Photo by Wyatt Kostygan: Actor/director Eric Stoltz signs an autograph on Opening Night outside of the Sarasota Opera House in 2018.

The Sarasota tourism industry braced for a world pandemic to deliver an economic blow.

“It seems as though we are facing challenges of some kind every year,” said Virginia Haley, president of Visit Sarasota County.

Haley said all major hotels in the area have seen a minumum of 10% cancellations, and cultural institutions have all effectively gone dark. She will meet with the Arts Alliance of Sarasota County this week.

Events like the Sarasota Film Festival and the Sarasota World Dance Festival, both expected to kick off in the next few weeks, were indefinitely postponed. Some of that was driven by public facility decisions; for example Sarasota County cancelled all events in county-run facilities with attendance of more than 250 people for a 30-day that started Friday.

That move came a day after Gov. Ron DeSantis urged immediate cancellations of any events in Florida with 250 people or more. Subsequently, Florida tourism drivers like Walt Disney World, Universal Studios Florida and Busch Gardens all announced they would close through the end of March.

The Centers for Disease Control on Sunday night amended its recommendations to cancel gatherings of 50 or more.

Mark Famiglio, Sarasota Film Festival President, said the safety of all attendees for events had to come first. “We are very appreciative of all the support we have received from the industry and local community and as always the health and safety of our audiences remains a top priority,” he said, “and we look forward to determining a new vision for this festival at the appropriate time and supporting our filmmakers in the months to come.”

Katmandu, producer for the Sarasota World Dance Festival, said in a statement that postponing was a difficult decision, but one organizers hoped all understood.

“We understand the months of work so many of you have put into rehearsals, vending, and that many people were traveling long distances to be here. We appreciate all of your efforts and look forward to seeing your hard work pay off in the near future,” the statement read. “We can issue refunds for tickets, and fees. However, we hope that everyone who was planning to attend and participate will remain with us, and if so we can simply defer your payments and hold your places in the event.”

Haley, also chair of Visit Florida, said the de facto state tourism bureau will work with destinations around Florida to deal with economic fallout for the industry, and most major events anticipate rescheduling at a later date.

The bureau will not encourage travel right now. "That would be irresponsible," she said.

Of course, beaches are notably not affected the same as cultural events. When asked, she said she's found plenty of crowds at Lido Beach. "But there's still room for people to keep a safe distance," she said.

Photo by Wyatt Kostygan: Actor/director Eric Stoltz signs an autograph on Opening Night outside of the Sarasota Opera House in 2018.