Franklin County Tourist Development Council Tourist Talks

Tourist Talks The Franklin County Tourist Development Council is into its second month for the new 2016-17 Fiscal Year.  With the holidays upon us, days are quieter; its our time to close out the past year and prepare for the new one. Recently, the FCTDC has been working on updating the website, finalizing grants and initializing marketing efforts. Final numbers are coming in for 2015-16.  The 2% tourist tax revenue collected in August was $82,664.07, with the total year-to-date up 7%. With one month left for the 2015-16 FY, and if trends continue, the FCTDC should see a slight increase again that typically mirrors the State of Florida's tourism numbers. Our four welcome centers; Apalachicola Chamber, St. George Island, EPVC and Carrabelle Chamber each reported their guest counts for October for a total of 2,442 visitors.  Since January 2016, over 23,000 guest have inquired about our county at these locations. Visitor centers each receive a sustaining grant of $40,000 per year from the FCTDC to help keep doors open six days a week. General advertising efforts of the FCTDC have started with coverage in the Atlanta area and in special interest publications such as USA Today Travel magazine, Modern Luxury and the Atlantan and banner ads on Tallahassee's COCA website. Readers are encouraged to visit our website and enter to win a weekend getaway sweepstakes. Captured emails are then used for all future promotions. Efforts are showing positive results with our database currently at 40,000 visitors and our website, Saltyflorida.com receiving almost 19,000 visits last month of which 76% were new visitors. Events and places to stay are still the most popular viewed pages. For 2016-17, the FCTDC has approved twenty-six non-profit organizations for a $2000 Event Promotions Grant.  The program supports each organization for the out of area marketing of their event(s).  There isn't a match requirement and advertising is reimbursed with the submittal of receipts and proof of payment. Additionally, the FCTDC provided two $10,000 grants; one to the county's largest event, the Florida Seafood Festival and one for the City of Carrabelle's Fly-In event at the Carrabelle Municipal Airport. This new event will coincide with the Camp Gordon Johnston Days scheduled for March 2017. Some of the events supported include the upcoming, Holiday on the Harbor and Boat Parade, the Oyster Cook Off and the MLK Celebration. A list of all approved 2016-17 organizations is on the FCTDC website at saltyflorida.com, under "Grants" at the bottom of the home page. You can also find the 2016-17 Schedule of Meetings under the "Admin" section. The admin page hosts minutes, agendas and the 2016-17 budget approved by the FCBOCC. The FCTDC strives to exceed goals each year in part by supporting our local events and visitor information centers and of course targeted marketing efforts, all together ensuring the best experiences for our guests. Reports are positive and times are good. Happy Holidays!

Franklin County Tourist Development Council 731 US Hwy 98 Eastpoint, Florida 32328 850-670-3474  www.saltyflorida.com

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