PANAMA CITY BEACH — The Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) brought a dose of sun and sand to icy Chicago last week.
Through a promotion by the marketing and sales team, shoppers in Chicago’s Woodfield Mall had the opportunity to snap hundreds of pictures in a sandbox set up with a Panama City Beach scene backdrop.
CVB President Dan Rowe said Chicago is an important Midwest market for the agency, with convenient access to the destination flying into Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport. Southwest Airlines offers a direct flight to Chicago Midway International Airport out of ECP, with one stop in Nashville but no plane change.
“We are not slowing down, even though it’s a little chilly outside,” Rowe said during a meeting of the Bay County Tourist Development Council (TDC) on Thursday, citing upcoming marketing trips to Ohio and New York. “The Midwest is a key market for us.”
Panama City Beach’s presence in Chicago will continue through a partnership with VisitFlorida that involved wrapping Chicago’s “L” commuter train with Florida imagery and Panama City Beach images on the inside of one of the cars.
At Thursday’s meeting the TDC also reported a 10 percent increase in bed tax collections for the month of November. Rowe said strong numbers in 2013 show steady growth that was simply due to the funds received from BP following the 2010 oil spill.
“Our growth has been consistent over time,” Rowe said. “Our expectation is that it’s going to continue.”
Higher collections means more revenue for the TDC, which will begin discussing potential uses for roughly $2 million in excess bed tax collections from the 2012-2013 fiscal year next month.
Every year, the agency budgets at 95 percent of estimated collections for the year, and anything over that number returns in the form of excess collections once recognized by the Bay County Commission.
Roughly $369,000 in excess collections will go toward advertising in the destination’s fly markets, as specified in the fifth-cent tax, leaving about $1.5 million for the board to expend as they choose.
November did not bring a month of gains in Mexico Beach, with bed tax collections showing nearly a 15 percent decline over the previous year.
The TDC’s first meeting of 2014 also brought changes to the board structure, as outgoing Chairman Andy Phillips handed the gavel over to newly appointed Chairman Buddy Wilkes.