The Lee County Tourist Development Council met Thursday and reported the preliminary resort tax collected for April was $5,193,092, a 25.0% increase over April 2025 when $4,152,523 was collected.
Fiscal year-to-date preliminary tourist tax collections are $40,177,315, an increase of 23.0% year-over-year. That $40,177 collected year-to-date is the 2nd highest amount in the previous five years.
In 2022, just under $47,883 was collected. Following Hurricane Ian in 2021, bed tax collections have steadily risen as communities continue to rebuild and visitors feel more comfortable coming back with more things to do. It also helps when there has not been a major hurricane in a few years.
Vacation rental occupancy was also up 15% in April over 2025 with average daily room rates up about 2%.
In a perfect world FMB would have a larger slice of that pie.