Lee County Tourist Development Council welcomes new members

The Lee Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) recently appointed John Lai and Lori Fayhee to the Lee County Tourist Development Council (TDC).

Lai will serve as a nonvoting member of the TDC representing the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association (FRLA) and Fayhee will serve as a nonvoting member of the TDC representing the Village of Estero.

Lai is President and CEO of the Sanibel-Captiva Chamber of Commerce. He most recently served as Board Chair of VISIT FLORIDA, the state’s tourism marketing organization, and from 2023 to 2025 was Regional Director of FRLA (2023-25).

“John has long been a champion for Florida’s tourism industry through his leadership at the SanCap Chamber, VISIT FLORIDA and the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association,” said Kevin Ruane, chairman of the Lee Board of County Commissioners who also chairs the TDC. “We are fortunate to have his experience and perspective at the table as he represents FRLA on the TDC.”

Fayhee serves as an Estero councilmember. She served Southwest Florida’s Hurricane Ian recovery efforts, working for the Department of Homeland Security as a FEMA private sector specialist in 2023 and participated as a census field supervisor for the 2020 Census in 2019-20.

“We are happy to have Lori as a member of the TDC,” said Kevin Ruane, chairman of the Lee Board of County Commissioners who also chairs the TDC. “Her deep ties to the Estero community will be valuable as we continue working to promote our destination with visitors and residents alike.”

The nine voting seats of the TDC are composed of three elected officials, three representatives from accommodations collecting the tourist tax and three representatives from tourism-related industries, as directed by Florida Statutes.

In 2022, the BoCC voted to add the four seats to allow each of the municipalities a seat on the TDC. These four additional members represent the incorporated municipalities not currently serving on the TDC in one of the two municipal rotating seats.

The TDC was established as an advisory board to the BoCC in 1983 to increase off-season tourism in Lee County.