Explanation of Indicator
An increase in leisure time and a rise in disposable income have allowed more Americans to spend time at the shore. In fact, each year thousands of tourists come to Florida to vacation. Most of these tourists will visit the beach to take advantage of co
astal recreational activities. Tourists are not the only people who find recreational value in the coast, as residents also find recreational value in the coast. Among the numerous activities in which our society engages are boating, fishing, swimming,
walking, beachcombing, sunbathing, sightseeing, and surfing.1
The number of people visiting the beach is a good indication of the value people place on the recreational aspects of the coast and of how many tourists come to Florida because of the recreational opportunities in coastal areas. This indicator also refle cts the pressures exerted on the coastal resources due to human use. These measures allow the state to determine how much money should be invested in the state's coastal areas for improvement and for the purpose of attracting visitors.
Data Characteristics
SOURCE
Information about the number of visitors to the state’s beaches may be obtained from Berry Pitegoff at the Florida Department of Commerce, Office of Tourism Research, 107 West Gaines Street, Room 324, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2000, or at (904) 488-4952.
ACQUISITION
These summary data are available for state totals in hard copy format at no cost.
COLLECTION
The information is collected annually, statewide.
Data Limitations
The data are of limited use because collection is done only on a statewide or regional basis and the data consider only tourists; Florida residents are not included. The data collection is limited to regional or statewide collection because if the numbe
rs were collected at the municipal or county level, the number of tourists totaled from these areas would exceed the total number of tourists who visit the state. This inaccuracy would occur because most tourists visit more than one area when they come t
o Florida; many would be double-counted when they went from one Florida vacation destination to another.
Recommendations
The data are helpful for statewide and regional purposes; however, in current form the data do not show which coastal counties are visited and, therefore, which counties should spend more money to maintain or improve their beaches. For this reason, it is
crucial that data for visits to beaches be collected annually. The data should be collected for Florida residents as well as for tourists.
The data currently collected are based on an annual survey which asks visitors their main destination when visiting the state. The results from the survey are then compiled by region. These regions include both coastal and non-coastal counties. The sur vey should, instead, question the visitors to name all of the beaches they visited while staying in Florida (a map showing counties should be supplied). The data should then be recorded by county and by beach.
Because of the potential for double calculation, these data may not be helpful on a statewide basis; however, data for statewide purposes may continue to be collected via current methods. It is not necessary that the county and state numbers match. The data used by counties need not be used for state or regional purposes.
Nonetheless, this methodology does not include the Florida residents who visit the beach. Thus, perhaps a more appropriate method of data collection would include conducting an annual survey of oceanfront hotels, beach homes, and beaches which charge for automobiles driven on the beach. Though these figures would have several limitations because not all visitors to the beach stay at the beach or drive a car on the beach, it would provide some indication of the number of non-tourist visitors to the beach. However, the same potential for double counting would exist with this method as well.