Officials approve branding for promotion of “Beyond the Beach” visitation
Please use the SHARE buttons to forward this news NEW LOGO approved for Walton County’s “Beyond the Beach” tourism promotion effort. By DOTTY NIST “Sister branding” has been approved for promotion of visitation to Walton County, with the new branding highlighting Walton County’s offerings away from the beach. The approval took place at the Oct. 11 Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) meeting at the Walton County Courthouse. Kelli Carter, marketing director for the Walton County Tourism Department, introduced the proposed branding to the county commissioners. Carter explained that the sister branding would be an addition rather than a replacement for the existing “South Walton” branding that “has years of equity and recognition.” She discussed that in a 2020 referendum the voters had approved a two-percent tourist development tax that is now being collected on short-term rentals in the area north of the bay. This tax for tourism promotion purposes had previously been collected only south of the bay (at a five-percent rate in that area). Carter said this voter approval resulted in tourism department staff immersing themselves in finding out everything Walton County has to offer “from the Alabama state line to the Gulf of Mexico,” which is an ongoing effort. She also explained that research is ongoing on visitors who come to stay in other parts of the county than the beach. “We know that it’s a different visitor than probably the visitor that comes to the beach,” Carter said, adding that beach visitors might also visit...
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