Tourists tweaking vacation plans

June marks the beginning of "The Season" on the Emerald Coast, when vacationers from all over the Southeast make their annual pilgrimage to the Gulf of Mexico.

This summer there are challenges the tourism and resort industries don't normally face. A struggling economy is one thing, but gasoline at $4 a gallon is something else again.

"Back about two months it was gangbusters," said Darrel Jones, president and CEO of the Emerald Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau. "It slowed down in April but it picked back up by the end of May ... and we're still looking for a good season as long as we don't have any wind activity (hurricanes)."

Visitors help generate the tourist development tax, or bed tax. April's figures just became available, and worth noting is that Easter fell in March this year.

Bed tax revenues for Okaloosa, Walton and Santa Rosa counties were up in March compared to March 2007. However, revenues were down in all three counties in April compared to April 2007.

But June is June, and the tourist season is here.

On Okaloosa Island, reports from two major hotels seem to indicate some minor changes caused by the economy.

Delana Peterson at Best Western Beachfront reported 90 percent of its 100 rooms were booked Tuesday.

"More people are waiting until the last minute to book, but at least they're booking, slowly but surely," said Peterson.

Best Western's management is working on "new and inventive ideas" to attract visitors, said Peterson, who wouldn't discuss particulars.

Ramada Plaza Beach Resort has 355 rooms, and General Manager Joe Guidry said Tuesday that he was 100 percent booked. He also said the hotel had enjoyed its best May in its 38 years, but declined to give numbers.

"We're seeing that people are still coming," Guidry said. "However, they are abbreviating their stays. Instead of a four-night vacation, it's a three-night vacation. And we're seeing that a lot of groups aren't able to make it."

In South Walton County, Marshall Thompson at Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa said his bookings were "running in the high 90s" for the 600 rooms there.
   
"Stays are averaging four nights, where last year they might have been averaging six nights," Thompson said. "And we still have some availability for weeks later this summer, where previously we would have been booked."
   
ResortQuest has about 3,000 condos, cottages and private houses in its Northwest Florida group. It has added 200 units this year, and bookings are ahead of 2006 and 2007, according to Vickie Warner.
   
"Booked reservations are up 21 percent year to date," Warner said. "We're 350 units ahead in reservations booked during the month of May ... and we still have a good walkin business."