You May Also Like
International visitation in Collier County continues to rebound.
The county has now seen year-over-year increases for three consecutive months, starting in June.
The statistics for August show the county attracted 16,400 international visitors, up 18% from 13,900 in the same month a year ago.
The county’s tourism consultant, Downs & St. Germain Research, shared the latest statistics at a Tourist Development Council meeting on Oct. 20.
Residents Beach in Marco Island, Florida, is one of the widest parts of the city’s crescent beach. The beach itself is public but access to Residents Beach parking and amenities is open only to members of the Marco Island Civic Association, known as MICA.
For August, visitation was up in most of the international markets the consultant tracks. Here’s a look at the increases in the two primary feeder markets:
Advertisement
Advertisement
Visitors from Canada: 5,500, up 27.9%
Visitors from Europe: 8,200, up 12.3%
Smaller markets, described as “other,” including the Middle East and Asia, contributed to the positive trend, with visitation rising 100% to 1,000.
Central and South America were the outliers, with visitors from those markets declining by 5.6% over the year to 1,700.
Until June, Collier County had seen year-over-year dips in international visitation since January 2025. The downturn has been primarily attributed to geopolitical and economic factors that have impacted international visitation across the United States.
“We’ve finally seen that trend start to shift,” Brendle said. “We’re still not quite back to the levels that we were when we started to see those initial decreases, but we are moving in the right direction, which is nice to see.”
Advertisement
Advertisement
Based on estimates from the National Travel and Tourism Office and the U.S. Travel Association, he said international travel is forecast to hit its 2024 levels nationally “sometime next year,” and Collier County appears to be on track to meet that expectation, or maybe even a little bit ahead of the game.
“Collier County has a higher share of international visitors than most places do, so you guys usually react a little bit quicker to the trends,” Brendle said.
The new Concourse E at Southwest Florida International Airport as seen from a taxing JetBlue airplane on arrival and from inside Concourse D. Construction is ongoing with an expected opening in 2027.
When international travel starts to fall off in the country, it usually hits Collier County quicker, but the county usually recovers more quickly, too, he said.
Comparisons of recovery with other markets can be difficult, even locally. For example, in neighboring Lee County, visitor statistics are released quarterly, so they lag, and its international numbers are reported primarily as a percentage share of total visitation.
Advertisement
Advertisement
The latest report in Lee, which also uses Downs & St. Germain as its consultant, shows the international market accounted for about 9.6% of total visitors from April to June (with Canada making up the largest single international share — at 3.9%).
More tourism numbers for August in Collier County
Overall, August visitation rose 6.2% over the year in Collier County. Direct spending increased by 7.8% to more than $169 million.
The county saw a total of 241,300 visitors, domestic and international.
The number of room nights booked dipped, and so did occupancy.
“This is a trend that we’re seeing across a lot of destinations in the last quarter or so, maybe even the last six months or so, is a slight increase in what we call VFRs, visiting friends and relatives, visitors who are staying overnight, but not staying overnight in paid accommodations,” Brendle said.
James Brendle, with Downs & St. Germain Research.
The trend reflects budget tightening among many vacationers, he said, but Collier County tends to be more insulated from it, attracting more affluent visitors who can afford to pay more for lodging and to spend more money in the destination, including at shops and restaurants.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Room rates continued their upward trend in August, increasing to an average of $261.89 a night, up 12% over the year.
More: SWFLA beaches, including Marco, appear on Condé Nast Traveler’s ‘best’ list
And: Marco Island gets first Live Local Act project for affordable housing
“The overall level of the rate increase across the county is being driven primarily by vacation rentals increasing their rates,” Brendle said. “But hotels are also increasing their rates, just not as much as vacation rentals.”
This article originally appeared on Marco Eagle: A tourism rebound — Collier County sees uptick of international travelers
