The frugal tourist

Dewey Destin, owner of Dewey Destin Seafood and a lifelong Destin resident, said the numerous high-end restaurants that have opened up in recent years are having the hardest time.

At his restaurant, the number of diners has increased but they are not spending as much as in previous years.

Destin said he's confident the local and state economy will improve.

"There was a pretty serious slowdown in '84 and '85, then things got better," he said. "Florida has always come back. It's just a question of how soon."

For other sectors of the local tourism industry, particularly hotels, a slower national economy actually is a good thing.

"It appears that the gas prices haven't really slowed down tourism in Northwest Florida, and I think part of the reason is that people are going to take their vacations," said Sonny Mares, executive director of the Tourist Development Council of Walton County. "We are a very close beach for our primary markets in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. If people have changed their plans, maybe they haven't gone as far into Florida as they would have."

The latest tourism data also shows that bed tax revenue is up in Okaloosa, Walton and Santa Rosa counties, said Rick Harper, director of the Haas Center for Business Research and Economic Development at the University of West Florida.

Bed tax revenue in May 2008 compared to May 2007, was up 21 percent in Walton County, 6 percent in Okaloosa County, and 0.5 percent in Santa Rosa County. 

Harper says the increase in Okaloosa County may partly be because of an increase in the bed tax from 4 percent to 5 percent on short-term rentals. 

He attributed the overall jump in bed taxes to the area being a popular driving destination where people find local lodging.

"In Northwest Florida, 95 percent (of tourists) are drive-in visitors, whereas places like Miami, it's probably more than 80 percent fly-in visitors," he said. "Orlando is about 50 percent drive-in, 50 percent fly-in."

Still, rising gas prices and a slow economy are forcing visitors to spend less money.

Marshall Thompson, director of sales at the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort and Spa said the 98 percent occupancy rate this year is roughly the same as last year. However, visitors have booked their reservations later and stayed for a shorter time. 

Bruce Craul, CEO of Legendary Inc., reported that occupancy rates at Emerald Grande were usually running about 95 percent.
The charter boat industry along the coast is especially feeling the pinch.

On Tuesday in Destin, two crew members of the boat Anastasia worked under drizzly gray skies, cleaning the galley and filleting fish as the two passengers gathered their belongings.

The couple, Kathy and Earl Frederick from Erath, La., had chartered a private, four-hour fishing trip that yielded six snappers and one king mackerel that hung from hooks on a platform next to the boat.

The Fredericks are typical of this season's tourists, booking half-day trips instead of daylong outings.

"Everybody comes down and they've gotta spend so much money on staying somewhere and eating out," said Richard Moore, a deckhand on the Anastasia. "Of course, fishing's not really what they gotta have and if they want to do four- to six-hour trips, that's the way they want to go instead of spending all day out there."

Also, some repeat customers did not come back this season, Moore said.

"The gas prices are going up and the economy and the (red snapper) limits, they're saying it ain't worth it," he said. "Even though they've been coming down here 15, 20 years and have a good time, they just don't see spending that much money fishing. But you really can't blame them. It's still fun, but it's not what you gotta have."

During good economic times, construction companies often would charter boats for company trips, said Scott Robson, captain of the Phoenix charter boat and president of the approximately 60-member Destin Charter Boat Association. 

But with the housing and construction industries in a slump, few, if any, of those kinds of trips are being booked. And many captains who are still paying off their boats might find it nearly impossible to make payments when winter arrives.

The charter fishing business is a lot like farming, Robson says.

"You have to make every day count to make it the rest of the year," he said.