“ “It’s such a
beautiful place, and what’s so special is that we treasure our many gifts of nature here. Our commitment to the environment and wildlife makes us
the best place in Florida to visit, at least to me.”
deliver those results to our community has been very exciting.”
Bureau) is profound,” asserts Fort Myers Mayor Randy Henderson. “With professionalism and quality, they’re reaching out to the world to invite folks to visit one of the best places on the planet. Clearly, it’s working.”
So what about those numbers? What makes them so important? In a word: jobs. Here in Lee County, visitors this year will inject $3 billion into our local economy — directly — in the process helping to create more than 40,000 positions (plus another 16,000 related). That’s one of every five jobs.
Here in Lee County, visitors this year will inject $3 billion into our local economy — directly — in the process helping to create more than 40,000 positions (plus another 16,000 related). That’s one of every five jobs.
Destination marketing organizations(DMOs) like Lee County’s are generally 100% funded by bed tax — a tax that resorts, hotels, vacation rental firms and the
like will attach to a room sale. That means that of the $39 million in bed tax Tamara Pigott estimates to be generated in 2016, not one dollar will come from any other tax that residents might pay. In effect, it’s “free money” for Lee County to invest — which it does so
“When you measure the economic impact, the value of the work of the VCB (Visitor & Convention
28 COASTE | ATTRACTIONS
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