Panama City Beach, where is situated on 27 miles of sugar-white sand beaches bordering clear, emerald-green waters where the Gulf of Mexico and St. Andrew Bay converge, recorded an increase in tourism development tax collections during December 2016.
Visit Panama City Beach and the Bay County Tourist Development Council announced that collections were up 11.01 percent for the month of December compared to the previous year, indicating a record number of monthly visitors. The destination is currently up 18.7 percent for the fiscal year which began October 2016.
“It’s exciting to see so many families choose to spend part of their December in Panama City Beach truly making us part of their holiday traditions,” shares Visit Panama City Beach President and CEO Dan Rowe. “We saw record crowds at the New Year’s Eve Annual Beach Ball Drop and the energy of so many celebrating was terrific.”
Visitors are discovering that December is a great time to experience Panama City Beach, as proven by this year’s double-digit growth. Looking ahead to spring, fun events including the Panama City Beach Mardi Gras and Music Festival, UNwineD, Pepsi SpringJam, Emerald Coast Boat & Lifestyle Show, Seabreeze Jazz Festival and Ironman 70.3 offer additional draws for everyone.
The Tourist Development Tax is a five percent bed tax that is collected from a special taxing jurisdiction within Bay County on short-term vacation rentals including hotels and condominiums. It is the most accurate gauge available to estimate destination visitation numbers. The tax funds the marketing and promotional activities performed 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
