Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/140592
Sarasota News Leader June 28, 2013 A VERY GOOD MAY Regarding the May tourism numbers: "I actually was not looking forward to [them]," Haley said, "and they definitely surprised me." Comparing the figures to those from May 2012, the latest set showed the number of visitors to the county was up 8.6 percent; tourists' spending was 14 percent higher; the occupancy rate for hotels/motels was up 6 percent; room rates were 5.5 percent higher; and the amount of revenue realized from available rooms rose 11.9 percent. Page 46 train for two weeks at Nathan Benderson Park off University Parkway before Wallenda flew to Arizona for his Grand Canyon wire walk on June 23. As a result, Haley said, as of June 20, 83 million domestic media impressions mentioned Wallenda's Sarasota connection. (A media impression is a single look at a news article or TV show, for example.) That figure did not include his Today Show appearance that morning, she added. Given the fact that the Sarasota Music Festival and the Pan-Am Masters Swimming Championships had brought thousands of visitors to the county this month, Haley said, "I expect Furthermore, Haley noted, Visit Sarasota we will see a pretty darn good June, [too]." County had provided $60,000 to enable internationally known aerialist Nik Wallenda to Then it was on to something new. Funding aid from Sarasota County enabled the Sarasota YMCA to install shade shelters at its Selby Aquatic Center before the Pan-Am Masters competitions were held this month. Photo courtesy Sarasota County