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Walton County Day at New Airport
10/19/09 - 05:24 PM
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The new airport in west bay will have a huge impact on northwest Florida’s main industry: tourism.  Neighboring counties have big plans for their own tourism industries based on what the new airport brings in.  Walton County is no exception.

It was Walton County day at the new airport.  Everyone from business people to county commissioners traveled over to attend the Chamber of Commerce meeting and luncheon at the new airport campus.  Walton County has some big plans for the future…and it’s all going to depend on the new airport.

Important people from all over Walton County gathered in the sun at the new airport to celebrate Walton County Day.  The Chamber of Commerce held its meeting as usual, but the talk is all about how the new airport will affect Walton Wounty. Dawn Moliterno, Walton County Chamber of Commerce CEO asks “What a better place to hold a board meeting than on an active construction site showing the growth and prosperity that will hit our region?”

All of Walton County knows how important this new airport will be for Walton County tourism.  Earlier this year the county commission made a big change in airport marketing.  Recently the Walton county Commission voted to raise the bed tax by half a cent. Now all they have to do is decide which airport will get the extra million dollars in revenue per year.  Commissioner Sara Comander says that “The half cent additional bed tax will go to help market this area, to help market the Beaches of South Walton in the destinations that the airline will fly out of…”

But now the worry is that Southwest will go to another airport and not the new airport. Tallahassee and Okaloosa County’s airports are competing for Southwest’s bid. Walton County plans to start promoting itself internationally through the new airport.  Members of the TDC will venture to the World Travel Mart in London in November

According to Commissioner Comander:  “Once the airline that they’re negotiating with now makes a decision where they’re going to go… well, that’s the way the money will go..in that direction.”

The chamber also announced the keynote speaker for its annual leadership conference on October 29th in Sandestin. This year the chamber will host Brian Wilson, a reporter for the Fox News Channel’s Washington, D.C. bureau.