Tourist spending up, visitation down in Sarasota for September

Fewer visitors came to Sarasota in September than the year before, but tourists were spending more, according to the head of tourism for Sarasota County.

There were 117,400 visitors to Sarasota County in September, compared with 122,030 in 2023, says President and CEO of Visit Sarasota County Erin Duggan. That means visitation was down 3.79% since last year. Overall, she says visitation is down by 7.7% this fiscal year.

People are increasingly coming to Sarasota from afar, according to Duggan; visitation from Canada and the United Kingdom was up compared with last fiscal year, she says, and the percentage of visitors who flew to Sarasota in September increased 6% from September 2023.

Those who did visit Sarasota in September were putting more money into the local economy. Direct expenditures from visitors were $100,152,800 in September, according to Duggan, who says this was up from last year, when visitors' direct expenditures were $95,506,900. This is an increase of 4.86%.

Lodging occupancy was also up slightly, at 54.8% occupied in September compared with 54.4% in 2023, Duggan says.

Fewer room nights were sold, with 219,800 room nights sold in Sarasota in September compared with 220,900 in 2023, Duggan says. That is down 0.5%. 

The fact that occupancy increased while room nights sold decreased was a function of fewer units being available, she adds.

The average room rate was $219.14 in September compared with $216.35 last year, Duggan says. That is an increase of 1.29%.

In August, visitation was also down, and at that point, tourism officials attributed the decline to travelers from the Southeast and Florida.