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Data shows tourism drop after spring break

Data shows tourism drop after spring break

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

ANNA MARIA – Tampa-based Research Data Services (RDS) consultant Ann Wittine presented her state of tourism update to the Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) on June 10, pointing out the latest available statistics related to the tourism industry in Manatee County from April 2024.

Total visitors and economic impact were down compared to April 2023, as well as room nights spent, with 91,500 visitors (-6.4%), 203,300 room nights (-7.9%) and $134,036,500 in economic impact (-6.9%).

“I want to peel back the onion a little bit,” Wittine said. “Partly, these numbers are down because last year Easter was April 9 and this year it was March 31, and that does impact April business. Having that early Easter compresses business into March and we saw a very good March this year.”

Wittine added that if these numbers are compared to pre-COVID 2019, there is a 43% increase in visitors, a 37% increase in room nights and a 65% increase in economic impact.

Room occupancy for April was down slightly (-3.4%). The average daily room rate was also down from $265.70 per day in April 2023 compared to $260.62 in April 2024.

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 only .5% over the same period in 2023. All other regions of the U.S. are down, with the Northeast being the largest drop at -14.6%. The only visitor origin with an increase was Europe, which was up 12.3% from April 2023.

Wittine says she forecasts a summer where the numbers go down slightly. RDS does extensive surveys with people who have shown interest in visiting Manatee County, many of whom will be coming to AMI, and she is beginning to see a trend of people concerned about rising prices for travel to the area.

RDS’s fiscal year-to-date (October-April) numbers are close to their projections. At 625,600, total visitors are down 3.3% and, at $1,140027,800, economic impact is up 0.3% from the same period a year ago. Wittine has said many times that a great deal of the large increases in visitors and economic impact since pre-COVID 2019 are directly related to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) adding dozens of new direct flights from all regions of the country.

Get ready for Memorial Day weekend

Get ready for Memorial Day weekend

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

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – It’s almost here – the unofficial start of the summer season, when large crowds visit the Island to soak up the sun and play in the sand.

Unlike the busy winter/spring season when people come from all over the world by plane, Memorial Day brings people from closer to the Island who arrive by car. This means long wait times to get on and off the Island at peak beach arrival and departure times as traffic can back up for miles waiting to cross the three bridges, the only ways on and off the Island.

Parking will also fill up fast, so city officials recommend arriving as early as possible to avoid the heaviest traffic and being patient when searching for the often elusive and highly coveted parking spot.

“I have three important reminders for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend,” Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said. “First, you are vacationing in a residential area, so please keep noise to a minimum. Second, be respectful of your surroundings and leave it cleaner than you found it. Third, always park with all tires off the road. Parallel parking is parking with the flow of traffic. Saying you didn’t see the sign or were not aware will not get a ticket voided.”

Holmes Beach police, along with Bradenton Beach police and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, which patrols the City of Anna Maria, all remind the public that no fires, grills, alcohol or pets are permitted on Island beaches. These laws are strictly enforced, and all three departments plan to increase the number of officers on patrol for the busy holiday weekend.

And don’t leave common sense at home.

“Remember to not put yourself in a position to be a victim of a crime of opportunity,” Bradenton Beach Police Lt. Lenard Diaz said. “Lock your car and don’t leave valuables in plain sight on car seats or places that entice criminals. Also, don’t bring valuables to the beach. Just bring what you need so you can relax and enjoy yourself.”

Tourism numbers in for February

Tourism numbers in for February

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

BRADENTON – Research Data Services’ (RDS) Ann Wittine presented an optimistic state of tourism update to the Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) on April 24.

According to the latest available tourism statistics from February, total visitors and economic impact were up over February 2022, with 88,900 visitors (up 1.6%). Room nights were slightly down, with 218,900 room nights (down 1.1%) and $214,439,600 in economic impact was up 5.4%.

“Some of these numbers don’t seem that impressive on the surface, but this is February, so we were pretty near capacity,” Wittine said. “There just isn’t room for those big growth numbers we’ve been seeing. This is also during a month when some property owners told us they were impacted by red tide.”

Room occupancy for February was down slightly (-3.5%) after being up less than 1% in the December 2022 report from RDS. The average daily room rate, however, is up more than 10%, at $265.02 per day in February 2023 compared to $240.51 in February 2022.

RDS also keeps track of where visitors are coming from. The biggest increase in visitor origin domestically is the Northeast, which is up 10% over the same time period in 2022. Wittine attributes this growth to additional non-stop flights being added from that region. Globally, travel from Europe is up 73.2% and Canada is up 153.7% over February 2022. The largest decrease was from the Midwest, which was down 9.5%, followed by the Southeast, down 3.5% and Florida, down 2.2%.

“We had a slight increase in number of visitors, which is why room nights are slightly down,” Wittine said. “At the same time, we have a slight increase in length of stay. We are at 7.7 nights average this year compared to 7.6 last year, but more importantly, we are up from 7.2 in 2019 pre-COVID, which is a huge increase.”

RDS’s fiscal year to date (October through February) numbers are up significantly, echoing the double digit increase in February economic impact. At 437,900, total visitors are up 6.4% and at $743,677,600, economic impact is up 11.8% from the same period a year ago. Wittine has said many times that a great deal of the large increases in visitors and economic impact since pre-COVID 2019 are directly related to Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) adding dozens of new direct flights from all regions of the country. Keeping with the constant growth reported, SRQ is once again up 16.3% from March of 2022 with 1.29 million people traveling through the airport in just the first three months of 2023, which is more than the entire year of 2020 and only slightly less than the entire pre-COVID year of 2019.

Wittine says she forecasts a summer where the numbers go down slightly. RDS does extensive surveys with people who have shown interest in visiting Manatee County, many of whom will be coming to Anna Maria Island, and the consulting company is beginning to see a trend of people concerned about rising prices for travel to the area.

Wittine says there’s no way to exactly predict what the coming months will bring, but she shared some comments from the vendors surveyed, which point to good things to come: “Bookings are up;” “A lot more last-minute, shorter reservations than normal;” “Looking good for summer;” “March was beautiful, more than expected;” and “April reservations are strong.”

April brings big crowds, heavy traffic

April brings big crowds, heavy traffic

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

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Local observation and tourism statistics have long pointed to mid-March as the height of tourist season, but last week, April 3-9, brought what could be the largest crowds, longest restaurant wait times, heaviest traffic and most crowded beaches of the season.

While most college spring breaks wrap up by the end of March, many elementary, middle and high schools take spring break during the first two weeks of April, bringing families from around the country to the warm, sunny shores of AMI.

“We came down from Wisconsin for a week at our time-share in Holmes Beach, the kids are loving getting to play in the sun since it’s still freezing back home,” said Nate Chambers, who is visiting with his wife and three elementary school-age children. “We love it here, and know we are coming during a very busy time of year, but we honestly don’t care. This is still the most relaxing time we will have this year. We’d love to come in November when it’s quiet and much slower paced, but the kids are in school and it’s just not possible; it’s now or never.”

Multiple road construction projects also brought the Island to a virtual standstill during the first week of April. The road construction project at city center in Holmes Beach slowed travel in the already congested area to a crawl most of the week, and a paving project on April 7 made a one-mile drive take in excess of an hour as traffic was detoured through residential streets not equipped for the volume.

“Friday, April 7 was the first time since I have owned the company that I had to refuse service to the north end of the Island. It was a nightmare,” Monkey Bus owner Sally Dirbas said. “Who thought it was a good idea to basically shut down traffic on one of the busiest days of the year? This construction has already caused severe financial damage to local businesses, some of which didn’t survive it. Could they have not paused the construction and paving another week until the spring break is over? It’s been going on for months, we could live with it an extra couple of weeks to keep the Island moving.”

Holmes Beach wasn’t the only source of frustration as April began. On April 5, a section of northbound Gulf Drive around 12th Street was closed for paving. The project took most of the day with crews not re-opening the northbound lane until after 8 p.m. Due to having to alternate traffic north and south through the southbound lane, a one-mile trip in either direction averaged 30-45 minutes. Both of these projects, in addition to the normally heavy volume in the Coquina Beach area, meant that catching a trolley in a timely manner was a next-to-impossible task.

“They say the trolley comes by every 20 minutes or so, but we’ve been sitting here at the trolley stop for over 40 minutes and haven’t seen one pass in either direction,” said Kelly Pratt, who was waiting with her husband and two small children at the southbound 25th Street stop in Bradenton Beach. “Some people told my husband it’s not because of spring break, but rather a bunch of construction projects. Are they trying to run people off? Who’s in charge of this stuff and what were they thinking? We were here last year and it was busy, but this is insane.”

So which week of spring was the busiest this year? Due to a malfunction, the license plate readers that count vehicles coming and going through Holmes Beach have no data available for the week of April 3-9, leading to more speculation, since resort tax data and room occupancy data provided by Manatee County tourism officials will not be available for more than a month.

“Unfortunately, we had a plate reader down this week, so I don’t have accurate numbers for the first week of April,” Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said. “In my opinion, it was just as busy or busier this week as any week in March.”

Tokajer’s thoughts were closely echoed by Bradenton Beach Police Lt. Lenard Diaz.

“Honestly, I’ve always thought the first week of April was the busiest of the spring season,” Diaz said. “I will say that our department hasn’t had any major problems related to spring break. Considering the large crowds, we don’t have anything serious to report that involved young people on spring break.”

Tokajer also said his department had not had any serious issues related to spring breakers this year. Both departments say crimes of opportunity, such as items stolen from the beach or unlocked cars, bicycle thefts and other non-violent crimes, tend to increase this time of year, but common sense, such as locking cars and not bringing valuables to the beach will prevent the great majority of these incidents.

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.

Hurricane Ian brings surge of tourism

Hurricane Ian brings surge of tourism

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

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Hurricane Ian may not have flooded the Island with water, but there has been a different kind of surge since the storm’s passing – tourism.

Island residents are accustomed to having a break this time of year from the busy summer and winter tourist seasons, which have been returning to normal since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in early 2021.

Pre-COVID, September through early December was the slowest time of year, with little traffic and a fraction of the visitors seen in peak seasons. This September followed that pattern, but after Hurricane Ian passed on Sept. 28, things changed.

“We come this time of year, every year for more than 20 years, except when we couldn’t travel during COVID. Are all these people here because of the hurricane, we wonder?” said Margaret Hatch, who is here with her husband from Brighton, England. “We don’t rent a car when we visit, but we’ve noticed that public transport takes much longer due to the increased volume of vehicles on the road.”

While data on how much of an increase the Island is experiencing since Ian hasn’t been aggregated yet by agencies such as Tampa-based Research Data Services, which gathers tourist and visitation data for Manatee County, traffic is an indicator. An Island resident told The Sun she sat through four traffic light cycles at the intersection of East Bay Drive and Manatee Avenue last Saturday afternoon, the kind of traffic the Island normally doesn’t see outside of March and April at the peak of the winter tourist season.

Hurricane Ian brings surge of tourism
Bridge Street in Bradenton Beach was free of traffic on a Saturday night, just four days before Hurricane Ian. – Jason Schaffer | Sun

“Some of the people coming here are from down south and have been displaced,” said Lisa Varano, property manager at Wagner Realty. “However, a lot of the calls from people who have been displaced are coming here around Christmas time.”

Most of these visitors are not residents of the affected area in Ian’s path, but rather people from north of the area and the rest of the U.S. who had planned trips to places like Fort Myers, Captiva, Sanibel Island and other areas hit hard by the storm, she said. Tens of thousands of rental units and hotel rooms are no longer available due to hurricane damage.

“We have definitely seen an uptick in bookings from this time next year, but we won’t have the data on where everyone’s coming from until the end of the year,” said Marianne Norman-Ellis of Mike Norman Realty in Holmes Beach. “We don’t know for sure, but we think the increase from last year is from people who were displaced from where they intended to travel.”

It’s not just casual vacationers coming to the Island after Ian. For two weeks following the storm, there were power trucks from around the country that had come to restore service to the Island, Cortez and Bradenton.

“There are 12 of us dirty, smelly guys staying in this house, so while it’s the fanciest and probably most expensive home I’ve ever slept in, we’re not exactly on vacation,” said Dale Miller, a power company line worker whose crew came here from New Jersey and was staying in a luxurious bayfront home in Holmes Beach. “We have it good though, a lot of these guys are sleeping in their trucks – at least we have beds. We have to say though, people down here are so friendly and appreciative. We get high fives, and more people driving by yelling thank you out of their car windows than we can count. I see why people want to live here, and I may bring my family down to enjoy it properly on vacation.”

Varano confirmed what Miller said, saying her office had not gotten calls for rental units for the line workers, but calls were coming in asking for places to park the trucks.

In addition to vacationers and workers, love is in the Island air.

Sally Dirbas, owner of the Monkey Bus, said she was told by some of her customers that weddings that had been planned south of the Island in places affected by Ian had been moved to AMI, and wedding planners were traveling here to fulfill their obligation to their customers despite the added distance.

“We have five wedding rides booked this weekend, this is crazy for this time of year,” she said. “Before the storm, things were really slow and we had a few charters, but nothing like we are seeing in the weeks following. This weekend it will be one wedding after another.”

It’s spring break on the Island

It’s spring break on the Island

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

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Every year at this time, thousands of high school and college students come to the Island to get away, trading tests and quizzes for sunshine and sand. Some come with their families, others with groups of friends, many escaping the still-freezing temperatures in much of the country.

“I’m here with 11 of my girlfriends from Auburn. We have two condos next to each other in Holmes Beach,” said Ashley Coffee, a junior at Auburn University. “Even though we go to school in the south, it’s still pretty cold. My grandparents had a place here, so I grew up coming to the Island, but this is the first time here for most of the girls.”

Ashley says her friends are having a blast, and they all love the more “chill” atmosphere here compared to Panama City or Siesta Key. The Auburn students aren’t alone; many spring breakers share the sentiment.

“We did Fort Lauderdale two years ago and it was awful,” said Hannah Smith, who is enjoying a relaxing spring break with three friends in Bradenton Beach. “We’re just not about the crazy party atmosphere.”

It’s spring break on the Island
Spring breakers enjoy a game of beach volleyball at Coquina Beach. – Jason Schaffer | Sun

While Miami has enacted a curfew on alcohol sales due to spring breakers fighting and rioting in the streets, things couldn’t be more different here. Law enforcement officials on the Island say that with the exception of a recent attack on a local man, everyone is well behaved, and there has not been an increase in crime due to the increase in visitors. 

“The week of March 13 through 19, which was spring break for Manatee, Sarasota and Hillsborough, we averaged 31,900 cars per day in Holmes Beach,” said Chief Bill Tokajer of the Holmes Beach Police Department. “We haven’t seen an increase in crime. We are a very visible department and it seems like we have fewer problems every year.”

Chief Tokajer says that many students who come to Holmes Beach year after year learn that things like drinking alcohol on the beach won’t be tolerated so they just don’t do it. While other destinations are seeing violent outbursts that often spill into the streets, on the Island, it’s rare to even see a fist fight. This seems to be a draw for more students each year who want to relax and unwind.

Bradenton Beach police also see no increase in crime during the spring break season.

“We haven’t seen an uptick in crime, in fact, for the most part we’ve had a great spring break season so far,” said Lieutenant Lenard Diaz of the Bradenton Beach Police Department. “We haven’t had any issues with drinking being a problem. It’s really been a great season.”

With college and university spring breaks spread out over many weeks, the spring break season will continue through the second week of April. While crime may not be a big issue, traffic will, so if you’re planning a trip by car to the Island, be aware that traffic will be heavy and allow plenty of time to get on and off the Island.

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.

CVB hires new Communications Manager

CVB hires new communications manager

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

ANNA MARIA – The Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) met the new Convention and Visitors Bureau Communications Manager, Nick Azzara, at its meeting last week.

The communications manager role will be multifaceted, including working on websites, social media, facilities such as the Premier Sports Campus and the convention center, arts and culture announcements and media inquiries. 

“I had been with Manatee County government from December of 2008 to this October when an opportunity arose and it fit into place for me,” Azzara said. 

In addition to working to inform tourists and visitors about Manatee County, Azzara said he looks forward to helping locals find out more about events happening in their own backyard.

“I’ve been a Manatee County resident since 2005, but in my two months with the CVB, I learned so much about festivals, facilities and things I didn’t know about as a resident. I’m hoping to enlighten more of the locals about what we have going on,” Azzara said.

With a background in journalism, website design and execution, public relations and crisis communications, Azzara has the perfect skill set to get the job done effectively, CVB Director Elliott Falcione said. 

“With the growth of the airport and growth of the feeder markets, we really needed additional support,” Falcione said. “With more than 12 years working for Manatee County, Nick was the perfect person, so we brought him over.”

Red tide cleanup efforts earn park operations manager tourism award

Red tide cleanup earns park manager tourism award

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

BRADENTON – Through his hard work and dedication to the cleanup effort during this year’s red tide outbreak in Manatee County, Carmine DeMilio was awarded the first-ever Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award by the Manatee County Tourist Development Council at its Oct. 18 meeting.

DeMilio, the Manatee County Parks and Grounds Maintenance manager, was presented the award by Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“If it wasn’t for their hard work, tourism would have dropped off in this last red tide episode,” Falcione said, as he presented the award to DeMilio. 

Although a person in DeMilio’s position may seem like an unlikely recipient of a tourism award, his efforts to clean up the dead marine life on area beaches made a huge difference in visitors’ decisions to stay on the Island rather than cancel their trips. 

During the summer, thousands of dead fish and other marine life littered Island beaches. Red tide is still present in area waters.

While red tide is a natural occurrence, the discharge of millions of gallons of water high in nitrogen content into Tampa Bay from the Piney Point phosphate plant is believed to have been a major contributor to this year’s bloom.

Bradenton Anna Maria Island Longboat Key

TDC hears tourism update

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

BRADENTON – Local tourism is on the increase, according to Ann Wittine, of Tampa-based Research Data Services, who gave a report on Oct. 18 to the Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC).

The bi-monthly report outlines dozens of statistics that give county tourism officials an overview of visitor sentiment, length of stay, number of visitors, places likely to visit and more vital information. 

Airline passenger data from the Transportation Security Administration from 2019 to present shows that patterns have nearly returned to pre-COVID levels, according to Wittine.

“Even with red tide, and even with (COVID-19) case numbers rising, we’re seeing a normal pattern. As case numbers drop, we see the number of people traveling through U.S. airports also going up,” she said. 

The number of passengers passing through Sarasota Bradenton International Airport is higher than any other airport in Florida month over month, she said. 

August visitation was up 12%, room nights were up 7% and the economic impact was up 17.1% from $43,613,000 to $51,051,700, according to Wittine. Those numbers are increases over 2019, which was prior to COVID-19.

The annual economic impact from 2020 to 2021 is up 38.5% from $867,630,800 to $1,201,878,400. 

Wittine’s report shows that while August visitors from Florida were down 11.1% from last year, visitors from the northeast were up an impressive 113%. With Canada and much of Europe recently easing travel restrictions, it’s likely the flat numbers from those regions will rise significantly, she said.

Traveler sentiment

With each bi-monthly report, Research Data Services conducts a traveler sentiment survey that asks potential travelers from around the world questions about concerns related to travel to Anna Maria Island and other Manatee County destinations. 

When asked what one word would best describe their feelings about travel right now, only 28% of respondents used a positive word. This number is the same as last month, so no change was recorded. 

People surveyed were a little less confident about the economy, personal health and personal finances compared to September, but not by a significant amount. The number of green light travelers was at 48.9%, which is not a significant change from recent months. Green light travelers are those surveyed who are ready and willing to travel at this time. The red light travelers (people who are not willing to travel) are the same as last month at 25.1% and the number that has currently booked vacations stays virtually unchanged at 34.1%. 

The survey also asked a question for the first time: “Are things back to normal?” The survey shows that 39% of people think conditions are back to normal.

The return of red tide may be driving away some tourists

Return of red tide may be driving away tourists

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

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Red tide hit the Island this year in mid-April. By mid-September, it appeared the worst had subsided. A stroll down Bridge Street in Bradenton Beach or Pine Avenue in Anna Maria was free of coughing shoppers, and the air smelled like fresh donuts and grilled seafood rather than dead fish.

Unfortunately, this relief was short-lived, and red tide returned in a concentration high enough to cause concern for locals and tourists alike.

“We can’t take it, my daughter and husband have been coughing constantly,” said Jacksonville resident Jillian Sovine, who is staying in Anna Maria with her family and two friends. “Tomorrow we’re going to drive down to Siesta Key and see if it’s any better there. There’s nothing we can do; we’ve already paid for the house so we’ll sleep here, but as long as it’s this bad, we can’t have any fun on the beach or even by the pool. We’ve talked to other people on our street who are doing the same thing.”

A drive by the Coquina Beach public parking lot last week was a sign of the wrath of red tide. Even with construction that has temporarily closed hundreds of parking spaces, there was ample parking available with some areas completely free of cars. Bridge Street, which makes use of The Old Town Tram parking shuttle service due to very little public parking, had plenty of empty spaces even during the busy lunch rush. This could be a bad sign, but not everybody is seriously concerned.

“On a scale of 1-10 as far as being concerned, I’d put it at about a five. I have two young kids under the age of two, so of course there is concern,” said Joe Lehman, of Columbus, Ohio. who is visiting Bradenton Beach for a week with his family. While red tide wasn’t the optimum scenario for Lehman and his family, they all agreed it was a great choice to visit the Island and it wasn’t going to spoil their vacation.

Red tide around AMI increased from low to medium concentrations last week, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Related coverage

Red tide increases to medium concentrations

Red tide returns in low concentrations

Red tide respiratory irritation risk remains

Beach

Labor Day weekend packs the Island

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

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Anna Maria Island’s world-famous beaches have seen a record number of visitors this summer, and the Labor Day holiday is no exception.

With the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in many northern states that were locked down in the spring, summer statistics for the Island are rising, fueled by in-state visitors coming to the beach to escape the heat and out-of-state tourists who couldn’t previously take a vacation.

According to data gathered from the Manatee County Tax Collector, the three cities that make up Anna Maria Island saw a combined average increase in tourist taxes of about 40% in July – the most recent month for which records are available – compared to the same month in 2020, when the pandemic significantly slowed tourism.

Business owners and innkeepers were happy to see the traffic back up as thousands of visitors headed to the Island’s two main beaches, Manatee and Coquina, to celebrate what’s become known as the unofficial end of summer.

As the red tide that has plagued the waters since April begins to wane, the COVID-19 spike remains a serious concern for Florida residents. However, very few visitors appear to be letting these issues dampen their fun.

“We were concerned about red tide because we wanted to hit the beaches,” said Ken Barkoff, who was visiting for Labor Day weekend with his wife, Kim, and son. “Our son just moved here, and we wanted to see him. We’re vaccinated and took the precautions we needed to, in order to get here safely, so we’re not too worried about it,” Kim Barkoff added. 

Other visitors shared the Barkoffs’ sentiment, seeming to be happy to visit and ready to enjoy a holiday with as little stress as possible.

“It’s easy to check on red tide online and I saw it was pretty much gone,” said Dixie Brooks, who was visiting the Island for the first time, making a quick, two-day trip from Missouri.

And while the official numbers on Labor Day visitors won’t be available for a few days, the endless stretch of beach umbrellas along the Gulf is a measure of the Island’s continued popularity, even with the spike in the COVID-19 Delta variant.

“The COVID situation is pretty much the same here as it is back home,” Brooks said, “so I’m not concerned.”

Lauren Lewe and daughter

AMI photo brings inspiration at the worst of times

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

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – At the age of 39, a Jacksonville, Fla. mother of two didn’t expect to ring in the new year at the Mayo Clinic undergoing surgery for a brain aneurysm, but Lauren Lewe says a picture of her two young daughters on an Anna Maria Island beach helped her get through the ordeal.

Lewe began having worsening symptoms that continued to be misdiagnosed by doctors months before tests showed she had a 17mm unruptured brain aneurysm. She was admitted to the Mayo Clinic on Dec. 30, 2020 with surgery scheduled for the next day.

“When I was admitted to the hospital, my husband Jon went home to get some things for our stay,” she said. “Our oldest daughter, Finley, sent him back with a picture of her and her little sister Emery from our trip to Anna Maria Island in 2020. With pure innocence, she told him it would make me happy. That was an understatement. After seeing the picture, I remember thinking I just wanted to be able to go back there. Please, God, let me live, my family needs me.” 

Lewe daughters
The picture of her daughters that Lauren Lewe kept in her bed during her stay at Mayo Clinic. – Submitted

Lewe said the picture never left her bed the entire time, from the neuro floor to ICU and back to neuro. 

“The picture brought me so much comfort and helped me get through some of the most terrifying moments of my life,” Lewe said. “The doctor that saved my life, Dr. David Miller at Mayo Clinic, asked about it, our vacations to Anna Maria Island and our girls. He told me I would be going back there this summer. He was calm and confident and I believed him. Well, he was right. We spent a week in paradise at the end of July. Words cannot describe how grateful I am for this life.”

Lewe said she began coming to the Island as a child and was excited to share the experiences with her children. The family made their first trip together in July 2018 and has been coming ever since, with no plans to stop the tradition. Lewe says a lot of the family’s favorite Island adventures involve food. Ice cream at Dips, morning golf cart rides to Ginny’s & Jane E’s for cinnamon rolls and The Donut Experiment are family favorites.

“AMI allows you to slow down, relax, enjoy quiet living and it brings out pure happiness in our entire family. It is truly a special and magical Island where memories are made. This visit may be the most special and one I’ll cherish forever because I wasn’t sure I would be here to experience it,” Lewe said.

Lewe continues to have a clean bill of health, and looks forward to many years of return visits to the place she calls “paradise.”

Four hoteliers keep their seats on the TDC

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

BRADENTON – Four hoteliers have been reappointed to the Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC).

In a meeting on July 27, county commissioners voted to retain the four TDC members for another four-year term.

The four members are Ed Chiles, Juten Patel, Eric Cairns and Rahul Patel. Commissioners voted for each seat individually, meaning they could choose to keep the current member or replace them with an applicant who meets the criteria for membership and garners enough Board votes to take the seat.

The TDC is made up of nine volunteer members who make recommendations to the County Commission concerning the operation of projects set forth in the Tourist Development Plan. They also make recommendations on Tourist Development Tax revenue is spent. Members are appointed by the commission in the following categories:

  • Three elected officials;
  • Four owner/operators of hotels, motels or other short-term rental accommodations in Manatee County that are subject to the 5% resort tax;
  • Two citizens who are involved in the tourist industry and who have demonstrated an interest in tourism but are not subject to the 5% resort tax in Manatee County.