Manatee County tourist tax collections for October returned to 2017 levels, recovering from the red tide slump in 2018.
The numbers were released in early November by Manatee County Tax Collector Ken Burton Jr.
Tourist taxes collected in October
2019: $746,285
2018: $622,088
2017: $761,231
2016: $650,994
2015: $618,674
2014: $491,286
In October, the county’s total collected tourist tax was $746,285, with $22,388 paid out for commission to net $723,896.
Consider the numbers for October 2018: $622,088 collected and $603,426 from the tourist tax, the 5% bed tax or resort tax collected on overnight rentals of six months or less.
Red tide hit the region in August 2018, causing tourism to slump during the late summer and fall seasons, but tax numbers for the same periods in 2019 show an economic rebound.
In addition to October, August and September numbers were up.
October collections were highest for unincorporated Manatee County, with $283,816 collected and $275,301 netted, compared with $255,256 collected and $247,598 netted in 2018.
Unincorporated Manatee accounted for 38% of the collection.
Holmes Beach accounted for 23.83% of the tourist tax in October 2019 — $177,837 collected and $172,502 netted. In 2018 the city generated $121,428 in collections.
Anna Maria accounted for 12.06% of the tax collected in October, with $90,012 collected and $87,312 netted, compared with $88,192 in collections in October 2018.
Bradenton generated the fourth-highest amount of tourist taxes in October — 10.21% — with $76,179 collected compared with $53,209 in October 2018.
Longboat Key generated 8.35% of the tax in October, with $62,322 collected compared with $51,799 in October 2018.
Next came Bradenton Beach, with a 6.73% share of the tourist tax last month. The city generated $50,213 compared with $45,620 in October 2018.
Palmetto generated 0.79% of the tax collected — $5,902 — compared with $6,581 in October 2018.
The tax money — collected by the state and funded back to the county — gets invested in tourism-related projects, from funding for the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau to beach renourishment on Anna Maria Island.
The tax collector’s office collects and reports numbers in arrears. So November numbers will be released in early December.
So happy we are generating so much money from/for tourism. Sure wish we could back out of our driveways without fear of running over people, bikes, golf carts, go karts, skate boards, strollers, dog walkers, pets on and off leashes. Even the coyotes became overwhelmed and left. Since we don’t have sidewalks for the tourists, maybe the county would like to help out and return some money so we can provide some. Most streets in Anna Maria are beyond dangerous. It is now like if they started allowing cars to drive in the Magic Kingdom. Funny? Not really. People have been killed and more will be.