ICA to Village: Bypassing public scrutiny is against the law
January 24, 2023
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What is the definition of this term relatively new term – “Overtourism?” It is the phenomenon whereby certain places of interest are visited by excessive numbers of tourists, causing undesirable effects for the places visited.
We used the statistics from the “2020 Monroe County Visitor Volume and Spending” report by
MMGY Travel Intelligence done at the request of the Tourist Development Council (TDC). Because Monroe County was off limits for several months during the pandemic in 2020 we chose to use the numbers from 2019.
In 2019 there were 19,760,000 days spent by tourists in the Keys. That is an average of 54,137 visitors per day in a county with a population of 73,000, effectively increasing the county’s population by 74.2%.
And that was in 2019. What was it like in 2021 or so far in 2022?
We looked at revenue figures for the four penny bed tax charged for tourist lodging to see how 2019 revenue from lodging compares to 2021 revenue now.
Bed tax revenue in 2019 (pre-pandemic) for all of Monroe County was $39,892,785 (up 22.4% from 2018! In 2021 the total revenue was $56,490,557, up 41.6% since 2019. That is not necessarily an increase of 41.6% in the number of tourists. It reflects both an increase in the number of tourists but also an increase in the cost of rooms. Both likely saw significant growth with a 41.6% upsurge.
Through May of 2022, the revenue is up 37.1% compared to the revenues through May of 2021! When do the high lodging prices and the unbelievable traffic give tourists cause to select a different destination?
Based on the significant increase in bed tax revenue for 2021 and 2022, we are confident that the average of 54,137 visitors per day from 2019 also increased significantly – and will soon in effect double the actual “population” of our fragile island chain at any one time!
TDC Spending – State Requirements
The worst part of this – Florida Statute requires that other than a minor portion of bed tax used to administer the programs, most all of the $56,490,557 collected in 2021 must be used for promotion and advertising for more tourists, events attracting more tourists, or for capital expenses associated with attractions like museums, parks, beaches that appeal to tourists. We confess – local residents like the museums too but with the traffic nowadays it is easier to just stay home.
There is no provision to use any bed tax to help offset the local costs of drastically increasing the overall number of people and therefore the infrastructure needs.
The $56.5 million bed tax for 2021 is broken into two parts – 2 penny generic tax used countywide and 2 penny district tax spent in the district where it is collected. However, together they spent approximately 60% of the $56.9 million collected last year to promote the Keys and advertise for more tourists.
No wonder we are suffering from such horrific traffic woes! When will our congestion get so bad that we drastically damage our number one industry- tourism? We are already frustrating those who live and work here.
No wonder we are suffering from such horrific traffic woes! When will our congestion get so bad that we drastically damage our number one industry- tourism! We are already frustrating those who live and work here.
Many images on our site have been generously loaned to ICA from award-winning conservation photographer Mac Stone and Mac Stone Photography. They are copyright protected.