Tourist Tax Revenues
Last Updated: May 11th, 2023
Summary
- Seasonally-adjusted real tourist tax revenues for the coastal counties fell to $6.8 million in March 2023, 9 percent below the prior month (measured at $7.4 million) and 34 percent beneath the March 2022 figure.
- Lee County’s seasonally-adjusted real tourist tax revenues totaled $2.7 million in March 2023, a 5 percent decrease from the February 2023 measure of $2.9 million and 50 percent below the March 2022 figure.
- Collier County’s seasonally-adjusted real tourist tax revenues amounted to $3.3 million in March 2023, down 6 percent compared to February 2023 and 16 percent below the March 2022 figure.
- Seasonally-adjusted real tourist tax revenues in Charlotte County slipped to $584.7 thousand in March 2023, a 5 percent decrease from the February 2023 measure and 17 percent below March 2022.
About the Data
Tourist tax revenues represent total revenues generated by the tourist development tax (sometimes referred to as the "bed tax") levied on accommodations rented for less than six months. Each of the three Southwest Florida coastal counties currently have a tourist development tax rate of 5% on such accommodations.
Lee County tourist tax revenue is provided by the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau, while Collier County tourist tax revenue information is collected from Collier County Tax Collector's Office. Tourist tax revenue data for Charlotte County is gathered from the Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach Visitor & Convention Bureau. Monthly data for Hendry and Glades County is not available at this time.
Sales data were adjusted from nominal to real values using the U.S. Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers (CPI-U), with all dollar values reported in January 2022 dollars. Lastly, all data is seasonally-adjusted by the Regional Economic Research Institute using the X13-ARIMA-SEATS seasonal adjustment program, software that is produced, distributed and maintained by the U.S. Census Bureau.