Panama City Beach Tourism Surges 25.4 Percent for August

Visit Panama City Beach and the Bay County Tourist Development Council announce collections for the month of August 2018 were up 25.4 percent compared to August 2017, and the destination is currently up 10.2 percent for the fiscal year, which began October 2017. Through 11 months, Visit Panama City Beach’s 2018 collections have already surpassed its total collections for 2017.

“With many preschools in our target markets still out of session in August, we have used that month for the last two years to target families with young children, welcoming them to the beach for an end of summer vacation,” shared Visit Panama City Beach President and CEO Dan Rowe. “For the second straight year, we saw an uptick in visits from young families, as the destination offered deals and packages catered specifically to this demographic.”

This August, Visit Panama City Beach’s public relations team hosted a group of mommy bloggers and their preschool aged children for its Second Annual Preschoolers in Paradise Weekend. The month ended with a bang with the annual Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam music festival, drawing some of the best country music artists to Frank Brown Park.

The Tourist Development Tax is a five percent tax on short-term rentals including hotels and condominiums. The tax funds marketing and promotional activities led by the Panama City Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau. It is also used for beach cleaning and grooming, product improvement and beach renourishment.

For more information on Panama City Beach visit www.visitpanamacitybeach.com or the Bay County Clerk website https://tdc.baycoclerk.com/TouristTax/ to learn more about the bed tax.