Walton County Tourism plans public survey, in‑person outreach to shape strategic plan

Matt (Walton County Tourism staff) and Scott (JLL consultant) outlined a public‑outreach schedule to inform the strategic plan. Consultants said the public survey is scheduled to go live “by the end of the week,” and that in‑person public sessions are planned for October.

Scott recommended at least one session in North Walton and two to three sessions in South Walton, with varied times and locations to encourage diverse participation. Matt said the team will use public‑session signups as an expression of interest — not a mandatory RSVP — to size venues appropriately.

The consultants plan to include demographic questions so the team can identify respondent type (resident, business, accommodations partner, visitor) and geographic origin. Jennifer asked whether steering committee members would see the survey instrument before release; Matt and Scott agreed to circulate the draft questions to committee members for review.

Committee members discussed venue selection and attendee convenience; Matt said the team would look for east/central/west locations and consider resort conference facilities for adequate space. The group agreed that publicly noticed sessions allow committee members and elected officials to attend without creating quorum or Sunshine Act violations, and Scott suggested one session could be structured as a joint TDC‑Board of County Commissioners meeting.

Ending

Consultants and Walton County Tourism staff will circulate the draft survey questions, finalize session locations in the coming weeks and report results and any early survey findings at the next steering‑committee meeting.