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First Quarter Bed Tax Numbers Show Growth
by Melissa Neal, MA

During first quarter 2008, Northwest Florida saw a 10.4% increase in bed tax collections over the same time period in 2007.  Overall collections for the Northwest Florida region (at a 2% rate) were $2.9 million from January 2008-March 2008. Again this quarter, the forecast shows bed taxes continuing to increase over previous years.

Below is a chart that outlines individual county growth during this time period.  The Haas Center tracks bed tax revenues on a monthly basis because they are a valuable indicator of the number of tourists visiting Northwest Florida.  Using this data, the Haas Center staff can forecast future levels of tourism in the Northwest Florida area.

The graph shown depicts actual, seasonally adjusted, and forecasted bed taxes for Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, and Bay counties.  The seasonally adjusted numbers show the steady increase in bed tax collections over the past several years.  Because each county collects bed taxes at different rates, we convert all data to a 2-percent level for analysis purposes.  These figures do not represent actual tax revenue collected; however, they are an indicator of the health of the tourism industry in the area.

The graph also includes an estimate of the bed tax figures for the Northwest Florida region through March 2009.  These figures were forecasted using a 95-percent confidence level.  The forecast lines depict the most probable scenarios for bed taxes within an upper and lower range.  In other words, the Haas Center is forecasting that actual bed tax collections could fall anywhere within the upper and lower lines on this graph.

As the graph shows, bed tax revenues vary widely depending on the season.  Bed taxes historically rise steadily from January to August, and that trend continues through the first quarter of 2008.  All five counties saw an increase in bed tax revenues during the first quarter 2008 over the same time period in 2007.

Each month, the Haas Center collects, analyzes, and disseminates tourism data which includes detailed statistics of various tourism indicators in Northwest Florida.  Information on the five county region is posted on our tourism website at haas.uwf.edu/tourism.  Detailed data on the site includes bed taxes, airport enplanements and deplanements, and hotel and restaurant sales for the five-county area.  If you would like more information on this or other tourism research projects, please contact Melissa Neal at (850) 833-9113, or by e-mail at mneal@uwf.edu.