Walton County survey finds broad support for tourism while surfacing traffic, parking and environmental concerns

Scott Beck, senior consultant with JLL, told the Walton County Tourist Development Council steering committee that a public sentiment survey of 974 respondents (data as of Oct. 1; survey closed Oct. 3) shows broad support for tourism but also clear areas of concern.

The survey found roughly half of respondents identified as residents and half as nonresidents, with about 16.8% reporting employment in the tourism industry. "We have far exceeded our goal in terms of participation," Beck said, adding the team’s internal target had been 475 responses. He summarized the headline findings: strong positive views of tourism’s economic impact, and the largest negative responses around traffic and parking, housing affordability and environmental impacts to beaches, parks and waterways.

Why it matters: steering-committee members and consultants said the results will shape messaging and strategy for Walton County Tourism and the Tourist Development Council (TDC). Dan Fenton, also with JLL, said the survey will inform whether the organization should move beyond traditional marketing to play a more active role in destination or experience development. "What we're not doing is saying to Matt, just sort of go do this," Fenton said. "We're saying that we want to allocate both time and resource to really trying to drive some of the outcomes here."

Key findings and context

- Responses and sampling: As of Oct. 1 the survey recorded 974 total responses (the team noted additional responses…