PANAMA CITY BEACH — After a 10 percent decline in revenues in March, tourism regained momentum in April, with the Bay County Tourist Development Council (TDC) reporting a 14 percent increase in bed tax collections year over year.
At a board meeting Tuesday, TDC officials cited a late Easter as the reason for the shift. Easter this year fell on April 20, whereas the date was March 31 in 2013.
However, with March traditionally representing the third biggest month of collections behind June and July, the decrease still put the destination a bit behind its combined revenue collections for March and April of last year.
In March 2013, bed tax revenue hit $2.13 million but reached only $1.91 million in March of this year.
Tourist Development tax specialist Charlene Honnen said March 2013 was a particularly high year for collections, trumping 2012 by about 20 percent.
Honnen also noted a shift in hotel and condominium stays between March and April to areas west of Pier Park and away from the Middle Beach Road area, a popular spot for college spring breakers.
In March, the Middle Beach Road area accounted for about 44 percent of overnight stays, while the Pier Park area and those to the west accounted for about 23 percent. In April, those numbers shifted to 37 percent and 30 percent, respectively.
Board member Mike Thomas said the change in area showed Panama City Beach attracts more than just college students in the spring months.
“It’s not all kids during Spring Break; there’s a lot of families down for Easter,” Thomas said. “Easter does move it.”
Overall for the 2014 fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, the TDC has collected $5.62 million, for a revenue increase of about 2 percent year-over-year.