Fewer tourists means Mote should not get $5 million from Manatee County, tourism board says
By a near unanimous vote, the Manatee County Tourist Development Council voted Monday to ask that $5 million allocated for Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium be rescinded until COVID-19-related impacts on tourist tax collections subside.
Manatee County Commission committed the money from local bed tax revenue in February.
Casting the only dissenting vote Monday was Misty Servia, chair of the TDC, who also serves on the Manatee County Commission.
Mote officials have said funding from Manatee County is critical to its expansion plans. Sarasota County has pledged land and $20 million to the expansion.
TDC member Barbara Baker, a local hotelier, made the motion that the $5 million commitment by the Manatee County Commission be rescinded until local tourism is in better shape, and that the funding request be revisited in one year
Manatee County tourist tax revenue fell 46.2 percent in May from the same month a year earlier. In June, tourism tax collections fell 73.2 percent. And in July, tourist tax revenue fell 32.4 percent, according to a presentation by Jan Brewer of Manatee County’s Office of Financial Management.
Financially, COVID-19 had its most disastrous impact on tourist bed tax collections in June. In June 2019, those collections totaled $1.3 million, compared to $358,219 in June 2020, according to Brewer’s presentation.
When the TDC begins its new fiscal year on Oct. 1, the budget will be 30 percent lower than the current budget, said Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Any funding for Mote Marine would have to come from a TDC reserve fund, Falcione said.
Palmetto Mayor Shirley Groover Bryant supported rescinding the $5 million Mote commitment to allow the TDC to direct the bulk of its resources to supporting Manatee County tourism.
“It is a pretty sorry cat that doesn’t take care of its kittens,” Bryant said.
Monday’s vote was largely symbolic as the TDC serves as an advisory board to the county commission. The county commission is not required to follow recommendations by the TDC or any of its other advisory boards.
In February, the TDC recommended the Manatee County Commission fund $50,000 a year over the next 25 years, a total of $1.25 million to help pay for marketing and program expansion at Mote. By law, TDC funds cannot be used on construction projects outside the county.
Two weeks later, the Manatee County Commission voted to commit $5 million of tourist tax money to support Mote’s promotion of tourism to be distributed in increments of $1 million per year starting in fiscal 2021.
Earlier in Monday’s meeting, Anne Wittine of Research Data Service,s presented a report that showed that not only are fewer visitors coming to Manatee County, but they are paying less for the rooms they rent.
From October 2019 to June 2020, room occupancy declined 18 percent, and the room rate hoteliers were able to charge fell by 23 percent. Those visitors who continued to come, stayed a shorter time and spent less money, Wittine said.
Terri Kinder, representing the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce, said many small businesses are struggling during the economic slowdown due to the pandemic. She urged local residents to patronize the small eateries and businesses on the island to help them survive.
“Buy something, get something to eat,” she said.
