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Collier County tourism office reports FY25 strength, early FY26 momentum; board questions marketing accounting
Summary
Tourism Director j Tusa told commissioners that FY25 tourism development tax collections reached $49.83 million, visitation and room nights grew modestly, and the county reinvested supplemental marketing funds in FY25 and FY26; commissioners pressed staff on how ROI and indirect spending estimates are calculated.
Collier County’s tourism director reported Feb. 10 that fiscal‑year 2025 tourism development tax (TDT) collections totaled $49,830,000 and that the county welcomed about 2.8 million visitors in FY25. Director j Tusa said early FY26 indicators show continued momentum and that the board‑authorized supplemental $5,000,000 marketing investment in FY25 (with a reinvestment planned for FY26) supported gains in visitation and hotel revenue.
“Tourism development tax collections reached $49,830,000 in FY '25,” j Tusa said, and added that room nights and visitor days increased while total direct visitor spending for FY25 was reported in the billions. He also cited marketing performance metrics, including an approximately $22 return in revenue for every $1 invested in marketing, and noted awards earned for the county’s hospitality sales and marketing work.
Commissioners asked detailed questions about timing of return on marketing investment, the data sources and modeling behind direct and indirect spending figures (staff identified an external research agency using the Implan platform and intercept surveys), and whether the supplemental marketing dollars came from county taxpayers. Staff clarified that the supplemental dollars came from visitor‑collected TDT funds already in the tourism account and not from general tax revenue. Commissioners also discussed how the addition of hotel room inventory affects occupancy and revenue metrics.
Staff said early FY26 TDT receipts for the first quarter totaled $11.1 million, an 8.6% increase year‑over‑year for that quarter, and that hotel occupancy and ADR trends reflect both new supply and demand dynamics. The board offered praise for staff work and cautioned against overstepping into hotel‑industry business decisions. The tourism director and the external research consultant (on the record in the transcript) said their models rely on local occupancy, hotel revenue, sales‑tax data and on‑site intercept studies to estimate indirect spending.
