MILTON — Gov. Rick Scott recently announced that Florida set a record in tourism by welcoming 57.4 million visitors to the state in the past six months — the highest amount of any six-month period in the state's history.
Santa Rosa County tourism officials have seen a boost in local numbers as well, with an increase of $187,092 in collected revenue for fiscal year 2015-2016 compared to the same months of the previous fiscal year.
"The continued growth of our tourism economy is great news for the local small businesses that depend on our tourism, and they tell us it's been a record season," said District 4 Commissioner Rob Williamson. "Sometimes I don't slow down and celebrate our successes because I'm too focused on moving on to solving the next issue. This is great news and will help us keep the momentum going."
Over the summer, Santa Rosa County saw the opening of the Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center, and plans are approved for a new hotel on Navarre Beach in 2017.
Coldwater Gardens recently brought glamping — glamorous camping — to the county, joining the Ates Ranch Campground as an additional outdoor accommodation in the north end, and conceptual plans in the works for a Milton marina/RV park.
Not just new facilities attract visitors to Santa Rosa County.
"We knew a year ago, when the BP funds were coming to a close, that the steep increase in visitors we'd seen over the last few years would start to level off some. So we revised our marketing strategy and are adjusting our advertising budget to be in line with our visitor population — and it's working," Tourism Director Julie Morgan said.
"Many of our visitors share their vacation memories with friends and family on Facebook and Instagram, so we're capitalizing on this user-generated content with a new social media influencer campaign," Morgan said.
"We also generated a nice increase in first-time family vacationers by promoting Santa Rosa County as a great home-school spring break destination. We are especially excited about this year's Beaches to Woodlands Tour which draws thousands of visitors to our area for a series of fall weekend events running September through November.
“As these visitors fall in love with our natural resources, their vacations to Santa Rosa County become a family tradition."
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Santa Rosa reports increase in tourism revenue