Manatee County missing international visitors during COVID-19. And they are missing us
With few exceptions, visitors from most of Europe have been banned from traveling to the United States since March because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
They are missed in the Bradenton area, in the beach resorts of Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key and in Manatee County’s economy.
“The European visitors make up about 14 percent of our leisure business and contribute about $158 million in economic impact,” Kelly Clark, director of marketing and communications for the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said in an email.
The travel ban does not apply to citizens and lawful permanent residents of the United States, certain family members, and other individuals who meet specified exceptions, who have been in one of the countries on the travel ban list.
“Fall is normally the time we would see an influx from European countries. It’s an unpredictable year, but we remain hopeful that we will continue to see visitation from our extended drive markets and other areas that will enable us to stay strong throughout what is normally a slower season,” Clark said.
Some of the slack experienced in March when the travel ban was implemented was taken up by Americans, before rental resorts were ordered closed by Gov. Ron DeSantis for what turned out to be three months to curb the spread of COVID-19.
“When you’re ready, we’re ready” has been the theme of the Manatee County Tourist Development Council’s marketing campaign, aimed at the drive market, which includes other Florida communities, Georgia and the Carolinas, where visitors who hesitate to fly, may be willing to drive.
Peter and Gabriele Sultanow are German citizens who bought a house in East Manatee’s Tara community in November 2013, and would normally stay there four or five months a year.
“We are seasonal residents, not only visitors,” Peter Sultanow said in an email. “We do not rent the house to other people. When we stay in Tara we spend about $5,000 to $10,000 for food, restaurants, equipment, house renovation, gas, car repairs, insurance for the car and so on per month.”
Sultanow wonders why the U.S. government does not make an exception for foreigners who own a house in the U.S.
“It is very sad to own a house, to spend a lot of money, without the opportunity to use the property. We love Florida. We miss our American good friends,” he said.
Among the European countries included in the travel ban are Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino, the United Kingdom and Vatican City.
For more information on international travel during the pandemic visit CDC website regarding travel and The White House Proclamation.
