LEE COUNTY, Fla. — Vacation — ready or not, Lee County needs to figure out how to bring tourists back immediately, for the sake of its economy.  

Hotel and resort owners, boating captains, Visit Florida, state officials and tourism leaders from all over Lee County took part in a roundtable discussion Wednesday morning at the Pink Shell Resort on Fort Myers Beach.

Together, the group brainstormed ideas on how to be authentic about the rebuild from Hurricane Ian in their marketing and shift concentration to highlight beaches, biking and shelling — what vacationers can still enjoy in Lee County. 

“The problem is, where are you going to stay?” asked RJ Wohl, staying on Fort Myers Beach. “If this doesn’t change, no one is going to want to come down here. What for? There’s no entertainment. There’s only a few places to eat at or drink at.”

The lack of hotel rooms available on the beach was a topic of discussion at the meeting. Lee County tourism officials say the county is missing 4,000 coastal hotel rooms. One of the suggestions brought to the table was attracting visitors to in-land hotels, where the beach is a drive away. 

“An educated traveler is a great traveler,” said Dana Young, CEO and president of Visit Florida. ” I think if potential visitors are aware of the fact that there is construction going on, but they’ll have the benefit of a very empty beach, they’ll enjoy having a different experience. A very quiet experience.”

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Still, there’s no ignoring hurricane-ravaged buildings and construction holdups. While some hotel owners haven’t started rebuilding, Pink Shell Resort is at 80 percent occupancy but still experiencing hurdles.

“Elevator parts are tough. Electrical switches are tough. Just the sheer time of construction is a challenge,” said Bill Waichulis, senior VP of operations at the Pink Shell. 

There was also talk about conversations tourism officials are having with national legislators about speeding up federal funding and cutting through red tape.  

“Everything hinges on the tourism component,” said John Lai, president and CEO of San-Cap Chamber of Commerce. “We know that that’s what makes people into residence. And residence into investors into our community.”