PANAMA CITY BEACH — Panama City Beach’s warm sun and white sand have kept Indiana sisters Cindy Ault and Pam Dillman coming back for the last 22 years.
The pair’s two favorite things provided the backdrop Wednesday for the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau’s (CVB) annual Tourism Appreciation Day Celebration at the
“I think it’s awesome,” Ault said of the event, which she has attended for the last three years.
CVB President Dan Rowe said the agency has hosted the cookout for the last several years as a way to celebrate the beach’s largest industry.
“This gives us an opportunity to celebrate the importance of tourism to the
The CVB also used the event as an opportunity to educate the public about the industry’s reach, with posters on display reminding the community “tourism never takes a vacation.”
In 2013, visitors spent more than $1.1 billion in the destination, up 7.3 percent from 2012. Additionally, more than 2.3 million room nights were sold, an increase of 4.6 percent from the previous year.
“It really shows the scope and the breadth of our tourism economy,” Rowe said.
The fifth annual tourism celebration is one the CVB intends to continue, Rowe said, adding that the event attracts between 1,200 to 1,500 attendees each year.
“Everybody is welcome to come down and have a hamburger and hot dog on us and just enjoy the sunshine,” Rowe said. “Tourism is all about creating memories.”