Tourism spending rises nearly 10% in Sarasota

SARASOTA — A record number of visitors came to Sarasota in the first quarter this year, and tourism spending was up nearly 10% over the first three months of 2013.

Visit Sarasota County, the county's tourism marketing organization, reports that the number of visitors from January through March, 276,200, was up 4.3% over the first three months of 2013. Those tourists, according to a release, spent nearly $322 million, an increase of 8.8% over the 2013 first quarter.

“We saw our strongest growth coming out of the Midwest, an increase of 9.3%, which validates our strong investment in advertising and promotions in that region this year,” Visit Sarasota County President Virginia Haley says in the release. “By taking advantage of opportunities such as the Chicago train car advertising offered by Visit Florida, we were able to significantly penetrate this market. The numbers indicate a significant return on investment from our efforts.”