At AMI check-in desks and cash registers in mid-March, the focus is on springing into a new season — spring break.
Meanwhile, the Manatee County Tax Collector’s office is still tallying up winter receipts for tourist dollars.
The tax collector March 3 released January 2026 collection numbers for the tourist development tax or bed tax — the 6% collected on accommodation rentals of six months or less.
The fourth month of the 2025-26 fiscal year generated $3,080,959 in tourist development taxes in the county.
The amount is 21.85% more than the $2,528,447 collected in January 2025.
And for every month this fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, 2025, the tourist tax revenues were 21.85% to 36.7% higher than the 2024-25 collections as the county continued to recover from the damages and disruptions caused by hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton.
Holmes Beach topped collections on Anna Maria Island in January, generating $591,221 or 19.19% of the countywide total.
Anna Maria accounted for 16.8% of the collections, bringing in $517,664, and Bradenton Beach generated $118,930 or 3.86% of the total.
Other numbers for January:
- Unincorporated Manatee County generated $1,327,922 or 43.1% of the total.
- Bradenton generated $254,365 or 8.26% of the total.
- Longboat Key generated $186,442 or 6.05%.
- Palmetto generated $84,483 or 2.74%.
The collection fee or commission on the tax is 3%, so the net collection in January was $2,988,530.
The state requires the county to use the resort tax revenues to boost and develop tourism. Local tourist tax revenue goes to the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Bradenton Area Convention Center, Realize Bradenton, the Pittsburgh Pirates and other projects and services, such as beach renourishment and the island ferry.
The county tourist development council recommends how to spend the money to the county commission, which sets the annual spending budget.
The tax collector will release February numbers in early April.
January tourist tax collections
January 2022: $2,671,152
January 2023: $2,857,809
January 2024: $2,646,679
January 2025: $2,528,447
January 2026: $3,080,959
Source: Manatee County Tax Collector
