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flagler county tourism

Powered by Vacation Rentals, Flagler’s Tourism Revenue Is Up Significantly as State’s Drops 30%

November 24, 2020 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

flagler tourism trends covid-19

Flagler County’s tourism-tax revenue has gone up three successive months between July and September, substantially so in August and September, in contrast with statewide tourism revenue, which plummeted 30 percent in the third quarter. Vacation rentals, the beach, and vacationers traveling shorter distances account for the county’s success.

County Fires Tourism Director Matt Dunn After 4-Month Suspension, Citing New Direction Under Amy Lukasik

October 18, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

Matt Dunn, left, and former County Administrator Craig Coffey had each others' ears. (© FlaglerLive)

Flagler County Tourism Director Matt Dunn had been placed on paid administrative leave in April after coming under criminal investigation. The county says the tourism bureau is turning away from Dunn’s sports-oriented tourism, and was not firing him for any wrongdoing.

Flagler Approves $227,500 in Tourism Spending, Including $150,000 for Marina

August 8, 2018 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Marineland's Marina will get an extra 300 feet of floating docks. (© FlaglerLive)

The grants were part of the annual county tourism bureau’s funding round and are designed to enhance tourism and the visitor count in the county.

County Defends $284,000 Tourism Website Deal and Commissioners Are Mollified

May 29, 2018 | FlaglerLive | 19 Comments

County Administrator Craig Coffey has been on the defensive over the manner in which a proposed website contract was submitted to the county commission, and its costs. (© FlaglerLive)

County Administrator Craig Coffey and tourism officials put commissioners’ questions about the expense of a website to rest with 75 minutes of details and only a few straw men.

Gov. Scott Continues to Attack Lawmakers Over Tourism Budget as Visitors’ Numbers Rise

May 16, 2017 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Gov. Rick Scott, right, during his last visit to Flagler County, when he was campaigning in favor of a $100 million budget for Visit Florida. He is seen here speaking with County Commissioner Dave Sullivan in Flagler Beach. (© FlaglerLive)

A good showing in December aside, when year-over-year tourism tax receipts jumped 18 percent, Flagler County has done less well, and not necessarily because of Hurricane Matthew.

Setback For Flagler as Bill Scrapping Vacation-Rental Regulations Advances on 9-6 Vote

March 14, 2017 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

Flagler County Attorney addressing the House Agriculture and Property Rights Subcommittee today in Tallahassee. (Florida Channel)

A divided House Agriculture and Property Rights Subcommittee was not swayed by a presentation from Flagler County Attorney Al Hadeed as it voted to scrap county authority to regulate short-term, vacation rentals. The bill has several additional hurdles to clear.

O’Brien Surprise: Commissioner Agrees To Higher Tourism Tax, But With Beach Twist

March 6, 2017 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

Flagler County Commissioner Donald O'Brien, left, got fellow-Commissioner Nate McLaughlin flustered when O'Brien proposed a different way of applying new revenue from a proposed increase in the county's tourism tax. (© FlaglerLive)

County Commissioner Donald O’Brien today was willing to raise the county’s tourism tax to 5 percent, but to further increase revenue for beach restoration, and, for a year, lower revenue for promotions.

Rift Opens Between County and Flagler Beach Over Dunes Fix; County Depletes TDC Fund

January 23, 2017 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

jane mealy county commission

Flagler County commissioners agreed today to deplete a $1.5 million fund for beach management as part of a match to draw down state dollars, but none of the money would benefit Flagler Beach, angering officials there.

Flagler County Agrees to Bail Out Ag Museum Despite $150,000 Deficit and Barnful of Unanswered Questions

October 21, 2016 | FlaglerLive | 19 Comments

The Florida Agriculture Museum in Palm Coast is failing, and looking for a bail-out. County government stepped in. (© FlaglerLive)

After a vote failed to take-over the failing museum entirely, Flagler County commissioners agreed to a generous 90-day bailout, pending a more detailed agreement that would enable the county to absorb the 460-acre property yet leave the museum board at least nominally in place.

TDC Favors Beverly Beach’s $32,000 Walkover Renovations, But Not Before Unusual Grilling

May 18, 2016 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

beverly beach walk-over

The questioning was another example of of the TDC’s more inquisitorial attitude toward local projects as opposed to a less rigorous or accountable approach when the applicant is an out-of-town organization, including for-profits.

With Less Accountability, Flagler’s Tourism Dollars Continue Shift To Big-Ticket Events

March 21, 2016 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

community events cycle flagler TDC

County government’s tourism arm, which manages $1.6 million in tax dollars, is diminishing emphasis on community events to push sports and conferences which draw people without necessarily promoting the county.

Spartan Extreme Race Re-Sets for Flagler: New Location, Same Lack of Transparency

October 22, 2015 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

While the Spartan race appears set at a private ranch in Flagler next March, again, serious questions of transparency and patronage are undermining tiourism chief Matt Dunn’s latest approach.

How County Government Is Pimping Princess Place While Spinning Fairy Tales

August 22, 2015 | FlaglerLive | 51 Comments

matt dunn craig coffey flagler county

Flagler County’s justifications for holding a Spartan extreme-sport race at Princess Place Preserve fails the smell test on all counts and raise questions about how tourism chief Matt Dunn and County Administrator Craig Coffey got the deal so far to start with.

County Government Will Take Over Flagler Tourism Office From Chamber in Latest Expansion

August 17, 2015 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

tdc flagler chamber

The tourism office’s four employees have been under contract through the Flagler chamber of commerce. By next fall, they’ll be county employees, but their budget will still be underwritten by the 4 percent surtax on short-term rentals.

Vacation Rental Company Sues Flagler County Two Weeks After Regulations Are Approved

March 6, 2015 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

Steven Milo, head of Vacation Rental Pros, sued the Flagler County Commission, an eight-count action that alleges property, privacy and equal protection rights violations.

Missing From Salamander Hotel Proposal: Community Consensus and Respect for Past Agreements

January 19, 2015 | FlaglerLive | 28 Comments

Chris Goodfellow, a resident of the Hammock, argues that Salamander Hotels’ proposed 198-room re-development requires a precedent-setting change the county commission should avoid absent clearer consensus from the Hammock community.

Bull Creek Restaurant, Seasoned By Woody’s BBQ Owners, Dedicated at Flagler’s West End

July 8, 2014 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

Bull Creek Restaurant laps the shores of Dead Lake, and a century of history at the western end of Flagler County. (© FlaglerLive)

Bull Creek Restaurant on the shores of Dead Lake and in the heart of Bull Creek Camp Ground in western Flagler was dedicated Tuesday morning as the owners of Woody’s BBQ in Palm Coast take on the breakfast, lunch and dinner establishment to the delight of residents at the west end of the county.

Flagler Seeks, Flagler Wins: Bill Restoring Vacation-Rental Regulation Authority Passes House and Heads for Scott’s Desk

May 1, 2014 | FlaglerLive | 19 Comments

The Flagler County Commission has been leading the fight to overturn a 2011 state law prohibiting the regulation of short-term rentals. Thursday morning, the Florida Senate voted 37-2 to give back some home-rule authority to local governments. The House approved the measure 90-27 on Wednesday, sealing a major victory for Flagler County.

Nothing Flagler Can Do About Divisive Vacation Rentals, Attorney General Bondi Confirms

October 24, 2013 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

The expedited Attorney General’s opinion cited Flagler County’s own absence of regulation of vacation rentals before 2011 as one reason the county’s hands are tied in controlling what has become a center of conflict for permanent residents of the Hammock. Since 2011, a state law prevents local governments from imposing new regulations.

Flagler County Buys 276 Minutes on Electronic Billboard Near Times Square, for $15,000

October 4, 2013 | FlaglerLive | 36 Comments

The 10-second spot will run once an hour, 18 times a day, through Jan. 2, on a billboard on 42nd Street, four and a half blocks south of Times Square, and is paid for half by the county’s tourism bed tax and half by the general fund, through the economic development department.

Shutdown Hits Home: Castillo de San Marcos and Ft. Matanzas Among Parks Off Limits

October 2, 2013 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

Starting Tuesday, the National Park Service closed all 401 national parks, including Castillo de San Marcos and Fort Matanzas National Monuments in St. Augustine, affecting the local tourism economy. Potential foreign visitors’ visas are facing processing delays.

Flagler Tourism Office Rebuffs Consolidation With County, Hinting at More Autonomy Instead

August 28, 2013 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

County Commissioner George Hanns and Administrator Craig Coffey had talked of absorbing the tourism office–currently a branch of the chamber of commerce–into county government. It won’t happen. Rather, Tourism Director Georgia Turner is talking of having a stand-alone tourism office in a few years.

As Flagler Beach Sees a Fortune From Parking Fees, Locals See Only Alienated Tourists

February 1, 2013 | FlaglerLive | 63 Comments

Flagler Beach government could make up to $3 million over 5 years by turning its streets into revenue-generating parking slots, but the city manager’s proposal faces stiff-but not unanimous–opposition from local residents and businesses, who fear jeopardizing the city’s charms and its appeal to tourists.

Flagler’s Tourism Council Would Relax Rules Governing Subsidies for Special Events

January 30, 2013 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

The changes, affecting $100,000 in bed-tax dollars county government, through the tourism council, awards organizations that put on special events, would dispense with the requirement that organizations spend the money advertising their event, and would allow them to spend it on incidental expenses that may be more difficult to track.

16-Year-Old’s High-Def Eye In the Sky Gives Flagler Free and Spectacular Publicity

September 10, 2012 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

Find your Flagler: shot from Lucas Weekley's tricopter earlier this month. (© Lucas Weekley)

Lucas Weekley, a budding engineer from Ocala, builds and flies remote-controlled aircraft that shoot high-definition video, which he edits and launches on YouTube through his BuyBee TV. Flagler Beach and Hammock Dunes were the lucky subjects of his last production.

Florida Tourism Lull Predicted, Slowing Local Growth, as Euro Zone Economies Suffer

July 24, 2012 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

european tourism in florida and flagler county

Economic woes in Europe will trickle across the Atlantic over the next few years as potential international guests stay home or see their native currency buy less once they arrive, a panel of economists estimates.

Bait, Tackle and BBQ at Bings Landing as Flagler Cooks Up Park’s Latest Shop Lease

March 21, 2012 | FlaglerLive | 10 Comments

The signs are encouraging at Captaion's BBQ, Bings Landing's latest stab at concessions. (© FlaglerLive)

Captain’s BBQ at Bings Landing will operate the concession shop and kayak,canoe and bike rentals for $500 a month’s rent in Flagler County’s latest attempt to give life to a handsome but commercially problematic location.

Heiser Time Over: Tourism Council’s Trusted Executive Resigns; Turbulence Ahead

October 20, 2011 | FlaglerLive | 36 Comments

Peggy Heiser was the Flagler Tourist Development Council's monthly star attraction.

Peggy Heiser’s resignation, attributed to family priorities, will have political and economic ramifications as the Chamber of Commerce’s Doug Baxter–not the tourism council or the county commission–chooses a successor.

Tourism Council Approves $800,000 Budget Over Objection to Exec’s 7.7% Raise

August 21, 2011 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

It may be the quiet side of Florida, but marketing it ain't cheap. (© FlaglerLive)

The publicly funded tourism council approved a 7.7 percent raise for the Flagler Chamber of Commerce’s VP for tourism and the council’s administrative head, and 6 percent raises for two staff members. The Flagler County Commission must give final approval.

In a Victory for Flagler Boaters, FWC Rejects Its Staff’s Proposed Manatee Speed Zones

June 8, 2011 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission asked its staff to draw up a new compromise favoring Flagler County’s position on manatee speed zones on the Intracoastal, a significant defeat for manatee advocates.

Counterpunch: Priceline and Travelocity Sue Over Tourist-Development Bed Taxes

June 1, 2011 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

travelocity priceline.com taxes bed taxes

The case is of interest to Flagler, whose Tourist Development Council has been aggressively pursuing avenues, including a lawsuit of its own, to compel online companies to pay their fair share of sales and bed taxes.

$150,000 for New Fields at Indian Trails Complex as Tourism and Sports Merge

May 23, 2011 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Palm Coast is looking to expand the Indian Trails Sports Complex to attract more lacrosse and soccer tournaments to the area, and with them more visitors.

Flagler Whacks Proposed Speed Zones on Intracoastal as Manatee Advocates Protest

May 17, 2011 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

Tuesday’s public hearing was the latest step in months of wrangles between Flagler County and the Fish and Wildlife Commission over manatee-protecting speed zones on about a third of Flagler’s 18 miles of Intracoastal.

Their Battle Already Won, Flagler Beach Dog Owners Still Mobilizing to Ward Off Ban

March 22, 2011 | FlaglerLive | 24 Comments

dogs on the beach in flagler beach

Flagler Beach resident Vicky Mulvaney kicked off a firestorm of opposition to her proposal to ban dogs altogether from the city’s beaches. The city commission, unlikely to go along, hears from Mulvaney and her opponents Thursday.

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