TOURISM
Origin study of visitors to Martin County
TCBusiness.com 5
The hit absorbed by Island View
is just one example of the plunge
in Treasure Coast tourism because
of the pandemic. Still, for the area’s
tourism industry, there is reason to
be both relieved and hopeful. The
valley was not as deep as feared,
and area tourism officials say a rising
public confidence in safe travel
has already started a recovery.
From March through October,
tourism as measured by collections
of the bed tax placed on lodging in
Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee
and St. Lucie counties fell 23%, at
$5 million, from the same period
in 2019.
Tourism is one of the largest
industries in the region, where
visitors spent $1.8 billion annually
before pandemic-affected 2020 in
Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee
and St. Lucie counties.
In Martin County, the tourism industry
was the third-largest, according
to a recent study, which showed
that only health and social services,
and retail trade were bigger.
Tourism activity did not drop as
sharply on the Treasure Coast as in
areas that attract the most visitors
such as central Florida, home to
Disney World and other family
theme parks, or the larger coastal
metro areas of the state.
The Treasure Coast is less reliant
on international and Canadian
visitors, the numbers of which fell
more than 90%, as are other parts
of Florida, and the primary attractions
here including the beaches,
boating, fishing, and golf can be
experienced in the relative safety
of the outdoors.
“We have miles and miles of
uncrowded beaches,” Nerissa
Okiye, director of tourism for Martin
County, said. Tourism directors in Indian
River and St. Lucie counties are
pitching the same point. If social distance
is an attraction, Okeechobee
County has by far the lowest population
density in the area.
Tourism is a big economic
driver in the area, as shown by the
$802 million economic impact
it had in St. Lucie County for the
2016-17 fiscal year, the latest that
such a figure was available, said
Charlotte Bireley, director of the >>
METRO AREA Sep '19 rank Sep '20 rank # visitors chg
Miami-Ft. Laud 1 1 -23.0%
Orlando 2 2 -54.0%
New York 3 7 -90.2%
Tampa/St. Pete 4 4 -58.8%
Jacksonville 5 6 -66.0%
Atlanta 6 8 -74.5%
Philadelphia 7 9 -87.2%
Fort Myers 8 5 -43.2%
Boston 9 NR NA
West Palm Bch 10 3 24.1%
Tallahassee NR 10 NA
1
Source: Arrivalist Co.
ISLAND VIEW COTTAGES
Island View Cottages in Sebastian on the shore of the Indian River,
closed for three months because of the pandemic, but it has
reopened and business is slowly returning.
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