Hotel occupancy dropped by 11.3 percent in Sarasota County during the last three months of 2018, the steepest year-over-year decline during that quarterly period since the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in 2001 and a sign of just how bad red tide has been for the region’s economy.
Visit Sarasota County President Virginia Haley mentioned the sharp drop in visitation at the end of 2018 during a presentation to state lawmakers Monday.
