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BURST FOURTH: ‘Out of state plates' rule oil-free holiday weekend but rest of the month in flux (UDPATED with PHOTOS)
As tar balls seemingly skipped Destin beaches over the weekend, the Fourth of July holiday saw thousands of tourists and locals alike pack the beaches for some fun in the sun.
“It was great. We had an excellent weekend,” said Jeanne Dailey, president of Newman-Dailey Resort Properties. “We were thrilled to have 90 percent occupancy with everything that is going on.”
Dailey said that despite what her guests reported hearing on the national news before traveling, they were pleasantly surprised at the sight of pristine beaches and water.
And from the number of lifeguard rescues, plenty of beachgoers were entering the water, which was churned up in the aftermath of Hurricane Alex.
“Between July 2 and Monday, we have probably rescued close to 100 people,” said Joe D’Agostino, Beach Safety Chief for the Destin Fire Control District. “We have worked our butts off, and are on par to break our record for the most rescues in a summer.”
While beachgoers may have dodged potentially deadly rip tides and few rain showers, the sight of full restaurants, busy beaches, and standstill traffic on Highway 98 was a welcome sight.
“Based on the number of out of state plates I saw over the weekend, we were really busy,” said Destin Chamber of Commerce President Shane Moody.
To see Fourth fun on Destin beaches and the Seaside skies, click here.
To see photos from the city's Independence Day bash at Morgan Sports Center, click here.
View photos of area beaches. »
View photos of South Walton's July 4 parade. »
Although it wasn’t a typical Fourth of July weekend in Destin, Moody said that he was pleased with what he did see and what he has heard from a few other local businesses.
“My daughter works at Silver Sands and she said they were busy all weekend,” Moody said. “I even went to Publix and they were absolutely slammed.”
While official Tourist Development Council estimates were still being tallied, city of Destin Recreation Manager Lance Johnson told The Log that “he couldn’t tell if the city was off or not, but by the looks of it, it wasn’t much different than years past.”
Johnson said that there were hundreds of boats on the harbor for the city’s fireworks Sunday night, and people lined up wall to wall along the docks on Destin harbor.
“It was a great turnout, and it looked like all the restaurants were full of people,” he added.
After a promising weekend, the weather gods will continue to shine on the Emerald Coast, as Okaloosa County Emergency Management Director Randy McDaniel reported “no to very limited oil impacts for the county through Thursday” in his daily update on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Current spill trajectories from NOAA show that Destin is outside of its “line of uncertainty.” According to the NOAA forecast, “moderate to strong winds, predominantly from the southeast, are forecasted, and the coastlines of Alabama, Mississippi and the Florida panhandle west of Pensacola will continue to be threatened by shoreline contacts.”
Moody told The Log that the weekend oil reprieve was much needed, and that the next step is to continue getting the word out and fighting the image that our beaches are covered in oil.
“We have been very, very lucky,” Moody said. “If the weather patterns continue to hold, then we are in really good shape.”
Florida Freedom's Dusty Ricketts has this report.
The July Fourth holiday weekend provided a much needed boost to many local businesses in the tourism industry, but the outlook for the rest of the summer remains clouded by oil.
Going into the long holiday weekend, condominiums, hotels and other rental units in Walton County had reported they were between 60 and 98 percent occupied. But last-minute travelers improved occupancy rates as some of the larger resorts were fully booked and some of the smaller, more independent operators were about 70 percent occupied, said Dawn Moliterno, executive director of the Walton County Tourist Development Council.
“Many visitors are still in the wait-and-see status,” Moliterno said. “They’re still waiting to see what impacts happen and just like Fourth of July, we know those numbers will continue to jump and escalate as they get close to the weekend.
“We’re definitely seeing a smaller booking window than ever before,” Moliterno added. “So we’re having to manage and navigate through that tighter window.”
The last-minute bookings seem to be happening all over the Panhandle.
“I’ve had some comments that it was pretty good last minute,” said Kate Wilkes, executive director of the Santa Rosa County Tourist Development Council. “It’s down, probably significantly, but they were getting some last-minute calls.”
Wilkes said local condominiums and beach rentals have lost a lot of the week-long reservations they used to get and are instead seeing a lot of people who book their trip at the last minute.
Okaloosa County’s Tourist Development Council projected an average occupancy rate of 51.68 percent for the long holiday weekend. That’s down from 63.7 percent last year and 72 percent in 2008.
“July Fourth was a spike for everybody, but not a normal spike,” said Ryan Olin, general manager of the Henderson Park Inn Bed and Breakfast. “After July Fourth, it’s a straight cliff. We will have last-minute bookings until … they stop the leak and get rid of everything. As of right now, it’s hovering on survival mode. Really, it’s just last-minute bookings.”
Olin predicted that most of Destin would be at 35 to 40 percent occupancy for the rest of the summer, which is more like the winter months than a typical summer. He said the Henderson Park Inn was hovering at about 50 to 60 percent occupancy now when they are usually booked solid and have a waiting list.
“The best way people can help is to continue with their vacation plans and keep coming here, because that results in support of our economy and our business community,” Moliterno said. “It trickles down to every service industry and other industries that survive and thrive off of tourism in Northwest Florida.”
Chris Sehman, owner of the Helen Back franchise, said that would help his business. His Fourth of July weekend was down slightly from previous years, but he said the real impact on his locations could be felt in the coming days.
Most of Helen Back’s business comes from locals, not tourists. His concern is the locals who work in the restaurants and bars did not make as much money during the holiday weekend as they normally would and that would keep them from spending money at his locations.
“As far as I’m concerned, summer is over,” Sehman said. “We might have some beautiful weather and I’m hoping it’s great out at Crab Island and we’ll see a little bit of tourism, but then you talk to your friends that own condos and they’re 50 percent reserved versus last year (when they were) 85 to 90 percent.
“The economic slowdown right here in the Panhandle, we’re going to feel it in the next few months. It will help that some people may get some BP money here and there, but that’s not going to keep the same level revenue stream for everybody.”
