Chamber presents State of the Local Economy
Reflecting on 2019 and ensuing years past while looking forward to 2026, Lee County leaders presented the State of the Local Economy overview at the SanCap Chamber’s business luncheon on Feb. 18 at Sundial Beach Resort & Spa on Sanibel.
Guest speakers Visitor & Convention Bureau (VCB) Executive Director Tamara Pigott and Lee County Economic Development Office Director John Talmage wrapped up masses of data and news with succinct expression of the direction the local economy needs to take today.
“Build, build, build,” she urged island hoteliers and other attending business people. “The coastal supply (of rooms) is what really drives our economy.”
“We need to focus on training; we need to focus on workforce. We need to focus on quality of life,” Talmage said. “If we do those three things, everything else will come.”
Amongst the data Pigott shared showing steady recovery and increasing visitations and visitor expenditures, she pointed out: “The inland average daily rate (for hotel rooms) is under $130, and the coastal average daily rate, closer to $250.”
The previous fiscal year, October 2024 to September, 506 hotel rooms opened in Lee County, but only 33 of them were on the coast, where most visitors want to stay, Pigott reported. Looking ahead, more rooms are forthcoming on the islands.
Hotelier Tony Lapi revealed Beachview Cottages will open on Aug. 1. Beachview Villas are under construction. Island Inn is adding 34 units, but with no set opening date. The Captiva Inn is accepting reservations. The Blue Dolphin rebuild on Sanibel has been approved but was not yet underway.
More accommodations mean more bed tax coming to the community, Pigott said. She named several events and improvements like the Shared Use Path, Captiva beach renourishment, and island attraction enhancements that bed taxes will directly benefit in 2026.
Talmage credited the VCB for challenging the county to protect places that define the county’s character.
“We need to think more about placemaking, because our sense of place is what allows us to think about our story,” he said. “Sanibel has its own story to tell. And it’s a resilient story and it’s a great story. And the energy in this room, after three long years, is palpable. And it’s been wonderful to see.”
Talmage gave attendees a rundown on what the future holds across the county — from a new racetrack and medical school to a sports facility and manufacturing operations. He pointed to alternative types of tourism such as sports, agricultural, and medical tourism to spread out the visitation traffic that often burdens the islands in season.
“Sanibel is Sanibel and Captiva is Captiva,” Talmage said. “We don’t need them to become Miami.”
“We got the complete picture today on how the county’s economy impacts us and we impact the county’s economy,” chamber President and Chief Executive Officer John Lai said.
The luncheon was sponsored by Stevens Construction.