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Economic yearbook 2010
Miami-Dade / Monroe Yearbook 2010
Hard-hit Miami-Dade is getting a boost from tourism.
Monroe County
As Monroe County Mayor Sylvia Murphy puts it, “The economics ... have been kinder to us than almost anywhere else in Florida.” The county’s finances are in good shape, and the Keys tourism industry had high occupancy and room rates in 2009, with average occupancy for the year at 70.3%, up 3.9% from 2008. Those in the industry attribute the gains to a strong summer with high traffic from Floridians and Europeans.
But room rates, though the highest in the state, were down 11.9% from 2008, to $171.51. “The lodging industry is worried about when they will be able to move their rates up to a level that will return their businesses to profit levels they enjoyed prior to the recession,” says Harold Wheeler, director of the Monroe County Tourist development Council. And companies that offer high-end tourism activities, such as offshore charter boat fishing, are struggling to survive.
Murphy says all small businesses are concerned that the economy isn’t turning around fast enough. But, she says, “these small businesses have been up and down ... many times before, and they go with the flow and they change their business practices to suit whatever it is that will bring the tourists in.”
Person to Watch
» Robert A. Spottswood, president of hospitality and real estate development firm Spottswood Cos., oversees a company that manages more than 1,000 hotel rooms in the Keys and is one of its largest private employers.
Business to Watch
The Monroe County School District is the Keys’ largest employer, followed by county government. With an economy made up almost entirely of small businesses, these two entities have the most impact on unemployment numbers.
