Tarpon Springs Businesses Plead For Return Of Tourism Events

TARPON SPRINGS, FL — With more people getting the coronavirus vaccine and a decreasing number of people testing positive for the virus, it's time for Tarpon Springs to get back to normal.

That's what former city commissioner and Sponge Docks business owner Rea Sieber told Tarpon Springs city commissioners at its meeting Tuesday.

Sieber came to the meeting armed with five pages of signatures from Tarpon Springs business owners requesting that the city allow public events in the city to resume.

"A lot of merchants are antsy. They're worried. They've had great losses," Sieber said. "We all understand the dangers of the virus but now, with increased vaccines and decreases in the number of infections, it's time to start thinking about our economy in Tarpon Springs."

Noting that the tourism-dependent city is already experiencing economic losses due to restrictions on travel from Europe, Latin America and Canada, Sieber said community festivals like the Tarpon Springs Hippiefest in August, the Sponge Docks Seafood Festival in November and the Tarpon Springs Fine Arts Festival in March not only attract tourism but also lure residents from surrounding towns to Tarpon Springs.

"Our businesses suffered devastating losses last year. They were shut down, the season never happened and our streets were empty. Business owners reported losses of 50 percent to 100 percent," Sieber said. "Yet, our expenses did not go away. We still had to pay our mortgages, our rents, we had to pay our taxes to the city, our utilities, insurance."

Sieber said businesses are currently experiencing an uptick due to the return of seasonal residents and spring break visitors, "but we are not even close to recovering our losses from last year," she said.

In another month or so, the snowbirds and spring breakers will be gone, leaving the businesses in limbo once again, she said.

"This is why we need to do all we can to attract visitors to Tarpon Springs. The state and surrounding communities are allowing events, but we don't see any events scheduled in Tarpon Springs this year," Sieber said, noting that restaurants experience a 30 percent increase in business during festivals.

Tarpon Springs businesses were especially disheartened when the city limited attendance at its biggest event this year, the annual Epiphany celebration in January, which attracts thousands of visitors to Tarpon Springs. Attendance was initially limited to 500 participants and later increased to 800 people.

Business owners argue that, even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says it's OK to hold community events provided they meet guidelines for protecting attendees.

"We desperately need events to start back up," Sieber said. "Please consider adding this to your next agenda."