After the devastating impact of Category 4 Hurricane Ian, which swept through Florida and South Carolina in September, it”™s no surprise that tourists and snowbirds are wary of returning to parts of the Sunshine State that have been the worst affected.
With almost $50.2 billion worth of damage, as well as the cataclysmic effect the natural disaster has had on Florida locals due to the destruction of their homes and livelihoods, Hurricane Ian has been billed the deadliest hurricane to strike Florida since the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, claiming 146 lives.
Before Hurricane Ian,”¯Premier Point Vacation Rental Management”¯reported that there were 1,200 vacation rentals available in Fort Myers. The latest data from the impact of Hurricane Ian shows that almost 5,000 residential properties were completely destroyed and a further 44,000 homes received significant damage.
With the true scope of damage and the lasting effect of the hurricane difficult to determine for both businesses and families due to the ongoing cleanup operations, the team at Premier Point Vacations has seen a significant shift, with tourists opting for rentals in Fort Lauderdale, which saw storm surge but mostly dodged a bullet when Category 1 Hurricane Nicole hit Florida on Nov. 9.
Fort Lauderdale was already a popular tourist destination with its picturesque beaches and boating canals. (It was also the subject of a nostalgic, evocative 1961 teens-go-wild-on-spring-vacation movie “Where The Boys Are,” starring Dolores Hart, who became Reverend Mother Dolores Hart of the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Connecticut.) Market research on Fort Lauderdale conducted in 2021 backs up its cinematic beauty by showing that $1.3 billion was spent there by tourists on hotels alone.
Premier Point Vacation expects that the city will see a”¯further increase in visiting tourists,”¯not only because of the impact of Hurricane Ian on other popular tourist destinations in Florida but also because people may be wary of another hurricane hitting Florida”™s Gulf Coast ”“ even though Nicole caused disruptions on the other side of the state.
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