Are there more visitors than ever in Bradenton, Sarasota as peak season approaches?
As Elliott Falcione puts it, Manatee County’s busiest tourist season of the year is “running on all cylinders.”
The annual influx of visitors ramps up Feb. 15, and continues until a week after Easter, which this year falls on April 9, said Falcione, executive director of The Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The season helps fuel Manatee County’s tourist-based economy, filling hotel rooms, putting seats in chairs at restaurants, but also helping clog local roads.
But it’s not just visitors and snowbirds who are adding to congestion. The area’s tremendous growth and development is flooding streets with additional traffic.
“One minor accident can mess up traffic for hours. The Florida Highway Patrol calls it the ripple effect. The amount of congestion in this town even at 6:30 p.m. is mind-boggling,” Captain Brian Thiers of the Bradenton Police Department said.
“Patience is the key. Plan for more drive time,” Thiers said.
Effects of Hurricane Ian
The Bradenton area may see more visitors this year because of the impact of Hurricane Ian south of Sarasota, Falcione said.
Eric Cairns, manager of Cedar Cove Resort & Cottages, 2710 Gulf Drive N., Holmes Beach, said 2023 has been the busiest year his company has ever experienced.
“It’s exceeding all our expectations. We have reservations going out two years — to 2024 and 2025,” Cairns said.
Not even the recent increase in red tide seems to have had any effect on the surge in tourism, he said.
Stan and Sandy Bisson of Le Crosse, Wisc., are staying for three weeks at Cedar Cove Resort & Cottages.
Sandy Bisson first heard about Anna Maria Island after reading about it in her hometown newspaper. This is the couple’s fourth year vacationing on Anna Maria Island.
“I do not like traffic — you have horrible traffic,” Stan Bisson said.
“But once we park here we can close it down and not have to worry about it. Otherwise, this place has everything we want,” he said.
Another record-breaking year?
The strong tourist season follows a record-breaking 2022, which saw more than a million visitors with an economic impact of $1.5 billion.
It was the first time the Bradenton area has hosted more than one million visitors, 36% more than in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year, Ann Wittine of Research Date reported in February to the Manatee County Tourist Development Council.
The influx of visitors is also reflected at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport.
In January, 377,617 passengers traveled through Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, compared to 302,189 passengers in January 2022.
That is a 25% increase and is the highest number of passengers for the month of January in the history of SRQ. The 12-month activity through January 2023 totals 3,923.034 passengers which is a 17.5% increase compared to 3,339,028 passengers for the 12 months through January 2022.
“The record-breaking growth we continue to see at SRQ is truly unbelievable. We are one month into the new year and our passenger traffic is up 25% over last year. Our airlines continue to add new routes and destinations with Breeze Airways announcing new nonstop flights to Providence, Rhode Island,” Rick Piccolo, the airport’s president and CEO, said in a press release.
The airport, which is undergoing a major expansion, is now served by 11 airlines providing service to over 50 nonstop destinations.
Those connections to the Northeast and Midwest help facilitate the flow of visitors to this area, Falcione said.
Not for spring breakers
The CVB and its promotion of tourism are funded by the collection of tourist development taxes paid by lodging guests for stays less than six months within Manatee County.
Those efforts do not include trying to attract spring breakers.
“We never promote this as a spring break destination,” Falcione said.
Although the CVB has sought to encourage sports tourism in Manatee County — everything from soccer tournaments to cornhole contests — that usually comes later in the year.
Sports tourism promotion is typically seen from Easter through December to encourage more visitors during slower months, Falcione said.
Who’s visiting Bradenton
▪ Other parts of Florida sent 393,530 visitors in 2022, up 78% from 2019.
▪ The Midwest contributed 229,380 visitors in 2022, up 39% from 2019
▪ The Northeast sent 192,990 visitors in 2019, up 19% from 2019
▪ The Southeast sent 100,980 visitors, up 14% from 2019
▪ Europe sent 55,780 visitors, down 44% from 2019
▪ Canada sent 15,820 visitors, down 28% from 2019
This story was originally published March 3, 2023 at 5:50 AM.
