Causeway traffic jumps, other indicators predict strong season
Continued good news for the economic health of southwest Florida, particularly in Sanibel and Captiva.
Traffic on the Sanibel Causeway was up 3.5 percent for this August, or nearly 8,000 more vehicles cruising through the toll booths over August 2013. In fact, traffic counts for each month are up over 2013, reaching nearly 5.5 percent in April, or nearly 304,000 vehicles passing the tolls. The highest count in March was 344,119 vehicles, or 10,000 more than March 2013.
The numbers on a chart look like a rollercoaster climbing from the dip at the bottom in 2005, when 2.8 million vehicles passed the toll stations. Some 3.1 million used the causeway last year, and the numbers for this year are higher in each month through Sept. 1. The record in 2001 was nearly 3.5 million. In comparison, 795,000 vehicles crossed the causeway in 1975.
Sanibel Causeway toll counts correlate with other indictors of strong growth; tourist tax revenue in Lee, Charlotte and Collier counties increased 17 percent year to date through July, according to research by Florida Gulf Coast University. Passenger traffic at southwest Florida airports also grew by 8 percent in the same period.
The good news is reflected in Sanibel and Captiva: an informal survey of San-Cap Islands Chamber of Commerce members was upbeat, with merchants generally reporting strong sales over the summer. The idea of merchants closing for the off-season is fading with home telephones and paper phonebooks.
Tourism is one of the largest economic industries in Florida with almost 100 million travelers visiting the Sunshine State this past year. More than 1 million Floridians are employed by the tourism industry, creating a combined annual payroll of $15.4 billion. Just in Lee County alone, tourism employs 1 out of every 5 people, brings in approximately 4.8 million visitors a year and generates approximately $2.8 billion in economic impact. Just this past year, the Tourist Tax collection generated $28.6 million dollars, the FGCU study reported.