Consumer spending habits might have changed, but people still are taking vacations. In this third week of tourist season, businesses along the Emerald Coast said the season is off to a good start, even if area unemployment numbers are higher this summer than last.
    “People still want to go on vacation, but they still want a value,” said Santa Rosa County Tourist Development Council executive director Kate Wilkes. “I think Northwest Florida has a lot of advantages … there’s a lot of ways to vacation without spending a fortune.”
    As in previous years, Wilkes said, a lot of visitors from Southeastern states are coming to area beaches because they can get here by driving rather than flying, she said.
    Hotels and resorts are optimistic for the summer but can’t predict exactly how well they will do because of how many people are booking rooms last minute, said Emerald Coast Convention and Visitor Bureau president and CEO Darrell C. Jones.
    Recognizing that people are looking to cut costs wherever they can, many lodgings have reduced prices or created package deals to draw in customers, and it seems to be working so far, he said.
    Nashville, Tenn., residents Sean and Beth Rogers wanted to spend their first real vacation together on the beach, and a friend suggested Destin as a wallet-friendly option with lots to offer.
    “I didn’t want to spend too much on lodging because we wanted to be able to do things,” said Sean Rogers as he and Beth waited to go parasailing for the first time. “The price (for the area) was right.”
    At Dockside Water Sports on Destin Harbor, Dockside manager Jane Wilson said they haven’t really seen a reduction in the number of customers, but people are definitely bargain-hunting.
    Beginning in January, the business started getting calls for rental prices and people often inquired about possible discounts, Wilson said.
    “People are still doing stuff, (but) they let us know the economy is bad,” she said.
    Though the summer season already is going well for High Tide Restaurant and Oyster Bar in Fort Walton Beach, general manger Danny Horgan said they definitely have detected some differences in spending habits.
    “They’re not as frivolous with their money as they have been,” he said.
    Recently, a family of five came into the restaurant for lunch and ordered 10 oysters and a sandwich to share. Others are cutting costs even more, opting to prepare their own lunches and going out for only an evening meal, Horgan said.
    Despite those reductions, the restaurant has already seen a 25 percent increase compared to the same time last year, and Horgan said he anticipates more improvement with the upcoming Fourth of July weekend.
    “The way things are going, I anticipate having a better summer than last summer, definitely,” Horgan said. “I think when (the season) is over with, a lot of people will be pleasantly surprised.”