Labor Day Weekend: Last of the Summer Wine?

Recession considered, Panama City Beach has seen quite a summer. While the rest of the country has spent the summer struggling to turn water into wine, Panama City Beach, again, was blessed to drink from the ever-replinishing bottle that southern summers seem to always produce. Labor Day Weekend represents the end of summer for most businesses and the last hoorah before the season begins its decline. Just the same, tourists are gearing up to head to the beach for one last summer outing. The TDC and CVB are working hard to encourage Labor Day vacationers, more now than ever, to return to Panama City Beach for the fall. The question remains: is this really the end of the season?

For the most part, Panama City Beach businesses have remained in the black ink. In fact, year to date bed tax numbers from January through June 2008 are currently up 1.6 percent, or $4,158,268 to $4,091,591.

The TDC efforts have enjoyed considerable success, but it isn’t yet clear if that success will translate to the fall/winter season. This time last year, Panama City Beach was not as focused and organized as it is today; nor was it thinking as opportunistically as it is by way of the new airport’s buzz. Nonetheless, Panama City Beach is on the cusp. In fact, Panama City Beach, to date, has never had access to the type of database it has currently, never had targeted running advertisements in place, and has never been more ready to turn the fall season up a notch moving ever closer to the “mythical” year-round destination. Panama City Beach has a critical opportunity to turn a new leaf and it starts this weekend.

With several fall events lined up ranging from Thunder Beach, Taste of the Beach and the signature Seafood Wine and Music Festival, as well as an “Endless Summer” theme ripe for businesses to possess, everything is in place.

My opinion on the matter is that business, yes you businesses and business owners who’ve done well in the recession season, don’t fall victim to the past. Don’t stop advertising, don’t stop communicating with your clientele–don’t allow the summer wine to stop flowing. It isn’t up to the TDC or the CVB or anyone else. The plan is in place, the opportunity is available and people, believe or not, are traveling to places like Panama City Beach. Keep the wine flowing by staying up to date on the events and using them as a spring board to draw business your way. Think of it as a dress rehearsal for next fall when the airport is in place and Labor Day doesn’t have the stigma it has now. I can assure you, if you do what you do every season and withdraw your staff, stop advertising and close your doors you’ll be missing out on an opportunity you’ll be complaining about next year.

You’ve had a great summer. You can have a great fall/winter too.

It’s up to you.

5 things to Expect (& Not Expect) at the Spring Break Community Forum

As you may know, on August 19th the TDC and CVB will have a community forum to discuss Panama City Beach Spring Break and whether or not marketing funds should be allocated to bolster the annual raucous event. Now, no doubt some of you are rolling your eyes, others are chomping at the bit to bequeath their 2 cents, but after reading many of the comments left after my recent post, I thought it might be a good idea to preface the forum with some possible expectations. The Spring Break topic is the single most polarizing concern on the minds of residents and business owners and often conversations on the topic kindle contentious emotions. To date, all conversations have ended in dialectal stalemates. And it should be noted, the purpose of the forum isn’t to promote or to undermine any particular argument, but is an attempt to find a middle ground in all this. So, what should we expect?

Civility (Hopefully):

Spring break makes people act crazy…and that’s not just the kiddies coming down for college. Residents get crazy just talking about how breakers destroy everything in their wake. The emotions are so deep-seeded on that topic, that simple conversations can become very, very contentious. It is important that the topic be seen from both sides. Yes, business owners make lots of money and yes, residents are uncomfortable in their own homes. Both perspectives are valid. But losing your cool in a public forum won’t solve any problems. So keep it cool and civil.

Long-Winded Comments:

No time limits or rules of order will keep people from squeezing every last drop out of their point. But those of you who plan to unleash their carefully written dissertation on why spring break is demonic or why we need spring break economically, trust me, mostly it’s been heard before. The focus of the forum should not be on your spring break experience, good or bad, but on trying to inch our way towards the middle of the road.

Passionate Arguments:

I am a huge proponent of individuals being passionate about something. And, to some degree, public forums are supposed to encourage how people truly feel about a topic. These ideals, on which you passionately stand, will on some occasions become full-blown arguments. This is to be expected. It is important, however, that we try to be respectful. If someone breaks down into tears while speaking their view, see it for what it’s worth. I’ve personally witnessed this happen and several audience members rolled their eyes in disdain. This is a topic people do feel very passionate about and as inclusive members in the “community” forum, we should be respectful.

Don’t Expect Answers:

This forum is not meant to stamp out any and all inquiries with answers. In fact, it is the opposite of a Q and A. This forum is for local businessmen and women, residents and even some vacationers to voice their opinion to our governing body. It is a place to speak and to listen. Don’t expect to leave knowing one way or another how everything will turn out because in the end there will not be a spring break final solution. It is more likely you’ll leave with more questions than answers.

Don’t Expect The End of Spring Break:

No matter if every single person in the forum is against spring break, the truth of the matter is, spring break won’t end tomorrow. In fact, spring break won’t ever “end” because as long as Panama City Beach exists the breakers will come. No matter how you dress it up, no matter how you tone it down, we all must understand that putting money into spring break or putting money into a campaign to eradicate it won’t change it much either way. Consider spring break the vacation roach, if you will. It will keep coming back, be it with college kids, families or something different entirely, we just have to figure out a way to live with it the best way we can.

The community forum will be held Wednesday August 19th at City Hall.

Does Spring Break Make PCB a Less Attractive Destination?

The answer to the title question is a categorical YES, demonstrated in almost “Duh!” fashion by a Y Partnership study. The study, presented at Tuesday’s TDC meeting by Y Partnership representative Peter Yesawich, showed that 3 times as many respondents, in a study that included 1,025 adults, believed Spring Break makes Panama City Beach a less attractive destination. While this conclusion, and other conclusions in the study, did not come as a surprise to me or those in the meeting attendance, what became apparent was that the debates were more than just Spring Break banter, but a commentary on Panama City Beach’s identity.

Dan Rowe during the meeting made a poignant statement, “We’re at a critical juncture approaching Spring Break 2010. Exactly 60 days from the opening of the new airport.” The question no doubt on everyone’s mind was how we present ourselves to this new markets. Do we condemn our relationship with College Spring Break and bid for a new clientele or do we hit the new markets hard with Spring Break advertising to maximize the season? Obviously, the question does not inspire a simple answer, but at the core of it we have to really ask ourselves who we are and what is the identity we are trying to assume? Are we the party town of old, are we Destin 2.0 or are we something different entirely?

In some way, and maybe I’m the only one, I’ve always likened Destin and Panama City Beach to siblings; Destin being the older, more civilized sister and Panama City Beach the crazy, fun-loving little brother. For years, this analogy fit quite well. But with recent developments Panama City Beach has changed; it grew up, as little brothers must eventually do, and is turning out to be quite a winner.

The reality is although Panama City Beach has indeed “grown up” enough to even make its older sister jealous, PCB differs from every other destination because at its heart it’s still the fun-loving life of the party. This is a sentiment even acknowledged by Andy Phillips, who said “We have a party reputation, folks, that’s just who we are. People come here because we are fun. They can come here and put lawn chairs in the back of Cadillac Escalades and cruise the strip.”

Any conversation about Spring Break, concurrently, is a conversation about Panama City Beach’s identity. To ask, “do we market to the College Students or the Family Spring Breakers during Spring Season” is merely the small scope of a much broader issue: who and what are we?

Take Orlando for example. They are an amusement destination and have completely embraced it: even guest service agents are trained to smile big, laugh and be able to tell you at least one Mickey Mouse story. Now, if Orlando suddenly wanted to become a stodgier business-traveler destination, they’d be in trouble. Which may be the very reason why destinations like Panama City Beach have such a hard time shaking the party-town stigma. Maybe, on some level, that’s just what they are.

All that being said, the solution to Panama City Beach’s Spring Break/Identity conundrum does not have an easy answer. Panama City Beach, frankly, is somewhere in between party and civility; like a frat boy, turned charming businessman. At some point a balance can be found and I believe Mr. Marty McDaniel, TDC chairman, hit on the key idea. “We are going to have to learn to evolve.”

Evolution is the key word. How do we evolve and what are we evolving into? The evolution of Panama City Beach may not yet be visible, but by defining and accepting our current identity, I think, we have the opportunity to gingerly guide it in the direction we want.

The truth is, after all the talk, what will probably happen is no more funds will be allocated to Spring Break and instead moved into beach conservation efforts and perhaps a little into Family Spring Break marketing. And, frankly, that’s where the money should go. We need to keep our best asset as clean as possible and Family Spring Break may be the next big thing. Spring Breakers of the college type will always come to Panama City Beach whether you market to them or not. You may hate them or love them, but at least at the moment, they seem to know us a little better than we know ourselves.

The mixture of Family and College Spring Break will work. I’ve seen it and you’ve seen it. Every year in February and early March there is a mixture of Spring Breakers and Snowbirds. The Snowbirds take just enough rooms to keep the beach from being overrun by students, which in turn lessens the amount of incidents and overall beach filth. Somehow, both groups are able to seamlessly coexist. The college breakers are at the clubs with no worries, the Snowbirds are entertained by the crazy antics and perhaps even a little nostalgia and everyone’s happy; a little bit of responsibility and a little bit of fun. I suppose that is the inevitable destination of our evolution, question is how to get there unscathed.

On Aug. 19 the TDC will gather again to hold a community forum for PCB residents to express their opinion on the matter before any final decisions are made.

Get Out and Run For The Redfish

On December 5, 2009 runners from across the Southeast will participate in the inaugural Run for the Redfish, a combined half marathon, 5k run and kids fun run will be held at Pier Park. A portion of the proceeds for event will benefit the Coast Conservation Association (CCA).

The run will begin at the Front Beach Road entrance to Pier Park and continue down Front Beach Road, looping back to end at Margaritaville. Margaritville will host the post race celebration and awards ceremony. Shotgun start to the race will be at 8am for the half marathon and 8:30am for the 5k. All runners of the half marathon and 5k will receive a Run for the Redfish long sleeve T-shirt as part of their participation.

Race committee member Joe Edgecombe said, “As an avid runner in Bay County, I’m excited to help bring a running event of this caliber to our area. The Run for the Redfish has all the bells and whistles; a certified course, professional timing, a professional race day photographer to capture the moment, and a venue that is above all the rest. Panama City Beach, the Tourism Development Council, The Resort Collection, Pier Park, Margaritaville and a team of dedicated individuals have made this a destination event! The best location and the most “bang for the bucks’ road race in the entire region!”

The Run for the Redfish is not only a new and exciting event for Panama City Beach, but will bring awareness to the Coastal Conservation Association who works to protect our unique waterways and coastlines which are the habitat of the Redfish.

Race sponsors include Redfish Riviera Outfitters, Pier Park, The Resort Collection of Panama City Beach, seepcb.com, the Bay County Tourist Development Council, Beach TV, and Maragritaville. Sponsorship opportunities are still available.

For more information on the run or registration visit www.runfortheredfish.com. Runners can register for the race online or at local retailers; there will be no registration the day of the event. Registration forms and payment can be mailed to PO Box 9927 Panama City Beach, Fl 32417.

Could This Be Love? TDC: Fall Marketing Preview

During Tuesday’s TDC Marketing Committee meeting concerning Fall/Winter marketing efforts, one of the most memorable, albeit most chuckle-inducing, comments came from Jack Bishop, who said, “selling Panama City Beach in the Fall is like selling swimsuits to Eskimos.” Well, while that statement has been true in the past, if the marketing committee and Y-partnership have their way, Eskimos everywhere might want to start shopping for sandals.

The phrase that stole the short meeting was a simple and catchy, “”Fall in Love Again with Panama City Beach,” a phrase unveiled by Peter Yesawich of Y Partnership which could provide a solid character for Panama City Beach’s spotty Fall Season. The romantic phrase may seem a bit transparent initially, but the idea behind it, as explained by Yesawich, is to target adult couples aged 45-64 who, once the kids have gone back to school, are looking for a reason to vacation. Based on Y Partnership’s research, 58% of leisure travelers took a trip with their spouses (no children) and did so most frequently during fall. He believes it’s possible to encourage that market by showcasing the many things to “love” about getting away to Panama City Beach.

This phrase’s lure hides within its applicability: create lots of small, festive events and tie in private sector business into one theme; i.e “Fall In Love with Shopping at Pier Park or Fall In Love with the Seafood Wine and Music Festival,” and all of a sudden you have mettle, a framework for which ideas can be attached. Yesawich’s plan is to apply the love theme as a seasonal draw similar to South Walton’s Autumn Tides promotion where a season’s worth of events are empowered by uniting them all under the same theme. Judging by South Walton’s success, it’s pretty a good idea.

The idea instantly became popular among the marketing committee and the meeting attendees. Even Mr. Buddy Wilkes found the love theme intriguing saying, “ ‘Fall in Love again’ may be the way to invite people to come see the new [Panama City] Beach and fall in love with it all over again. It’s easily applicable to other events.” Easy application to events, package deals and the hugely under-appreciated wedding market is what gives the theme life; the question remains as to what will make it work? The answer may not be as easily accepted.

Mr. Yesawich’s theme is merely a spring board idea. For the idea to take off, businesses locally have to buy into it collectively. Within the theme, condos, hotels and attractions are encouraged to promote couples and feature promotional rates and incentives to potential tourists. If everyone gets on that spring board and actually get out and promote it, the theme has a real chance of lifting off. This idea isn’t necessarily something that will boost fall business over one season, but could, over time, create a bit of a buzz for future seasons. If you can imagine a season filled with street festivals, outdoor concerts, wine tastings, music and art shows coupled with the seasonally low rates tied in to packages for couples, it all seems, from the onset, like a can’t-miss deal. But, its a long way from done.

The marketing committee plans to reconvene in 2 weeks to talk media, costs and coordination of what could be a truly successful attempt at generating fall business.

As Dan Rowe put it, “We must provide [potential tourists] a compelling invitation.” Is there a better invitation than good ol’ fashioned romance? You be the judge.

TDC Meeting Agenda – Marketing: Summer Updates, Fall Preview

Tuesday’s combined Panama City Beach Tourist Development Council/Convention and Visitors Bureau (TDC/CVB) should shed some light on upcoming marketing programs. Expect to hear an insightful update on 2009 summer marketing programs. This topic has been discussed in previous meeting s but as summer is nearly upon us, expect tangible updates on the program’s implementation process.

For the first time this year we’ll also get early discussions on the Fall/Winter marketing programs. You’ll want to bring a pen and pad for this one. Also there will be a discussion on the 2010 vacation planner.

The three board action items include consideration for approval financial statements, consideration for approval the disposition of the loan to Flying High, LLC, and consideration for approval Coastal Planning & Engineering .

You can download the agenda here, or view it below.

AGENDA

COMBINED BOARD MEETING

Bay County Tourist Development Council

Panama City Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc.

Panama City Beach

Tuesday – 2:00PM – May 12, 2009 Council Room, PCB City Hall

CALL MEETING TO ORDER

II. ROLL CALL

A.Invocation

B. Pledge of Allegiance

III. REQUESTS TO ADDRESS THE BOARD ON AGENDA ITEMS (3 Minutes)

IV. UPDATE ON BED TAX COLLECTIONS, Ms. Charlene Honnen, Tourist Development Tax Specialist

V. BOARD ACTION ITEMS

A. Discuss and Consider for Approval CVB/TDC Financial Statements Dated March 31, 2009, Mr. Dan Rowe, President

B. Discuss and Consider for Approval the Disposition of the Loan to Flying High, LLC, Mr. Dan Rowe, President

C. Discuss and Consider for Approval Coastal Planning & Engineering Invoice #90428, Invoice #90432, and Invoice #90435, Mr. Dan Rowe, President

VI. BOARD DISCUSSION ITEMS

A. Mid-Year Update, Mr. Dan Rowe, President

B. Update on 2009 Summer Marketing Campaign, Ms. Susan Estler, VP of Marketing

C. Discuss Fall/Winter Marketing Programs, Mr. Dan Rowe, President

D. Discuss 2010 Vacation Planner, Mr. Dan Rowe, President

VII. PRESIDENT’S REPORT

VIII. CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

IX. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

X. ADJOURNMENT

New PCB Website and Summer Marketing Campaign

On the agenda for the next regularly scheduled TDC meeting will be a presentation of the launch of the VisitPanamaCityBeach.com campaign, the summer marketing plan, “Focus Group Learnings”, and a report of the visitor’s surveys from the first quarter from the Klages Group.

You can download the agenda here, or read it below.

AGENDA

COMBINED BOARD MEETING
Bay County Tourist Development Council
Panama City Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc.
Panama City Beach
Tuesday, April 14, 2009 9:00 a.m. Council Room, PCB City Hall

I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER

II. ROLL CALL

A.    Invocation
B.    Pledge of Allegiance
C.    Approve Minutes From the March 10, 2009, and March 26, 2009 Meetings

III. REQUESTS TO ADDRESS THE BOARD ON AGENDA ITEMS (3 Minutes)

IV. UPDATE ON BED TAX COLLECTIONS, Ms. Charlene Honnen, Tourist Development Tax Specialist

V. BOARD ACTION ITEMS

A.    Discuss and Consider for Approval CVB/TDC Financial Statements Dated February 28, 2009, Mr. Dan Rowe, President
B.    Discuss and Consider for Approval FDEP Grant 05BA2, Amendment #3, Mrs. Lisa Armbruster, Sustainable Beaches, LLC
C.    Discuss and Consider for Approval FDEP Grant 07BA2, Amendment #1, Mrs. Lisa Armbruster, Sustainable Beaches, LLC
D.    Discuss and Consider for Approval FDEP Grant H6BA1, Amendment #4, Mrs. Lisa Armbruster, Sustainable Beaches, LLC
E.    Discuss and Consider for Approval Coastal Planning & Engineering 3-Year Monitoring Survey Scope of Work and Fee Proposal, Mrs. Lisa Armbruster, Sustainable Beaches, LLC
F.    Discuss and Consider for Approval Coastal Planning & Engineering Invoice #90326 and Invoice #90338, Mrs. Lisa Armbruster, Sustainable Beaches, LLC

VI. PRESENTATIONS

A.    Launch Campaign for VisitPanamaCityBeach.com, Ms. Susan Estler, VP of Marketing
B.    2009 Summer Media Campaign Plan, Mr. Peter Yesawich, YPartnership
C.    Review of Focus Group Learnings, Mr. Peter Yesawich, YPartnership
D.    Review of Visitor Survey Results for First Quarter of 2009, Dr. Walter Klages, The Klages Group

VII. BOARD DISCUSSION ITEMS

A. Review of 2009 mtvU Program, Mr. Dan Rowe, President

VIII. PRESIDENT’S REPORT

IX. CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

X. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

XI. ADJOURNMENT

5 Questions for Bed Tax Collectors

Not for BTCs to answer, but to ask the CVB.

1. We are in the second year of conducting professional marketing research through the Klages Group. Where can we easily access that information? Have the staff put together any kind of comprehensive results from this research? We need to know this so we can better spend our own advertising dollars.

2. What is the cost to date for this research from the Klages Group?

3. In the spring of 2009, Jennifer Barbee implemented proper Search Marketing into the CVB site, data started being gathered that can help us today with our own online marketing. Assuming that we’re all equally benefiting from the TDC tax dollars, we should have real-time access to web stats. We should be able to access the CVB’s Google Analytics reports so we can compare them to our own reports, and likewise for Google Adwords and any other search engine marketing reports attached to the CVB’s efforts.

How do we get access to these common Google reports, as well as your more advanced measurement reports?

4. The extra tax passed. It has been confirmed at the recent TDC meeting that the new money would be going to the ad campaigns. Where can we access the full marketing, advertising and budgeting plans for this year?

5. Spring Break 2009 campaign included several new marketing tactics, including implementation of social network sites Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and text messages via a “PCB Insider” campaign. Facebook shows a respectable 5900 “friends” of PCB/CVB. How many people signed up for “PCB Insiders”? What was the overall result of our first “texting” campaign? What could you share with us about the results of the efforts in social network marketing? And what was the cost per lead for the efforts in this initial campaign?

New VisitPanamaCityBeach Web Site Adapts to Each User

The new VisitPanamaCityBeach.com web site is almost ready for launch and is looking awesome, might I add. The user experience will be different for everyone based on Personality Quizzes, and the overall look and feel exudes Real.Fun.Beach.

When the user first arrives at the site, they are greeted by a fun but laid back setting with warm colors that make you long for some quality beach time with the family. Hints of “free vacation giveaways” and “what’s your ‘fun’ sign” are scattered throughout with a front-end goal of making the user experience unique, varied and well, fun. The back-end functionality is all about collecting user information. By answering short simple questions, we’ll be able to get a better idea as to who the people are that not only visit the site, but visit Panama City Beach.

Some of the questions could include:

My favorite beach sensation is:

The gulf breeze blowing through my hair
The warmth of the sun on my skin
The smell of the salt in the air
The feel of the sand in my toes
The invigoration of the water

My favorite beach souvenir would be:

A shell
A beach hat
A piece of jewelry
A tie-dye t-shirt
A beach umbrella

Based on the answers to these and a few more questions the web site will categorize you in one of five Fun Signs:

Soul Searcher – relaxed and laid back
Sandy Bottom Bunch – Family oriented
After Dark Shark – Nightlife party person
Wave Warrior – Outdoorsey and active
Eco-Seeker – Environmentally friendly

Based on what you’ve been categorized as, the web site will totally change – different background images, different accent colors, different text – the whole look and feel resembles what your Fun Sign is.

Also included in the site is a Trip Planner. Based on your Fun Sign, recomendations will be made for activities to do on Panama City Beach, all plotted out in a neat map.

The site should be live by April 1 – I’ll have a more detailed review of it at that point.

Click here to see the demo.

TDC Issues Trash Letter to Industry, City Backs It

As part of the initiative to formalize the actions taken by the TDC during this month’s regularly scheduled board meeting, Dan Rowe, President of the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau and Marty McDaniel, Chairman of the TDC signed a letter sent out to local tourism industry partner businesses. The letter explains the increase in trash receptacles and asks for support in keeping our beaches clean.

The letter in full:

Dear Tourism Industry Partner:

Expressing its ongoing commitment to the future of Panama City Beach, the Bay County Tourist Development Council (TDC) adopted a Strategic Plan. That Plan focuses on developing Panama City Beach into a year-round destination, promoting our world-class beaches and enhancing each visitor’s experience. For each of these initiatives outlined in the Plan, we MUST continue to protect and preserve Panama City Beach’s primary natural resource and attraction – the beautiful waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the sugar-white sands of our shorelines.

To further our ability to beautify, protect and market our beach, last week the TDC Board of Directors took action by earmarking an additional $250,000 to enhance our annual “Keep the Beaches Clean” Campaign. These additional funds will support immediate tactics that address the overwhelming increase of visitors and traffic our beaches experience during the spring and summer months, as well as long term strategies that focus on public awareness and year-round maintenance and upkeep.

Effective immediately, the TDC increased the number of trash receptacles on the beach from 578 to 778 barrels. During Spring Break, an additional 200 barrels were deployed in heavily trafficked areas of the beach. The TDC also authorized our beach maintenance contractor to increase the number of times the beach is raked throughout the year, including the daily raking of impacted areas during Spring Break and immediately following peak holidays. Additionally, the TDC is investigating, and is considering different alternatives for providing biodegradable trash bags at public beach points as part of this campaign.

As important as the TDC’s efforts are, the businesses located on the beachfront share in the responsibility of picking up trash behind their respective places of business. Last week the City Council of the City of Panama City Beach asked us to include with this letter the portion of the current litter prevention ordinance which requires owners along the corridors most travelled by tourists to keep their property free of litter (Chapter 12, Garbage and Trash, Section 12-7). The City has asked us to remind everyone in the City that this Section carries a baseline civil penalty of $250 per day. If you have specific questions about this ordinance, please contact Panama City Beach Code Enforcement.

We strongly encourage each of you to join the TDC in improving, protecting and maintaining the beaches by picking up the trash behind your property. With your support and partnership, we can protect and preserve the unparalleled beauty of Panama City Beach for locals and visitors to enjoy each day of the year.

To read the ordinances, download the full letter with the ordinances included here.

I think this is a good move. Not specifically talking about the $250 mentioned above, but I don’t think the penalty is severe enough for litterers. Growing up in Texas, there were state-wide advertising campaigns encouraging people to put “trash in its place.” “Don’t Mess With Texas,” I think they even commissioned Willie Nelson to write a song and make a music video. In Plano, there were fines of $500 doled out when you threw trash out of your window. It was considered a serious offense, and growing up in that type of environment has distilled in me that littering is wrong. To this day, I don’t even throw as much as a bubble gum wrapper out of my window.

Spring Break is nasty, but this goes way beyond Spring Break. This comes down to keeping our whole area clean, ALL THE TIME. I think this is a step in the right direction with regards to our tourist activities, but the City needs to step up and increase the litter fines and beef up the enforcement. This is a win-win scenario (except for those inconsiderate enough to litter) – the City creates a way to increase revenue, and the community as a whole benefits from a cleaner Panama City Beach. I’m not usually for expanding government in any way, but some times some things are just necesary.