Still reeling from cuts to grant funding, Collier arts organizations are now weathering a 10% drop in international visitors. That amounts to about 100,000 fewer international visitors this year. Canadians and British tourists comprise the largest percentage of this decline.
Elysia Dawn, the chief executive officer of United Arts Collier, told the Collier County Commission last week that this significantly impacts Collier arts organizations. As much as 40 percent of their patrons come from out of town.
Her message was heard.
The Commission approved $5 million in supplemental funding for the Tourist Development Council to use to bring in new international visitors.
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On Aug. 19, the Collier County Board of County Commissioners awarded grants totaling $758,000 to 18 Collier arts organizations, making a specific finding that the arts stimulate the economy.
The grants awarded by the Board of County Commissioners will help offset a loss of state dollars for the second year in a row. Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed all arts and culture grants in the 2024-2025 budget, claiming the money was being used to support fringe festivals, which he asserted foster sexually oriented theater. Collier County arts organizations managed to get by thanks to the help of the Collier Community Foundation, which provided an unexpected $220,000 grant, and Rooms to Go, which added $30,000 more from a store grand opening.
For the 2025-2026 fiscal year, 31.6% of the funding requested has been allotted, but with the caveat that only organizations that scored 95 points on their grant applications qualified for funding. Only four Collier County organizations made that grade:
- Naples Art Association Inc. (98) $150,000;
- The Naples Players (96.5) $150,000;
- The Holocaust Museum of Southwest Florida (95) $97,379; and
- Naples Art District (96.5) $10,000.
A second round of grants is planned for September, with $1.8 million to be divided among arts organizations that scored between 85 and 94 on their applications. Ten Collier County organizations qualify for this round of grants: Artis-Naples, Gulfshore Playhouse, Opera Naples, TheatreZone, Naples Botanical Garden, Art League of Marco Island Inc. (Marco Island Center for the Arts and Arts Center Theatre), Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples, Naples Concert Band and United Arts Collier.
That $1.8 million represents just pennies on the dollar — $3,837.95 per applicant — if the money is distributed equally among all 469 of the organizations in that point range.
The Tourism Development Tax Grant program was established in 2000. Grants are available in two categories. The first is designed to provide financial support for the creation, execution, and marketing of arts and cultural shows and exhibits. The second facilitates marketing for cultural projects targeting people residing outside of Collier County. In both categories, the primary purpose of the grants is to help drive overnight visitors to Collier destinations and provide visitors and residents with opportunities to enjoy unique arts and cultural experiences in the county.
This year’s grant recipients include:
- Fifth Avenue South;
- Florida Stone Crabbers Association;
- Gulf Coast Orchid Alliance;
- Gulfshore Opera;
- Seraphic Fire;
- United Arts Collier;
- Artis-Naples;
- Golisano Children's Museum of Naples;
- Gulfshore Playhouse;
- Marco Island Center for the Arts;
- Naples Art Institute;
- Naples Art District;
- Naples Botanical Garden;
- Naples Zoo;
- Opera Naples;
- The Holocaust Museum;
- The Naples Players; and
- TheatreZone.
In the aggregate, these 18 organizations were seeking $1.1 million in Collier Tourism Division grants.
Two previous participants, Rookery Bay and Marco art show organizer Maurich Productions and Events, did not apply this year.
The $5 million in supplemental TDC funding, which was approved by a 4-1 vote, comes from a $18 million reserve for advertising and promotion.
Funding for tourism marketing doesn’t come from property tax revenue. It is generated by tourist taxes collected from visitors who stay overnight in hotels and other short-term rentals.
Hotel stays this year have improved by more than 16 percent, but that has been driven by domestic visitors while international visitor numbers are down nearly 10 percent. Of the 2.7 million visitors who come to Collier County, 14 percent were international visitors during the first quarter of this year, but the numbers declined in the second and third quarters.
The additional marketing dollars will enable the Collier Tourist Development Council to build on momentum from last year in top performing markets ranging from Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. to Dallas and Minneapolis.
Tourism is Collier’s largest industry. It supports 29,000 jobs and generates more than $2.8 billion in direct economic impact annually.
The economic impact of the nonprofit arts sector accounts for $145 million annually. This finding is based on a survey conducted by the Americans for the Arts in 2024. However, only a fraction of Collier arts organizations participated in the survey, so the actual economic impact of the nonprofit arts sector is likely to be much larger.
While it presumed that increased international tourism will result in added attendance at art and cultural events such as art exhibitions, theater productions and concert performances, no direct correlation was provided either by the commission or those who spoke in support of the award of the additional $5 million in funding. Any added attendance will also benefit proximately located businesses such as hotels, restaurants, bars and retail shops as the average out-of-town patron spends more than $58 at these locations before and after an art event.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
