Tourism is the lifeblood of Walton County. It’s the No. 1 economic driver in this community, impacting everything from restaurants to retailers. But how are tourism dollars spent, and how does advertising our destination benefit the people who live here?
To evaluate its impact, let’s start with jobs.
Whether directly or indirectly, tourism supports more than 40,000 jobs in Walton County. From our restaurant servers and bartenders, line cooks and chefs, to our housekeepers, beach vendors and property managers, tourism is a driving factor in most industries.
Local restaurant owners and retailers will tell you the tourism market helps sustain their business — and provide for their families. In fact, visitors account for about 76% of all retail spending in Walton County. Without this year-round visitation and support, our businesses would struggle.
We are home to world-class cultural offerings and natural wonders, so it’s no wonder visitors flock here. Endless adventures beckon among our bays, rivers and numerous dive reefs, plus some of the best fishing you can find along the Gulf Coast!
From our award-winning songwriters’ festival to North America’s first underwater art museum, some of these experiences can only happen here. That’s why Walton County is special.
But how exactly are those tourism dollars spent? Let’s first look at how they are generated.
The Tourist Development Tax — or bed tax as it’s commonly known — is collected on short-term rental stays of six months or less in an accommodation. This can be campgrounds, RV parks, Airbnbs, VRBOs, hotels or condos, or single-family homes.
TDT collected south of the Choctawhatchee Bay is 5%. North of the Bay, TDT collected is 3%. Walton County is currently home to more than 20,000 rental units. As a reminder, Walton County residents do not pay the bed tax unless they are taking a “staycation” in a local accommodation.
It’s also important to remember that tourism funds are limited in their uses and expenditures. Florida Statute 125.0104 dictates how these funds can be applied and mandates that each county collecting a bed tax must have a Tourist Development Council – a nine-member board of bed tax collectors and industry professionals – to monitor and make recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners as it relates to appropriate uses of TDT funds.
While they work together, the TDC and the Tourism Department — the actual marketing/promotional arm of the county — are two separate entities. The tourism department is funded exclusively through TDT funds, not the county’s general revenues.
TDT funds are spent in a variety of ways, as the tourism department itself is composed of two different “houses.” Tourism administration encompasses the marketing, communications, sales and visitor center; tourism beach operations encompasses beach maintenance and all its various functions.
Think of beach operations as a mini public works department, given its mission of maintaining and preserving the aesthetic of the destination. Beach operations spends millions of dollars annually for all maintenance of boardwalks, beach access points and bathhouses, as well as the entire 19-mile multi-use path and other county buildings and parks. This doesn’t include funding of capital improvement projects. They also collect more than 1,000 tons of trash annually from our beaches.
On the administration side, the investment is equally as important.
As a beach destination, water-based recreation is a given. With residents and visitors spending their time floating, swimming and paddling in the Gulf of Mexico, it’s important they stay safe.
To this end, the tourism department funds South Walton Fire District’s Beach Safety Lifeguard program, which totaled more than $3 million in 2024. More than $300,000 was also spent on beach safety-related items and programs to educate residents and visitors about beach conditions.
The tourism department also dedicates funding to the Walton County Sheriff’s Beach Patrol and the county’s beach code compliance department.
Entertainment is a big part of our culture as well, whether arts events or live music. Tourism supports these activities through a reimbursable grant program, which in FY23 supported 56 county-wide events with a total of $655,000. These experiences are enjoyed by residents and visitors alike.
One of the biggest uses of tourism funds has been the acquisition of land for beach access and parking expansion. Since 2016, the tourism department has spent more than $76 million. This includes projects like the recently opened Scenic Gulf Drive Regional Beach Access, the Grayton Beach parking lot, parking areas in Miramar Beach and along CR 393, and the soon-to-break-ground Seagrove Beach Regional Beach Access.
Let’s look at the economic benefit of tourism to Walton County in a different way. In 2023, visitors generated a net tax benefit of $65,557,394 to Walton County government. This is the net impact of local government for visitors minus the cost of servicing visitors. Our visitors also generated a total economic impact exceeding $6,852,923,700 in 2023.
So, why does all of this matter?
If the county had to fund all the programs and services currently paid for by TDT dollars, it would have to increase the millage rate by 1.5 mils, which would equate to an approximately 40% increase for Walton County taxpayers.
It’s safe to say tourism works for Walton County — not only economically, but also in the quality of life for our residents and the vitality of our community.