How One Florida County Is Confronting the Tourism Hit From Hurricane Ian
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Hurricane Ian wreaked destruction on numerous destinations in Florida and Cuba last month with its devastating aftermath expected to be felt for months or even years. Many of them have avoided the worst of it. Lee County is one Florida destination that took the hurricane at its most intense level. The community is conducting search and rescue and damage assessments, but it is already clear that its tourism sector will face a tough road to recovery.
Forming in the Caribbean Sea, the tropical storm evolved into a Category 4 hurricane as it made landfall in the province of Pinar del Rio in Western Cuba on September 27.
By September 28, Hurricane Ian made landfall again as a Category 4 in Lee County, which is on the coast of Southwest Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 150 miles per hour. “The primary impact area really was in Lee County,” said Geoff Luebkemann, an emergency official with the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA). “Fort Myers Beach was kind of the ground zero for the impact.”
Lee County is home to 760,000 people and includes Sanibel Island, Pine Island and 13 other barrier islands off the Florida coast. Fort Myers is the county seat. Every year Lee attracts five million visitors and $3 billion in spending, according to the Lee County Vis
