Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/211425
Sarasota News Leader November 15, 2013 — said her latest "dashboard" figures show the county saw about 6 percent growth in the number of visitors for the 2013 fiscal year, and their spending was up about 7.3 percent over the previous year. Page 39 Haley attributes the continuing climb of the TDT revenue to a combination of her office's marketing efforts as well as to the gradual rebound in the economy. Barbetta points to the significance of the arts The last month of the fiscal year "was OK," and sports tourism as other major factors. Haley said. "It wasn't fabulous." Still, the only "This just shows that Sarasota is strong commonth when the county realized less TDT reving out of the recession," he noted. enue than it had in the same month during the 2012 fiscal year was April, she pointed out. As for the unofficial competition among That primarily was a result of Easter's coming county locations that collect the TDT, Siesta in March, Haley added. "We were up insanely Key came out on top for FY 2013, with 32.17 in March," she said of the tourism statistics percent of the revenue. The city of Sarasota her office records. was in second place, with 30.37 percent, followed by Sarasota County at 16.77 percent. Haley noted "a lot of success in Florida across the board" in regards to FY 2013 tourism. Yet, And while September may have been a bit "our growth is just a little bit ahead of [the slow, momentum began building in October state's], which is what I like to see." and will continue this month. The US Rowing Masters National Championships at Benderson Park in August brought thousands of people to Sarasota County. Photo by Rachel Hackney