Putnam County tourism office reports $370 in per-household tax savings from visitors; hotels at 74.7% occupancy in 2024

Kimberly Morgan, vice president of tourism for the Putnam County Chamber, told the Board of County Commissioners that visitor spending and hotel performance support continued promotion of the county as a destination.

Morgan said 2022 data — the latest available for the county’s visitor-economy analysis — show tourism accounted for $370.18 in tax savings per Putnam household, which she explained as the amount households would otherwise pay in taxes to maintain current service levels if visitor spending stopped. She also reported 2024 hotel occupancy of 74.7% and an average daily rate of $125.66.

Morgan said the bureau is building a visitor research profile (a roughly yearlong project) to learn where visitors come from, how much they spend and what activities they prefer. She described plans to “tighten up” the destination asset inventory, hold five to seven town-hall listening sessions with tourism businesses and work existing events and groups to improve visitor experiences.

Commissioner Harvey thanked Morgan for testifying in Tallahassee against proposed changes to Tourist Development Council (TDC) rules and emphasized that TDC funds are limited and allocated across many projects. Commissioners urged the bureau to post up-to-date reports and festival listings on county and chamber websites to amplify positive stories.

Ending: No board action was required. The commission encouraged the tourism bureau to share the job-growth and tourism materials through chamber and county channels and requested updated transparency reports on the county website.