A climate for business

By Jim Lockhart, business editor

The economy of Southwest Florida has changed over the years from one concentrating on just a few industries - tourism, real estate, agriculture - to an ever-evolving combination of goods and services that shows the growing diversity of the area.

To be sure, the old standbys remain at the top of the heap.

Tourism is the seasonal engine. From autumn to late spring, the region is bursting with visitors, here to enjoy the sandy beaches, warm weather and variety of man-made tourist attractions.

Many of those visitors decide to stay, fueling the ever-growing real estate industry. From a community that hugged the coastline just a few decades ago, it has matured into a county-wide conglomeration of housing developments, all designed to make the one-time visitor a permanent resident.

And even if not one more tourist ever came to Collier County, there would still be a vast agricultural empire. That empire has appeared somewhat tarnished in the last few years, thanks to foreign-trade policies, heavier-than-usual rains, cold snaps and pest invasions, but even in the worst of times, Collier agriculture does more than its fair share to feed the nation, particularly with winter vegetables and citrus.

But there's more.

Not-so-old timers can tell you of when one had to drive to Miami or at least Fort Myers to do any decent shopping. But that has changed as the nation's major retailers have discovered Naples. An expanded Coastland Center mall and revitalized Fifth Avenue South, along with the traditions of Third Street South, are helping to make the area a self-contained shopper's paradise.

And industry is also discovering Southwest Florida. Not the dirty, smelly industry of the Rust Belt, but a clean, high-tech industry that brings welcome jobs and year-round production.

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