Regional marketing for airport touted
By Daniel Carson News Herald Writer 747-5071 / dcarson@pcnh.com
PANAMA CITY The new Panama City-Bay County International Airport won’t be completed and open until at least 2009, but it’s already being used in conjunction with Bay County marketing efforts to industries, tourists and potential airline carriers. Wednesday’s Regional Airport Commerce Council meeting brought together boosters from several Northwest Florida counties to coordinate a regional marketing approach to the new airport.
The newly formed group, which has drawn membership from chambers of commerce, government organizations and businesses in Bay and nine area counties, met in Panama City Beach.
Greater Panama City Beaches Chamber of Commerce President Debi Knight said the council would pool data and input from the meeting and start to come up with more regional marketing strategies.
While Knight acknowledged the new airport’s potential impact on Bay County, she said officials from other Northwest Florida chambers of commerce also have a keen interest in its future success.
“The airport is probably one of the number one priorities for surrounding counties,” Knight said. One of the meeting’s featured speakers, former Florida State University-Panama City Dean Ed Wright, described the new airport as a “once in a generation” opportunity and a gateway to the Northwest Florida region.
Another speaker, retired Delta Airlines executive Mike Bell, talked about the challenges Panama City’s relocated airport will face in attracting low-fare carriers. He said community leaders needed to dispel the image that Panama City resides in a fractured market and demonstrate the new airport can generate acceptable traffic volumes for low-cost carriers such as JetBlue, Southwest Airlines and AirTran. Bell said a regional marketing approach could show airline executives that, while Panama City may not generate enough traffic volume for a low-cost carrier, the entire region could.
“That’s why you’ve got to expand the pool,” Bell said. Other topics of discussion Wednesday included the “branding” of Northwest Florida to airlines, supporting anticipated economic development and growth, and the airport’s environmental impact and preservation efforts.
Grayton Beach’s Cornerstone Marketing & Advertising already has utilized the planned airport in marketing pieces for several St. Joe Co. Northwest Region residential developments, including WaterColor, WaterSound, RiverCamps and Windmark Beach. The firm’s public relations director, Madra Medina McDonald, said Cornerstone had used the phrase “the Northwest Florida region, an extraordinary place” in its promotions. McDonald said the new airport is a hot topic among the firm’s clients.
“It’s not only going to affect Panama City, but also the other areas around it,” she said. She said Cornerstone also has utilized the new airport and a regional approach in association with other projects, giving the example of Callaway’s Bridge Harbor residential project.
When Cornerstone talks about Bridge Harbor to writers or reporters unfamiliar with Callaway, McDonald said the firm mentions the city is in Northwest Florida, then ties it into the new airport. “Callaway’s suddenly a place on the map,” McDonald said. Robert Cooper / The News Herald The Panama City-Bay County International Airport held a marketing workshop Wednesday for area businesses that stressed the impact of the proposed airport.