PANAMA CITY BEACH — Panama City Beach will continue its 20-plus-year reign as the Spring Break capital in 2015, with more students reporting plans to head to the Florida Panhandle than other destinations this year.
Collegiate Marketing Group, which manages a cooperative marketing website on Spring Break, recently asked college students to compare six popular Spring Break hot spots: Panama City Beach, Daytona Beach, Miami Beach, South Padre Island, Texas, Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Cancun, Mexico.
Panama City Beach was voted the number one choice by 87 percent of the 5,000 students polled.
“It’s no mistake that Panama City Beach has been Spring Break’s top destination for the past 20 years,” said Collegiate Marketing representative Carm Giardina. “This study continues to make it official.”
Giardina cited Panama City Beach’s accessible location, affordable hotel rates and packed entertainment lineup as just a few reasons for its continued status as one of the most popular Spring Break destinations in the world.
“It’s no secret that this place is a paradise for the college crowd,” he said, adding that Spring Break helped put Panama City Beach on the map. “Spring Break is the reason the world knows about Panama City Beach, Florida.”
Collegiate Marketing Group provides services to brands targeting the college market through social media, promotions and events. The company heads a Spring Break marketing cooperative with about 50 local businesses, which markets the destination to 18- to 24-year-old college students through digital advertisements, social media, search-engine optimization and more.
In previous years, the co-op was supported by the Bay County Tourist Development Council (TDC), but officials made the decision earlier this year to pull funding for Collegiate Marketing from the 2015 budget. Last year, the TDC contributed $100,000 to the co-op, double what was provided in 2013.
TDC Director Dan Rowe said as an agency, in partnership with the city of Panama City Beach and Bay County, the TDC is instead focusing on how to better manage Spring Break by amping up special events security and encouraging students to “Spring Break responsibly.”
“The kids come here because it’s a real, fun beach,” Rowe said. “What the city and the county have done to better manage Spring Break will help Panama City Beach remain a viable destination for years to come.”
One of the busiest times of year for tourism in Panama City Beach, Spring Break is consistently one of the biggest months for collection of tourist development taxes, or bed taxes, which are levied on short-term accommodations. March is the third biggest month for the destination, behind only July and June. Last year, the 5-cent bed tax drew in $1.9 million in revenue, slightly less than the $2.1 million collected in 2013.
Rowe said he was not surprised Panama City Beach came out on top in the Collegiate Marketing survey.
“Panama City Beach is a premier Spring Break destination,” he said. “It’s part of what’s made Panama City Beach successful over the last 20 to 25 years.”
Recent results from an ongoing visitor survey sponsored by the TDC showed a majority of visitors to the destination intend to come back.
“Panama City Beach is a great destination. ... That’s why we continue to be popular amongst all of our visitors,” Rowe said. “Whether you’re a college kid or a family coming in the summer, it’s just a great beach.”