Survey: PCB seen as destination for 'rednecks'

PANAMA CITY BEACH, FL - The Bay County Tourist Development Council received an overview of recent focus group studies and a winter 2009 visitors' profile that may prove to be a mixed bag of challenges for marketing the Beach.

Peter Yesawich, chairman of YPartnership, told TDC members he recently conducted four focus groups, two each in Nashville, Tenn., and Atlanta, which showed Panama City Beach lagging behind Destin, South Walton and even Gulf Shores, Ala., in favorability.

The overall perceived weaknesses of Panama City Beach included words such as "rundown, dirty, crowded and too much traffic." For the Atlanta focus groups, especially, Panama City Beach was seen as a destination for "rednecks," Yesawich said.

The perception is part of an overall debate the city itself is having over the importance of Spring Break, said Dan Rowe, TDC executive director, who noted that the Beach was being marketed more and more as a family destination, but that perception may not have taken root regionally.

"We face difficulties in Panama City Beach, no doubt," Rowe said Wednesday. "We are currently having this internal debate in the community."

The focus groups consisted of previous Beach visitors and potential visitors who were aware of Panama City Beach as a vacation destination, Yesawich said. They were screened by age, primarily 35 to 54, with incomes of over $75,000 and those interested in Beach vacations.

In contrast, visitors to Panama City Beach in winter 2009 described the Beach with such phrases as "the people are very friendly and make you feel welcome," and "the prices were much better in Panama City Beach (than Fort Walton or Destin.)"

Rowe said visitor attitudes increased across the board in winter 2009, including satisfaction, plans to return and whether they would recommend the Beach to friends.

A particular relevant statistic from the visitors' survey, considering that the TDC has been marketing the Beach as a family destination, was that family visitors increased from 9.7 percent in winter 2008 to 22.4 for winter 2009, while single visitors decreased from 16.5 of the overall winter total to 11.8 percent.

"In tough times, people try to focus on their families," Rowe said.

Rowe, who was giving a PowerPoint presentation prepared by Walter Klages, of Research Data Services Inc., said couples vacationing in Panama City Beach increased from 54.5 percent to 57.4 for the winter 2009 over winter 2008, with winter being described as December through February.

Overall, winter visitors increased by 12.4 percent in 2009 over 2008, with expenditures increasing by almost 10 percent, Rowe said. In addition, visitors traveling to the Beach by car increased by 6.7 percent, while vacationers traveling by plane decreased by about 7 percent.

According to the visitors' survey, the top activities in the city remained the stretch of beautiful beaches, followed closely by shopping and dining, Rowe said.