Sarasota Bounces Back for Busy Season
A year after hurricanes Helene and Milton ravaged beaches and businesses, Sarasota’s shops, restaurants and islands are repaired and reopened as snowbirds and visitors return.
Storm-weary businesses prepare for the season to behave like itself again
One year after hurricanes Helene and Milton shut down much of Sarasota’s tourist engine, the streets that feed the city’s winter rush look, to the casual eye, like they always have. Sidewalks are busy, restaurants have TVs tuned to college football, and shoppers walk St. Armands Circle with paper bags in hand.
That normalcy did not come overnight. For many merchants on the barrier islands, losing the 2024-25 season meant a year of repairs, relocation and hard choices. Now, with landscaping replaced, storefronts gutted and new tenants in place, local business owners say the momentum is headed in the right direction.
Signs of life on the Circle and the Key
At St. Armands Circle the city has swapped out dead grass and battered plantings for fresh landscaping in Circle Park. Sidewalks bustle. About 70 percent of retail spaces are occupied, according to the executive director of the Siesta Key Circle Association. Siesta Village, meanwhile, reports every merchant open and ready.
Wherever a year ago there was cleanup, now there is window dressing and displays. Some longtime storefronts did not reopen, and a handful of spaces remain vacant, but others were reborn. Tommy Bahama returned in a new location, and several new shops have opened their doors across the Circle.
Tourism by the numbers
Visit Sarasota County tracks the county’s visitor counts and economic impact month to month. Over the calendar years 2022 to 2024 the county saw the following totals: 2,246,900 visitors in 2022, a bump to 3,207,000 in 2023, and 2,852,400 in 2024. Economic impact rose and fell with those swings: about $4.43 billion in 2022, $4.47 billion in 2023, and $3.96 billion in 2024.
On a fiscal-year basis (October through September) the first three quarters of recent years show a slowing trend: roughly 1.12 million visitors in FY 2022 and FY 2023, slipping to about 1.03 million in FY 2024 and 976,100 in the first three quarters of FY 2025. Economic impact followed a similar pattern.
Perception vs. reality
Hurricanes Helene and Milton knocked out beaches and curtailed cultural events, including much of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall season. That pause fed a narrative that parts of Sarasota were not ready for visitors. Visit Sarasota County officials say that perception has been one of their bigger challenges, even as they ramp up marketing to attract travelers.
Bookings are returning, but with a new rhythm. Travelers are reserving closer to their trip dates, which hospitality operators call a shortened booking window. Hoteliers describe September as slow to start but finishing strong, and October bookings looked promising at the time of reporting.
New storefronts, refreshed character
Change in retail can sting and it can energize. On the Circle, new merchants now populate spaces left empty by those who relocated, retired or shuttered. Names that have opened since the storms include Spartina 449, Kismet, I Love Candy, Urban Culture Boutique and Leaping Lizards Regal Art Gallery. A couple of additions are slated to open soon.
Longtime merchants welcome the turnover. A boutique owner with nearly four decades on the Circle said the fresh faces reinforce confidence in the market and help preserve the area’s retail personality, a mix of distinctive independents and recognizable national names that pull visitors across the bridge from downtown.
Island recovery and community grit
Siesta Key leaders say their districts are recovered and staffed to greet returning guests. The chamber reports a tangible excitement among lodging partners and accommodation providers, who are preparing for arriving seasonal residents and snowbirds that in 2024 largely skipped their usual winter routines here.
For many operators, this season is not about repairing what was damaged but proving the destination is reliable. Locals frame it as a test of resilience: can Sarasota convert rebuilding into renewed visitation and sustained economic activity? So far the answer looks encouraging.
The long view
There is still work to be done. Public waterfront assets – piers and parks across city and county – show traces of the storms. But businesses are serving customers, landscaping projects are complete, and new retail energy is visible. The mix of old favorites and newcomers gives the island corridors a refreshed appeal.
Owners and civic leaders are hedging optimism with realism. They are marketing quietly, tracking data carefully, and keeping an eye on booking patterns. Above all, they are betting on a crowd that remembers why they came in the first place – the beaches, the shops, and the rhythm of winter in Sarasota.
One year on, Sarasota is not pretending the setback never happened. The scars from Helene and Milton are still part of the landscape, but so is a parade of reopened doors, updated storefronts and a public that wants to return to its rituals. This season will tell how quickly recovery becomes business as usual, but for now the islands and the Circle are open, polished, and ready for visitors who want the old routine back with a little new energy.
