STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

More Bonita

• Today's traffic enforcement locations in Collier, Lee
• Blood donors will get free movie ticket
• Former bank employee charged with stealing

Share and Enjoy [?]

It is nearly two weeks after Easter and Fort Myers Beach still looks to be in mid-season form.

The $10 parking lots were full Friday afternoon, traffic on Estero Boulevard was moving at a snail’s pace and beaches were packed with happy sun worshippers.

Some beach hotels had vacancy signs but several hoteliers say this year’s early Easter holiday hasn’t significantly shortened the busiest part of tourist season.

“We were concerned about that but it didn’t work that way,” said Larry Puccia, manager of the Lani Kai Island Resort. “Spring Break is winding down for the colleges, but April is a good month for us and we’ve been very busy.”

At Edison Beach House, just north of the Fort Myers Beach Pier, office manager Marlene Burt expects full occupancy over the weekend and into next week. Just two suites were available for walk-in customers on Friday.

“It will slow down in the next week or two but we’re busy now,” she said. “This season has been excellent for our place.”

Burt expects that after a short lull, business will pick up again for two weeks starting in mid-April, when many secondary schools take spring breaks.

“We’re hearing from the hoteliers that with Easter so early some of the northern schools are having spring break late,” said Lee Rose, spokesman for the Lee County Visitors and Convention Bureau. “It’s been busy.”

Full hotel rooms in early April is good news at the tail end of a winter season that has been described as flat.

Across Lee County, occupancy rates in February were down 5.2 percent from February 2007, according to a report released by the VCB on Friday. Year to date, occupancy rates are down 4.9 percent from 2007.

After several years of steady increases in airport traffic at Southwest Florida International Airport, fewer travelers used the airport in December and January than during those months in the prior year.

In February, airport traffic increased over February 2007, but by just .5 percent.

Tourism officials say low hotel occupancy rates are occurring mostly inland and at mid-priced hotels. High-end resorts and properties in beach areas have done better.

Visitors who vacation at the luxury resorts have not changed their habits but on average visitors have been spending less on shopping and dining during the last few months, according to Nicole Devine of Davidson-Peterson Associates, the VCB’s research consulting firm.

Visitors in November spent on average $38.23 shopping per day, while visitors spent just $31.50 on average in February.

Patrick Couly has noticed the decreased spending. He and his family own and operate four beach retail shops along Estero Boulevard including Tropical Sunset and Pelican Sportswear.

“This year’s numbers seem like 2002,” said Couly, referring to the slowdown that occurred after the 9-11 terrorist attacks. “It’s been mediocre. It’s the rotten economy and it’s also an election year, which are always down.”

Couly said he saw more hotel vacancy signs than usual this season and knows of several small retail stores that might be shutting down at the end of the season.

But business has been good at Sunshine Beachwear on Estero Boulevard, said manager Deanna Hollinger.

“I think maybe the early Easter was a favor,” she said. “A lot of the high schools got four days off for Easter and then a separate spring break. We’re not as busy as last week but we’re still busy.”

Other tourism numbers released by the VCB on Friday:

• Davidson-Peterson estimates the county hosted 471,758 visitors in February, 166,215 of which stayed in paid accommodations.

• Visitors spent $320 million in Lee during the month. Visitors who stayed in paid accommodations spent $187 million.

• Preliminary resort tax collections for February 2008 are $43,096,914, a 5.3 percent increase over February 2007.

• Fifty-seven percent of visitors flew to the area while 42 percent arrived by car. Seventy-four percent of visitors had visited the area previously.