Collier County, Florida is still on pace to see record tourism this year. And Southwest Florida International Airport is seeing record passenger numbers, Naples Daily News reports. Tourism remained strong through September, as the tide turned on the spike of COVID cases tied to the Delta variant. While the county saw an impact from the surge for a few weeks, the latest monthly visitor statistics show the negative publicity didn't do enough damage to reverse the positive trends. As of September, visitation, bookings, and spending all remained higher than at the same time in 2019 — a banner year for tourism in Collier. This year, the largest number of visitors in Collier has come from other parts of the state, with the pandemic still fueling more road trips — and trips closer to home.