Spring break crowds flock to Naples, boosting local business sales

NAPLES, Fla. (WINK) —Spring break is bringing visitors to Southwest Florida, and local businesses are watching to see how that translates into foot traffic and sales.

 

Kaylee DeForge, sales manager at the Compass Hotel by Margaritaville Naples, said spring break is typically a busy time for Southwest Florida. DeForge added the hotel has already seen growth in occupancy in recent months.

 

“From the year over year, in January, we saw an 11% growth in occupancy, and then come February, we saw a 4% growth in occupancy year over year,” DeForge said.

 

The Tourism Division of the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau says visitation is up. The latest numbers show a 7.3% increase in year-over-year visitation, accounting for more than 281,000 room nights.

 

Direct visitor spending reached more than $356 million, a nearly 10% increase from last year. More than 258,000 out-of-state visitors traveled to the area, mostly from the Midwest and Northeast.

 

Thomas Hatcher, who works at Naples Cyclery, said they are seeing visitors from different parts of the country.

 

“Last year it was more just kind of like, organized groups that already planned a trip here. But this year, it feels a lot more spontaneous,” Hatcher said. “I would definitely say that it was a higher amount of people than last year, we’re seeing like at least between 20 to 40 rentals a day.”

 

A local burger restaurant says it is also seeing more customers.

 

Jacob Grasso, manager at Brooks Burgers, said the restaurant is definitely busier.

 

“College kids and the local kids, they’re definitely showing up, and they definitely love burgers everywhere seems, a little bit busier than normal,” Grasso said.

 

Businesses say they hope the momentum continues as spring break progresses.