Spring break, PCB's image on TDC's plate

PANAMA CITY BEACH, FL — Spring Break can be a touchy subject with some people. Pluck that particular string and you likely will get arguments about unruly, noisy college kids and large tourism dollars.

City officials, business leaders and the Bay County Tourist Development Council (TDC) hope to hear from the public Wednesday during a community forum about the future of Spring Break and the direction of tourism in Bay County.

The TDC wants to make a decision soon about whether or not it will formally spend money to promote Spring Break 2010, such as it did this year with $150,000 spent with mtvU.

It is also time for the community to have a somber discussion about what type of vacation destination Panama City Beach will become in the future, TDC executive director Dan Rowe said Tuesday.

Too often, such discussions over Spring Break can generate more heat than light, he said.

“The members of the community need a serious discussion about where we go from here,” Rowe said.

The forum will be hosted by the TDC, but a professional facilitator has been hired to conduct the meeting, which will begin at 9 a.m. at Panama City Beach City Hall.

Although Spring Break packs in vacationing college students and their expenditures during March, Panama City Beach’s image as a family vacation spot sometimes takes a battering from the rowdiness and drinking, city officials say.

Panama   City Beach residents may have a different opinion about Spring Break than the larger resorts along the beach that cater to the young people, Mayor Gayle Oberst said.

“You know, we are all in this together,” she said. “I think that it is important for those who live here, or have second homes here, to have their opinions heard. I think that it’s important to have the businessmen hear from the residents.”

Tensions between residents and spring breakers this year prompted City Council members to pass new rules for crowd control during special events.

In addition, the TDC has collected data showing that folks around the country continue to think of the destination as a college party town and “Redneck Riviera,” an image the TDC has been trying to change for at least two years.

It’s a touchy subject, because spring breakers and their lodging dollars help create jobs, Rowe said. Young visitors during the college holiday each year can make or break some businesses.

For instance, lodging expenditures during the last fiscal year totaled $215 million, with $27 million of that coming just during the month of March, Rowe said.

“Spring Break is an important time of the year as far as tourist expenditures,” Rowe said. “Some people’s livelihoods depend on it.”

TDC Chairman Marty McDaniel said the goal of the forum is to give everyone with a stake in the community the opportunity to come forward and give their opinion. The TDC will use the comments to help craft future marketing campaigns for the area.

“We hope to develop a consensus on how to move forward as a destination,” he said.

Another factor governing the TDC’s future marketing plans is the May 2010 opening of the new Panama City-Bay County International Airport at nearby West Bay, just two months following the annual Spring Break invasion.