the fiscal year, this is a major benchmark. For the very first time, we’ve got visitors staying in commercial lodgings numbering over a million,” Wittine said. “This is up 11% from last year; an all-time record. We have not seen this before. I’ve been saying to Elliott (Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau) that this is a bubble; you guys aren’t going to be able to keep it up, yet you’ve kept it up.”

Wittine also discussed some occupancy barometers related to Hurricane Ian. She said October sold out with people looking for long-term rentals due to the storm. Many of the occupants were from insurance companies, recovery workers and people with damaged homes farther south.

BIEO members reject TDC funding change

BIEO members reject TDC funding change

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth hasn’t gained a lot of support from leadership in local barrier island cities for her idea to change how tourist development taxes are distributed in Manatee County.

Titsworth brought up the topic during a Coalition of Barrier Island Elected Officials meeting where she was joined by Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy, Longboat Key Mayor Ken Schneier and Longboat Key Town Manager Tom Harmer. She said that although vacation rentals bring in about 30% of the total Manatee County tourist development tax revenues, her city doesn’t see a lot of it returned.

“Tourist development funding is hard for Holmes Beach to qualify for,” she said, noting that the city has only seen about $100,000 of the millions of dollars earned come back to help fund city projects. Titsworth said she’s expecting about $30,000 from the tax this year for Grassy Point Preserve improvements.

The funds are assigned to projects by Manatee County commissioners with advice from the county’s Tourist Development Council. By state law, the funds can only be used for specified projects related to tourism. Titsworth said she’d like to see those funds available for infrastructure improvements or redistributed to local municipalities based on the percentage of the total funds earned by that city. She also said she’d prefer it if the funds could be distributed without the requirement of county commission approval.

In the current fiscal year, Titsworth requested funds for bicycle and sidewalk path improvements and reimbursement for seawall repairs necessary to prevent part of Marina Drive in the city’s commercial district from collapsing. While the project was approved by the members of the TDC, county commissioners voted it down, although they did approve the funds for Grassy Point Preserve. Some county commissioners stated that they didn’t see how the paths and seawall repairs tied into tourism-related spending while others stated that they wouldn’t approve the project because of an ongoing clash between city and county leaders over beach parking in residential neighborhoods. During the BIEO meeting, Titsworth said she doesn’t appreciate how some county leaders are “weaponizing” funding in an attempt to force city officials to meet their demands.

Though Murphy said he understands Titsworth’s predicament, he feels that his city has been getting its fair share of the tax funds. Rather than depend on tourist development tax funds for infrastructure repairs, he suggested making an effort to get a larger cut of sales tax revenue, which is currently disbursed based on population.

Harmer and Schneier agreed that they also don’t have an issue with the way the funding is currently distributed. Harmer said that their city’s tourist development tax dollars were primarily used for beach renourishment and maintenance. Unlike on Anna Maria Island, the small number of public beach accesses on Longboat Key means that beach renourishment and maintenance is funded by that city rather than through outside government funding.

Water taxi plans detailed

Water taxi plans detailed

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News, Featured, Manatee County.

MANATEE COUNTY – The county’s chief tourism official briefed county commissioners on Sept. 13 on plans in the works for a water taxi between Anna Maria Island and Bradenton, including new funding sources.

Revenues generated by the county-controlled Coquina Beach Market will help fund the water taxi, said Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. Revenues generated by the 5% tourist development tax levied on vacation rentals, resorts and other lodging establishments in Manatee County could also be used, as could surplus beach concession funds, he said. Falcione is working with Manatee County Public Works Director Chad Butzow and Transit Division Manager Jason Harris to develop the water taxi service under the direction of County Administrator Scott Hopes.

In August, Falcione told the Anna Maria City Commission he hoped to present a formal contract proposal to county commissioners on Sept. 13, but he told county commissioners that day that some final details were still being worked out with the proposed water taxi company.

Falcione said he and Hopes plan to present a formal contract proposal to the county commission on Tuesday, Sept. 27 and he plans to present the tourist development tax funding request to the Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) in October.

Falcione said the water taxis would travel from the day dock in downtown Bradenton to the Anna Maria City Pier, and then to the floating dock at the Bridge Street Pier in Bradenton Beach and then to either the Coquina North or Coquina South boat ramp. The return trip would include stops at the Bridge Street Pier and the Anna Maria City Pier on the way to downtown Bradenton. The inclusion of a Coquina boat ramp destination, located across the street from Coquina Beach, triggers the ability to use tourist development tax proceeds for the water taxis, he said.

More details

Falcione said the water taxi program would feature two 49-passenger pontoon catamaran boats operating simultaneously between downtown Bradenton and Anna Maria Island. He anticipates the service beginning in February or March and initially operating from 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Falcione repeatedly referenced a Clearwater-based company that’s operated a water taxi service since 2015. Falcione did not mention the company’s name, but he later confirmed for The Sun that Clearwater Ferry is the company the county is negotiating with.

Clearwater Ferry currently operates a water taxi service three days a week that includes stops in downtown Clearwater, the Clearwater Beach municipal marina, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, North Clearwater Beach and Dunedin, according to its website.

Falcione said water taxi passengers would pay $8 for a one-way ride or $10 for an all-day pass, with discounts given for seniors and children. The no-cash operation will accept electronic payments only.

Falcione mentioned the Anna Maria Commission’s request that the Island’s hospitality and service industry employees be allowed to ride the water taxis for free when commuting to work.

“We’re looking at that. We think it’s palatable. There’s some pros and cons to that,” Falcione told county commissioners.

He then noted the water taxi company already has experience and case study data pertaining to employee ridership. County Commissioner Misty Servia said business owners should provide water taxi passes to their employees as an employee benefit.

Citing weather concerns and travel on the Intracoastal Waterway, Commissioner Carol Whitmore expressed concerns about using pontoon boats as water taxis.

Hopes said county funds would be used to subsidize the upfront capital equipment costs
that include the two boats. He said liens would be placed on the boats and the liens would later be removed after enough revenues have been generated to cover those initial costs.

“It’s not as simple as us going out and buying boats,” Hopes said.

Falcione said the county may have to make some county-funded improvements to the proposed water taxi landing locations in Anna Maria, Bradenton Beach and Bradenton.

Commissioners Vanessa Baugh and Reggie Bellamy asked whether the water taxis would accommodate bikes, coolers, beach chairs and other items used by beachgoers.

“We’ll look at all that. The amenities the families want to bring out are really important,” Falcione said.

According to the Clearwater Ferry website, U.S. Coast Guard regulations do not allow bikes on board their vessels. The Clearwater Ferry website also notes their vessels do not have restrooms.

To better serve county residents, Commissioner James Satcher suggested including water taxi stops along SR 64 and US Highway 301.

Regarding future expansion, Falcione said, “This is just the basic infrastructure to get it going. This is what we and the third-party operator feel would give our best chance for short-term success.”

Falcione said future expansion would likely include service to the new hotel being built next to the convention center in Palmetto.

“We see it going to Longboat Key at some point. We see it going to Sarasota. We’re going to focus on Manatee County and get it started. As we learn, we’ll branch out and add partners,” Falcione said.

AMI officials seek change in tourist tax spending

AMI officials seek change in tourist tax spending

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – Manatee County tourist taxes are required to be used primarily to promote tourism and tourism-related projects, but some local officials, including Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie, want to change how the money is spent.

When anyone rents accommodations for six months or less in the county, they must pay a 5% tourist tax, earmarked for a state-mandated list of uses, including tourism marketing efforts, tourist attractions and beach renourishment. Anna Maria Island is the largest contributor of tourist tax funds in the county.

Chappie addressed members of the Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) during public comments at an Aug. 15 meeting, suggesting that the law regarding how the tourist tax is spent be changed to include funding for infrastructure due to the recent tourism boom since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted.

“I just wanted to remind you that hopefully during this next state legislative session coming up, to really talk with legislators to try to change where the funds can be spent for our tourist tax dollars,” he said. “Back in the 70s when I got here, the lots on the Island were platted and there were three to six people on these lots. What’s happened over the last decade, through no action of our own for the most part, is we’re cramming in 12 to 22 people on the same 75×100 lots.”

Chappie says because of this large increase, the infrastructure of the Island is suffering. He noted that public safety, law enforcement, sewer lines, lifeguards and services that are being stressed by the large increase in visitors are in desperate need of additional funding. He believes the tourism tax should be the source of those much-needed funds.

Of the $2,838,590 collected in tourist taxes in June 2022 (the latest figures available) in Manatee County, $1,405,389 came from the three Anna Maria Island cities, accounting for almost half of the total for the county. At $890,927.24, Holmes Beach collected more tourist tax dollars than both Bradenton Beach and Anna Maria combined.

“We need to get on this and try to be able to use the TDC dollars for other things other than drawing more tourists in here,” Chappie said. “We love our tourists, I’m not jamming on the tourists at all, they’re a major part of our economy, but we can’t go on the way it is right now. We need other sources of funding for these important needs our communities have.”

Commissioner Carol Carter of Anna Maria also addressed the TDC, agreeing with the mayor’s plea. Carter said Anna Maria has more than 800 vacation rentals in a city that covers only one square mile. She said while permanent residents average 1.8 people per house, vacation rentals tend to average nine people per house.

“Just for your information, the state legislature did make some exceptions some years ago for TDC for the three counties in the panhandle, kind of focused on Panama City and all the tourist involvement that they have there for public safety reasons,” Carter said. “So, there is a precedent, and I just reinforced what Mayor Chappie said about the next legislative session.”

Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore also weighed in on the discussion, saying that despite Holmes Beach being the Island’s primary source of tourist tax dollars, it still has not had the funds to replace its pier.

Later in the TDC meeting, Research Data Services’Ann Wittine presented her state of tourism update featuring the latest available statistics related to the tourism industry in Manatee County from June of 2022.

“We got very used to those arrows pointing up,” she said. “What we saw in June was a slight rollback in numbers in June of 2022, but what I really want to emphasize is that, compared to our benchmark in 2019, pre-COVID, our visitors are up 25.8%, room nights are up 25% and economic impact is up 38.4%.”

Wittine said the reason for the recent dip in numbers is because, in 2021, the area was seeing a huge surge in visitation driven by the fact that people were getting vaccinated in record numbers in the first quarter of 2021 and therefore more apt to travel. Room occupancy is also slightly down in 2022 at 79.3% compared to 88.1% in June of last year. It is still higher than in June 2019 when it stood at 74.7% pre-COVID. The average daily room rate is up though, at $209.19 per day in June 2022 compared to $195.19 in June 2021.

While the Island is used to seeing a large number of tourists from Florida, those numbers have actually dipped 19.8% from June 2021, but are up 126% from 2019, showing the effect COVID travel restrictions had on people who didn’t leave Florida during the height of the pandemic. For the fiscal year to date, visitation is up 14.1% from June of 2021 and economic impact is up 27.2%, standing at $1,284,951,900. That number is 47.6% higher than in June 2019.

RDS’s traveler sentiment study showed that 78.8% of prospective travelers to Florida were optimistic about personal health, but only 54.4% were optimistic about personal finances, compared to 70% in June 2021. When asked how close things are to returning to normal, 46.5% of people said they were close, compared to 51% last year. The biggest concern for prospective travelers was gas prices. Wittine’s data shows an expected dip in tourism numbers until at least October.

SRQ works to meet demand

SRQ works to meet demand

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Business, Tourism.

ANNA MARIA – Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ), one of the primary arrival points for people visiting Anna Maria Island, continues working to improve the facility to boost air travel.

Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority Executive Vice President Mark Stuckey addressed the Aug. 15 meeting of the Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) with an update on the airport’s progress, crediting the relationship with the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) as being a big help in adding new flights and destinations.

“The tourist tax has been used as one of the incentives to ensure that when an airline adds new service to a new destination, a certain amount of marketing money will be dedicated to be spent in that city to promote the destination here and to let them know about the new route,” Stuckey said. “That’s had a huge impact. We’ve gone from six airlines and 12 non-stop destinations back in 2018 to 11 airlines and 53 non-stop destinations today.”

Stuckey said last year SRQ had 3,163,533 passengers, a 163% increase from 2020 and an over 60% increase from 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic slowed air travel. Year-to-date, 2,093,000 passengers have flown through SRQ. The projection for the number of travelers through the airport is 3,700,000, which would make it another record-breaking year if that goal is met. Stuckey said that issues with pilot shortages and rises in fuel prices were factored into projected numbers.

In the past two years, many capital projects have been completed at SRQ, including increasing fuel storage capacity, adding additional security checkpoints to speed up the traveler screening process, parking improvements and other general facility improvements. Despite what’s already been accomplished, Stuckey said there are more projects planned to keep up with the rapid growth.

“We have approximately $200 million worth of projects and we expect all of them to break ground by the end of the year,” Stuckey said.

Those projects include a new, $10 million ground transportation area at the end of the terminal where taxis, Uber, Lyft, MCAT and other ground transportation services pick up passengers.

Another project is a consolidated rental car facility. Anticipated to cost about $40 million, the new facility would have all rental car companies at the airport located on a single lot. Other planned additions include new parking lots, a park and ride lot and additional aircraft parking. The list of improvements also includes some behind-the-scenes projects to help make some airport day-to-day operations more efficient.

The largest of the upcoming projects is the anticipated $70 million construction of a new five-gate, ground-level terminal to cater to airlines like Allegiant who prefer ground-level boarding options and allow other carriers to expand as needed to service additional flights.

Upcoming flight additions include Allegiant’s non-stop service to Minneapolis in October, Air Canada returning in October and Breeze Airways extending service to White Plains, New York.

As a token of appreciation for his department’s assistance with the Breeze Airways deal, Stuckey presented a model Breeze Airways jet to CVB Executive Director Elliott Falcione.

AMI Historical Society seeks funding from TDC

AMI Historical Society seeks funding from TDC

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Entertainment, Museums.

ANNA MARIA – The Anna Maria Island Historical Society is seeking tourism funds for improvements to its building and has asked the Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) for its support.

Museum Vice President Barbara Murphy and former TDC member Doug Copeland addressed the council at The Center of Anna Maria Island on June 23. Murphy and Copeland – whose wife, Pat, was one of the original founders of the museum – gave an update on the museum and discussed its past, present and future.

“The Anna Maria Historical Museum offers a glimpse into the past of our little piece of paradise,” Murphy said. “You can literally take a step back in time as you walk through the museum filled with artifacts and photos from the past.”

The Historical Society was founded in 1991 by Pat Copeland after she bought the photos and archives from a newspaper that had been in operation since the 1950s and was closing. It was her mission to use that information to start a historical society and museum that would showcase the history of Anna Maria Island, its residents and its culture.

The permanent home of the Historical Society came after Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch had to give up its Turtle House on Pine Avenue after changes in state laws prevented them from hatching turtles there. The building had also served as an icehouse and a police station in years past.

“The Anna Maria City Commission gave the Historical Society use of the building in 1992,” Doug Copeland said. “With the help of the Anna Maria Island Privateers and other volunteers, the building was gutted and remains their current home.”

The property contains the old city jail, a popular tourist attraction in Anna Maria. The land also had an area that was cleaned up by volunteers and became the Anna Maria Historical Park, a native landscape that visitors can enjoy. Another museum project is the Pat Copeland scholarship, which gives $4,000 to an outstanding area high school senior every year.

The museum, 402 Pine Ave., is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Visitors can learn about the history of the Island through artifacts dating back to its first inhabitants. The museum is run entirely by volunteers, as well as an 11-member board of directors, and sees between 600 and 800 visitors a month.

With projects such as the re-imagining of Pine Avenue and a possible water taxi at the City Pier, Historical Society members think the number of visitors will increase significantly in the near future.

The TDC will consider the request at a future meeting.

Spring tourism surges on AMI

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Business, Tourism.

ANNA MARIA – Spring tourism was strong on Anna Maria Island, according to Anne Wittine, Director of Quantitative Research for Tampa-based Research Data Services.

The Manatee County tourism consultant told the Tourist Development Council at
its June 23 meeting at The Center of Anna Maria Island that April 2022 broke records.

With 99,900 visitors, tourism rose 19.8% from April 2021. Room nights were at an all-time high at 230,200, up 5.5%, with an economic impact of $139,186,600, a 35.9% increase from a record-breaking April 2021. “These numbers are partly due to the fact we were so full in March that many people simply weren’t able to come” until April, Wittine said. “Also due to a late Easter, some of those trips were extended to April.”

Wittine spoke of visitor origins, saying there was a notable increase in visitors from the Northeast, up 74.9% from April 2021, and from the Midwest, up 81.7% during the same period. The Southeast was up 24.6%, however, Florida visitation was down 31.8%.

The average party size was 3.0 people, up from 2.8 last April. Wittine says while that number doesn’t sound like much, it’s a significant increase of 7%. The average length of stay was 5.1 days.

Fiscal year-to-date numbers were equally impressive, with the number of visitors up 21.6% and the economic impact up 35.9% over the previous fiscal year.

Airport traffic at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) was also up over 15% from April 2021.

Wittine also addressed gas prices and their impact on tourism.

“Considering gas prices and all the things that are going on, we are not hearing from property managers that it’s affecting their summer business,” Wittine said. “For May, we’re still seeing properties reporting increases from last year.”

A Traveler Sentiment Study showed that concern about gas prices went from 38.7% last May to 60.6% this year. It also showed that 76.1% of visitors were optimistic about personal health and 53.9% were optimistic about personal finances. Both of these numbers are lower than last May, when 81.9% were optimistic about personal health and 76% were optimistic about personal finances. Concern about the economy almost doubled, but so far has not kept visitors from booking vacations.

Bradenton Anna Maria Island Longboat Key

Tourism booming on AMI

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Business, Tourism.

BRADENTON – It appears to be an especially busy tourist season on Anna Maria Island, and there is data to prove it, according to Research Data Services’ Anne Wittine, who addressed the Feb. 14 meeting of the Manatee County Tourist Development Council with her bi-monthly “state of tourism” update.

Wittine began by discussing throughput data, which is the number of travelers passing through airport TSA checkpoints. While 2022 data is not yet available, Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) was up 156% in 2021 over 2020 and 61% over pre-COVID 2019. SRQ is one of only two Florida airports that posted a positive number over 2019, the other being Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) which was only up 1% compared to SRQ’s 61%. Many of the arrivals to SRQ are headed for Anna Maria Island.

Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown asked Wittine if the addition of new airlines and destinations that have been added to SRQ have been the cause of the record-breaking throughput numbers. Wittine said RSW has had similar growth, but has not seen the results SRQ has because of the marketing efforts of Manatee County.

“I think the marketing that has supported the growth of these airlines has been a huge factor,” Wittine said. “Southwest Florida has also added new airlines, but has not seen the success you guys have enjoyed.”

The data for occupancy in the month of January 2022 has been tabulated, and it’s more good news for the Island and Manatee County as a whole, with 90% of properties reporting higher occupancy in January 2022 than 2021, as well as 2020 and 2019. When it comes to visitors in general, December 2021 data is the latest available at this time, and it shows a 33% increase from 2020. Room nights are up 29% and the economic impact for the county is up from $51,874,600 to $80,284,700, an impressive increase of 55%.

Visitor origins show the most visitors coming from Florida, which is typical. The Midwest is up 49% and is the #2 visitor origin, with the Northeast in third and the Southeast rounding out the top four. The data is not in for Canada and Europe yet, but Wittine expects those markets to be a big factor when the data is available. COVID-19 travel restrictions from Europe and Canada were only recently lifted.

The data also shows an increase in party size from December 2020 to 2021, up from 2.3 to 2.5 people. The length of stay for the same period is also up significantly from 5.9 nights to 6.2. These numbers may not seem like much, but according to Wittine, it is a huge increase. Lastly, the total number of visitors was up 42% from 683,300 in 2020 to 969,300 in 2021 and the economic impact jumped 44.8% from $908,996,700 in 2020 to $1,315,958,700 in 2021. Both of these are all-time record numbers.