TDC looks beyond college Spring Break

PANAMA CITY BEACH, FL - Bookings appear to be strong as the Beach prepares for an influx of students for this year's college Spring Break, but because of economic conditions, it still is too early to determine how much disposable income may travel with vacationers, officials said this week.

Dan Rowe, executive director of the Bay County Tourist Development Council, said the county's tourism experts are not putting all their expectant eggs in the traditional Spring Break basket this year.

The TDC expects to aggressively market the Beach as a family Spring Break destination during the first half of April, then move to promote the Seabreeze Jazz Fest later that month.

"We are not just relying on college Spring Break this year," Rowe said. "We are pulling out all the stops" for both the spring and summer marketing campaigns, including the Jazz Fest promotion.

The nationally known Jazz Fest will take place at Pier Park for the first time this year. The event will occur April 16-19 at the park amphitheater. The fest is moving to Pier Park from Walton County, where it was first organized 10 years ago.

Part of the aggressive marketing campaign will be unveiled Tuesday at the full TDC board meeting when details should emerge about efforts to redesign the TDC Web site, www.visitpanamacitybeach.com.

The TDC is putting additional resources into its Internet profile, including making the Web site more interactive with users.

Student Spring Break in Panama City Beach already is being promoted on mtvU, the college outreach Web link on the MTV Web site, at www.pcbeachspringbreak.com.

The TDC hired the Jennifer Barbee firm of JB Inc. to oversee the fresh Internet approach and held a strategic planning session in early January to gather ideas from business leaders.

Beyond the traditional student Spring Break, the April and summer tourist seasons are being touted in Southern Living magazine and Daytime TV, a lifestyle program syndicated on regional television stations, Rowe said.

The advertising is designed to reach families with children, he said, with the summer campaign moving away from last year's Summer White Sale, which emphasized discount coupons.

This year, all the talk as summer nears will be about branding the Beach for its "value and fun."