Charlotte County is expected to miss out on more than $10 million in tourism dollars following the cancellation of two popular events due to hurricanes Helene and Milton. Meanwhile, another major attraction in Punta Gorda is closed to the public.
The upcoming 43rd annual Florida International Air Show and Englewood Beach Waterfest were called off this year. Historically, each event generates more than $5 million in economic impact each year, county Tourism Director Sean Doherty said.
In addition, waterfront dining and shopping destination Fishermen’s Village, which will be a port stop for two American Cruise Lines ships starting in late November, is undergoing repairs.
Sean Walter, sales and sports business development manager for Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach Visitor & Convention Bureau, said last year Englewood Beach Waterfest’s economic impact was $5.5 million, while the air show brought in $5 million.
Many attendees come from out of the area and book hotels, motels and other rentals, paying a tourism development tax of 5% for each night’s stay.
The Florida International Air Show was scheduled for Nov. 2-3, and Waterfest was slated for Nov. 16-17. However, the free Waterfest Block Party will still take place Nov. 15.
Air show President Denise Dull said she looks forward to the 2025 show with guests that will include the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels.
Although the site of the air show, Punta Gorda Airport, wasn’t damaged by the storms, Dull said, “The safety and well-being of our attendees, volunteers and community are our top priority, and given the extensive damage and challenges these storms have brought, it is clear that moving forward with the event is not possible at this time.”
Walter said other events that draw tourists to the county were canceled, as well. “Three tournaments that would have leveraged out-of-town participants and families … provided a potential loss of $850,000 in economic impact,” he said. By comparison, 18 tournaments were canceled after Hurricane Ian.
The long-term effect of the storms on tourism is unknown.
“Regarding economic impact from the hurricanes, it’s very difficult to determine that. Not only will our October be significantly affected but November will, as well, and the impacts could potentially bleed beyond that,” Doherty said.
He said the majority of the area’s hotels, restaurants and attractions reopened or expect to be in the near future.
Doherty said the Lemon Bay Motel, Sun Life Beach Motel and Sun Coast Inn in west county “seemed to have fared relatively well.”
Not as fortunate were private rentals. “We expect that many of our vacation home rentals, particularly those located on the barrier islands, have received significant damage, with some being completely destroyed. It will take a while longer to get a handle on the actual numbers,” Doherty said.
He is awaiting a status update from the Community Development Department upon inspecting the Charlotte Sports Park, spring training home of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Doherty wondered how the media’s national and international coverage of the storms will affect leisure travel to the county.
“While we have temporarily paused our advertising and promotion of the destination, we expect to be back in the market soon and will be prepared to push out positive messaging as our area recovers,” he said.
At Fishermen’s Village, workers were scrambling to get it up and running as quickly as possible. General Manager Patti Allen said the venue is in cleanup and recovery mode. It will remain closed for safety reasons and is currently limited to merchants, employees and repair service companies.
The recovery timeframe for its adjoining marina, where some of its boats sustained heavy damage, is yet to be determined.
“We anticipate all shops, boutiques, restaurants and The Suites Accommodations will be returning to normal business operations as recovery progresses,” Allen said.
